Gomorrah (2008 Cannes Film Festival)

Roberto Saviano’s tell-all mafia expose provides rich narrative soil for director Matteo Garrone to weave together five stories of mob-related corruption sucking dry the Italian industrial province of Naples and Caserta. A tailor, enslaved to his occupation since childhood, two would-be teen gangsters, a pair of illicit toxic disposal contractors, and a young boy living in a drug-infested housing project, make up the indelible characters in this devastating picture of social collapse. The corrupt system, or "Camorra," that pulls the social strings of the region makes the Cosa Nostra look like nice guys by comparison. You may never want to visit southern Italy after seeing this film.

Rated R. 137 mins. (IFC Films) (A) (Five Stars)