As God Commands (2008)
"Come Dio comanda" (original title)

A dark drama centered on a 14-year-old boy and his neo-Nazi dad, who are both outcasts in their suburban town.

Director:

Gabriele Salvatores

Writers:

Niccolò Ammaniti (novel), Niccolò Ammaniti (screenplay),

Stars:

Filippo Timi, Elio Germano, Alvaro Caleca

2 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Filippo Timi	...	Rino Zena
Elio Germano	...	Quattro Formaggi
Alvaro Caleca	...	Cristiano Zena
Angelica Leo	...	Fabiana
Fabio De Luigi	...	Trecca
Alessandro Mizzi	...	Uomo SUV
Corinna Agustoni	...	Maria Pirro
Alessandro Bressanello	...	Marchetta
Ludovica Di Rocco	...	Esmeralda
Valentina Sussi	...	Ragazza Centro Sociale
Andrea De Nori	...	Alex
Vanja Serra	...	Amico di Alex
Stefano Rota	...	Medico Ambulanza
Vasco Mirandola	...	Dottor Brolli
Giuseppe Cristiano	...	Infermiere

Storyline

The story of the relationship between a neo-Nazi and alcoholic man, Rino Zena and his 11-year-old son Cristiano. They live on the margins of the society in a town in North Italy. Their only friend is Quattro Formaggi, a mentally ill man with whom they kinda form a surrogate family. A dark, long night of rain, lighting and desperation will change their lives forever.

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Plot Keywords:

rain | night | sexual harassment | drug use | song | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

MSN [it]

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

12 December 2008 (Italy)

Also Known As:

As God Commands

Filming Locations:

Farla di Majano, Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

€6,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Colorado Film Production, Rai Cinema, Friuli Venezia Giulia Film Commission

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Did You Know?

Trivia

Actor Diego Abatantuono loved Niccolò Ammaniti's novel that much that he begged director Gabriele Salvatores to cast him as Danilo. Unfortunately, that particular character was not included in the final screenplay so Abatantuono couldn't be cast.

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Crazy Credits

Final credits include 8mm-footage of the five lead stars from a deleted scene.

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Soundtracks

"She's the one"
Written by Karl Wallinger
Performed by Robbie Williams
Copyright: Chrysalis Records Ltd / Universal Music Publishing Ltd.

User Reviews

Visually-astonishing

"Come Dio Comanda" arrives in theaters after the big success of Niccolò Ammaniti's bestseller. Academy-Award winner Gabriele Salvatores creates a beautiful, powerful movie out of that already strong and disturbing story. The director's approach to the movie (always using hand-held camera) seems to create more a documentary than a standard thriller-drama, as if we were INTO the story, next to the characters, into the woods under the rain. The actors are excellent: Filippo Timi and young Alvaro Caleca do a believable and forceful job as Rino and Cristiano Zena. Their performances, full of anger and love, really support the entire story. Elio Germano create the best character of his career, a nearly lovable and sympathetic 'full', an innocent child trapped in the body of a man into a dark and corrupted world. Good job also by supporting cast: Angelica Leo, thoroughly believable as Fabiana and the funny part of Fabio De Luigi. Tech credits are also outstanding: Italo Petriccione's cinematography is surely going to win all the new season awards and prizes. Even better than his already excellent job in 'Io Non ho Paura'. The editing, fast, full of jump-cuts, the music score, modern, sincere, the real soul of the characters, the settings... The best scene? Probably the finale, the most moving scene of the entire movie.