Far from the family ties of the Godfather series, or the drug fuelled excess of Scarface is the world of Salvo, directed by Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza. Although based in the cut throat world of the Sicilian mafia, it has a restraint of style that marks it out as a unique and grown up piece of filmmaking.
Saleh Bakri plays Salvo, an enforcer and trusted bodyguard in the employ of a Sicilian mafia boss. After successfully saving his boss during an attempted hit, he tracks down and kills the man responsible. The murder is witnessed by the dead man’s sister, a young blind woman called Rita played by Sara Serraiocco. Salvo is immediately drawn to Rita and takes her from her home to a deserted factory in the hills where she is held against her will. During her incarceration, Salvo and Rita form an unusual, somehow spiritual bond that threatens both of their lives.
As Salvo, Bakri has a magnetic, almost leonine on screen presence. He prowls the sun bleached streets and darkened interiors of Sicily with the confidence of a man who knows he provokes fear and respect from those around him. Directors Grassadonia and Piazza have a similar brooding confidence behind the camera. This is a handsomely shot, stylish film but also has a sparseness that is deeply beguiling. Silence is employed with intent and dialogue is few and far between, particularly from Salvo. The set piece during which Salvo stalks Rita around her home is a particularly striking and memorable example of the directors’ brilliant use of sound to create almost unbearable tension.
What is most refreshing about the film is its refusal to explain. There is a mystical element to the film (which I won’t spoil here), that somehow does not feel out of place amongst the overall realistic tone of the piece, despite the lack of any tangible answers. For me, this maturity called to mind the Italian Neo-realists. If you are a fan of those films you will be gripped by Salvo, a deliberate piece of filmmaking that flies in the face of all those decadent mafia cliches and has the confidence to allow the audience to find its own answers.