The Traitor

Marco Bellocchio’s account of Tommaso Buscetta reached Italian cinemas on a loaded date: 23 May 2019, the anniversary of the Capaci bombing that killed the magistrate Giovanni Falcone. Giovanni Montinaro, whose father Antonio led Falcone’s escort and died beside him, objected publicly; Pierfrancesco Favino replied that the day honoured the men killed there, and the two sides were reconciled. The premiere came in competition at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival. Italy submitted the film for the international feature award at the 92nd Academy Awards, which brought no nomination. At the 32nd European Film Awards it collected 4 nominations, for film, director, screenwriter and actor, and lost all 4. The real harvest was domestic. The 65th David di Donatello gave it 18 nominations, more than any other title, and 6 awards: best film, best director, best actor for Favino, best supporting actor for Luigi Lo Cascio, best original screenplay and Francesca Calvelli’s editing. Of 11 Nastro d’Argento nominations, 7 became wins. It took about 4.8 million euro in Italy and 8.9 million dollars worldwide. A good fit if you want the road to the Maxi Trial and its 475 defendants handled as procedure rather than action. Not for anyone after one tight psychological portrait; the story spreads across years and a run of hearings, and the cast grows with it.