As God Commands (2008)

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

4 wins & 11 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 | male bare butt | child murder | unemployment | 

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Did You Know?

Trivia

All the actors did their own stunts.

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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

Knocking on Heaven's Door
Written by Bob Dylan
Performed by Antony and the Johnsons (as Antony & The Johnsons)
Copyright: Ram's Horn Music
Courtesy of Rebis Production LLC

User Reviews

Overcooked and Unintentionally Laughable

I saw this film last night at the Italian Film Festival in LA and was deeply disappointed. I'm a huge fan of bleak, minimalist cinema and in theory, this movie, with its hand-held aesthetic, promise of exploring neo-fascism in modern Italy, and dark yet humanist subject matter seemed right up my alley. Turns out I was wrong.

Let's start positively, the cinematography is good, especially a gorgeous scene where the lead kid takes a long walk with a wheelbarrow, but everything else about this movie is so over-the-top, so cheesy and manipulative, so thematically scattered, that it was all I could do not to leave the theater and immediately go watch something else to cleanse my pallet.

Especially heavy-handed are the music cues. Oh my god... unbelievable. Every time the music dropped it was with for such obvious, manipulative purposes that I died a little inside. And I guess the movie's constant references to God and his intent on this earth are supposed to resonate on a deep thematic level, but they don't. It's just more overused trite masquerading as meaning in a film lost in its own pretensions.

I really do enjoy this KIND of movie. But this is a terrible example of it.

Details

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:

EUR6,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,516,607

Company Credits

Production Co:

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

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min