Naples breathes a sigh of relief: Don Vincenzo Strozzalone is dead! What nobody knows: the coffin contained a look-alike of the gangster. Nobody? Nobody except Fatima, a nurse who saw the deceased running through the hospital in high spirits, and therefore must be disposed of. Now the Don has a problem: the curly-haired beauty is nothing less than the childhood sweetheart of the super-killer he has sent to get rid of her...
The brothers Antonio & Marco Manetti are among the most extraordinary talents to emerge in contemporary Italian cinema: film by film, they have worked their way through genre history – or rather its regional manifestations – and thereby gave not only the thriller (Piano 17, 2005) and the science fiction film (L’arrivo di Wang, 2011), but also the crime genre (Song’e Napule, 2013) an intelligent rejuvenation. With Ammore e malavita, they have given the genre of all genres – the musical! – a go and have ended up making their best film to date! Ammore e malavita is both a homage to the ancient Neapolitan musical comedy genre “sceneggiata”, as well as a clever and subtle exploration of cinema itself, with lively songs, dance scenes that don’t take themselves too seriously, and plenty of exuberant acting. In other words: that’s Entertainment! (om)
