With some of his latest films, the director Mark Bellocchio was interested in retracing and reworking some of the most famous events in the history of Italy, from the kidnapping of Aldo Moro with Good morning, night and Night exteriorpassing through the private life of Benito Mussolini in WIN and up to the case of Edgardo Mortara with Kidnapped, currently in cinemas. Likewise, his latest film brings to the big screen one of the most controversial and complex Italian figures of the entire twentieth century: the mafia repentant Thomas Buscetta. The story of him is told by Bellocchio in The traitor (here the review), presented in competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019 and established itself as one of the most important and awarded Italian films of recent years.

Approaching this character, the director focused in particular on giving a portrait of him not as a hero but as a courageous man, without condemning or accusing him. In The traitorIndeed, Buscetta stands as a representative of a world and a way of doing by now in decline. His story thus becomes an opportunity to talk about universal themes, including the inexorable transience of man and his empires. Bellocchio thus signs a new historical and civil story, characterized by a theatricality that clearly divides Buscetta from those who oppose him, i.e. those mafiosi whom he was accusing so openly.

Winner of six David di Donatello awards, including best film and best director, The traitor has known unrivaled success, also being nominated for various foreign awards. Bellocchio has thus reconfirmed himself as one of the most acute storytellers in the history of a country. Before embarking on a vision of the film, however, it will certainly be useful to delve into some of the main curiosities related to this. Continuing here in the reading it will in fact be possible to find further details relating to the plotto the cast of actors and to true story. Finally, the main ones will also be listed streaming platforms containing the film in their catalogue.

The plot of the movie The traitor

The story of the film begins in the early 80s, in the midst of a real war between the bosses of the Sicilian mafia. In that period, in fact, the factions of Cosa Nostra and the Corleones, headed by Toto Riina, vie for the drug market, maintaining a facade of friendship and collaboration. Fearing an imminent war between the two groups, Thomas Buscetta, also known as the “boss of two worlds”, decides to move to Brazil and continue his business there. Soon, however, two of his children and other loved ones are executed in cold blood, generating in him a deep sense of guilt for having abandoned them without protection.

For him, however, the difficulties have only just begun. Tracked down by the Brazilian police, he is then extradited to Italy. To survive, Buscetta is at this point faced with a very tough choice. He will finally agree to meet the judge John Falcone and betray the eternal vow made to the Cosa Nostra. By confessing everything he knows, he becomes a repentant, a traitor, and therefore even more condemned to death. Decided and forced to go through with it, Buscetta decides to also appear at the maxi trial, where he will meet his former friends to testify once more against them.

The traitor: the true story behind the film

As is known, Buscetta’s is the story of the first important mafia repentant, whose collaboration with the justice bodies led to a greater understanding of this criminal organization and to a harsher attack against it. Buscetta joined it in 1945, at the age of 17. After having been for a period in South America, in 1956 he began to deal with the smuggling of cigarettes and drugs, also becoming a dangerous killer and being arrested and imprisoned on several occasions. For him, the situation becomes dangerous when, in the midst of what is known as the second mafia waris found to be opposed to Salvatore Riina. To get out of the feud, Buscetta decides to return to Brazil.

However, Riina’s victory equally affected his life, with 11 of his relatives being brutally killed, including two of his sons. In the same period, on 23 October 1983, Buscetta was recognized and arrested by the local police. In June 1984 the judges John Falcone And Vincent Geraci they went to him and invited him to collaborate with justice, a gesture which in the mafia code of honor is inevitably considered a betrayal to be punished with death: the boss let a veiled desire to undertake this path leak out and the Italian state asked for it and he then obtained extradition to the Brazilian authorities. Buscetta, however, never accepted to be called a repenteda term with which collaborators of justice began to be indicated in Italy.

Rather, he declared that he no longer shared what was the new Cosa Nostra, since, according to him, it had lost its identity. On 29 September 1984, on the basis of Buscetta’s statements, the maxi-roundup called “Operation San Michele” was triggered with 366 arrest warrants executed. In 1986, however, Buscetta testified at the maxi-trial in Palermo resulting from the statements made to Falcone. Subsequently, he withdrew again to anonymity, however, at the end of the 1990s, he denounced the close relationship between the mafia and politics. Suffering from cancer, Buscetta finally died on April 2, 2000, at the age of 71, in North Miami, Florida, United States.

The traitor: the cast of the film

To interpret the complex role of Tommaso Buscetta there is the actor Pierfrancesco Favino, in one of the best performances of his career. Yet, initially, it seems he was about to miss out on the role, having been dissatisfied with his audition. However, he managed to coexist with Looker to give him a second chance, then astounding everyone with a particularly intense interpretation. In fact, to step into the role of the pentito, Favino conducted in-depth studies, researching details on his movements and the way of speaking about him. He then found himself gaining nine kilos in order to have a more impressive physique.

To interpret Salvatore Contorno, another mafia repentant and friend of Buscetta, there is instead the actor Louis LoCascio. He too was profoundly transformed for the role, arriving thanks to his performance to win the David di Donatello for best supporting actor. Fausto Russo Alesi is present in the role of judge Giovanni Falcone, while Fabrizio Ferracane it is Pippo Calò, one of the main accused by Buscetta. The actor Nicola Cali instead he plays the role of Totò Riina, while John Calogno is Gaetano Badalamenti. Goofy Brand appears briefly as Giulio Andreotti. The Brazilian actress Maria Fernanda Candido instead she plays Maria Cristina, Buscetta’s wife.

The traitor: the trailer and where to see the film in streaming and on TV

It is possible to enjoy the film thanks to its presence on some of the most popular streaming platforms on the net today. The traitor it is in fact available in the catalogs of Rakuten TV, Chili Cinema, Infinity, Apple iTunes, Netflix, Tim Vision and Amazon Prime Videos. To see it, once the reference platform has been chosen, it will be enough to rent the single film or subscribe to a general subscription. In this way you will be able to watch it in total comfort and at the best video quality. It should be noted that in the case of rental, there will only be a given time limit within which to view the title. The film is also present in the television schedule of Friday 26 May at 21:20 On the canal Rai 3.

Source: IMDb