Pianese Nunzio, 14 anni a maggio (1996)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Antonio Capuano

Writers:

Antonio Capuano (screenplay)
Antonio Capuano (story)

Release Date:

5 September 1996 (Italy)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Tragressivo, provocatorio, aspro: la seconda fatica di Antonio Capuano dopo "Vito e gli altri" è un film che ha fatto e farà discutere a lungo.

Plot:

A young priest crusades against organized crime in his Naples neighbourhood but falls in love with a 13-year old boy...

Plot Keywords:

Boy | Priest | Dream | Napoli | Scissors

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Gaetano Amato
Fabrizio Bentivoglio	...	Don Lorenzo Borrelli
Flavio Brunetti
Rosaria De Cicco	...	Rosaria
Emanuele Gargiulo	...	Nunzio Pianese
Beppe Gatta
Livia Imparato
Manuela Martinelli	...	Ada
Vincenzo Pirozzi
Teresa Saponangelo	...	Anna Maria Pica
Tonino Taiuti	...	Cuccarini
Carlo Triola
Nando Triola	...	Giovanni Pianese
C. Vacalebre
Gianfranco Veltre
Antonio Ziot

Also Known As:

Pianese Nunzio, Fourteen in May (USA)
Pianese Nunzio, quattordici anni a maggio (Italy) (alternative spelling)
Sacred Silence (USA)

Runtime:

Australia:114 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:R | Germany:16 | Italy:VM14

Filming Locations:

Naples, Campania, Italy

Company:

A.M.A. Film

Moral ambiguity

To me this film was about morality: Of the murderous tactics of the mafia and the sexual transgressions of a priest. The priest rails against the mafia while seducing a 13 year old boy. He is shown to have had another boy lover now discarded for a younger, more attractive one. Listening to the priest's recorded voice, the young lover hears: "sanctity and eroticism are the same". Bluring the moral responsibility of the priest, we learn that he was born of unknown parents. All the adult characters are shown to be flawed. Only the boy and his girlfriend, are shown as innocents, wanting only affection and sensual pleasure. In an attempt to discredit the priest, the boy is pressured to betray him by admitting to the relationship. His silence loses him his life and hence is sacred,far more so than the sacred rituals the priest recites to a few bored parishioners. The question remaining is:Is the priest any less guilty than the mafia? There is of course no answer and it is left to the viewer to ponder the events.

The story is developed slowly and in Italian with English subtitles so it is a bit hard to keep the familial relations and events straight. But the major outlines are clear and well worth watching.