Black Souls (Italian: Anime nere) is a 2014 Italian-French crime drama film directed by Francesco Munzi. It was nominated for the Golden Lion at the 71st Venice International Film Festival.[1][2] It was also selected to be screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.[3]

Black Souls
Film poster
Directed byFrancesco Munzi
Written byFrancesco Munzi
Gioacchino Criaco
Starring
CinematographyVladan Radovic
Edited byCristiano Travaglioli
Music byGiuliano Taviani
Release dates
  • 29 August 2014 (2014-08-29) (Venice)
  • 18 September 2014 (2014-09-18) (Italy)
Running time
103 minutes
CountriesItaly
France
LanguagesItalian
Calabrese

Plot

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Luigi is a member of the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta and an international drug dealer, linked to powerful South American crime groups. His elder brother Rocco lives in Milan with his wife Valeria and their daughter. He does not approve of his younger brother's lifestyle and is in construction business. Luciano, the eldest of the three brothers, has remained in Calabria tending his goats in the mountains, with the illusory goal of remaining uninvolved with his brothers' illegal businesses.

Leo, the young and rancorous son of Luciano, in response to an insult shoots up the exterior of a bar protected by a rival clan of 'Ndrangheta, who had already been offended by Luigi's refusal to trade with them. Their history goes deep, however; Luigi hates them because their boss killed his father many years before.

The rival clan demands that Luigi supply them with drugs, but this only motivates Luigi to return to his hometown to take them on, initially by strengthening his links with other families. However, before he is able to carry out his plans Luigi is summarily killed in the street. Rocco, arriving from Milan, is determined to take revenge but, before acting, he wants to know if his family is isolated or if it can count on the support of the other crime families. Leo, on the other hand, having had a strong attachment to his deceased uncle Luigi, feels that his duty is to solve things alone. He plans to kill the enemy boss, but is betrayed by his accomplice and killed. This upsets everyone involved, particularly his father Luciano who, after burning photos of his own father who died years before in an ambush by the rival clan, returns home, kills his younger brother Rocco, and seems as if he contemplates a suicide which would complete the extermination of all the men of his family and thus the lineage of violence.

Cast

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Reception

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Critical response

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Black Souls has an approval rating of 91% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 53 reviews, and an average rating of 7.4/10. The website's critical consensus states: "Black Souls works within familiar themes to explore intelligent -- and thrillingly entertaining -- dramatic arcs that plunge into the deliciously dark depths of Mafia crime".[4] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 76 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[5]

Awards and nominations

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Awards
Award Category Recipients and nominees Result
71st Venice International Film Festival[6][7] Golden Lion Francesco Munzi Nominated
Pasinetti Award for Best Film Francesco Munzi Won
Mimmo Rotella Fondation Award Luigi Musini Won
Carlo Mazzacurati - Quality Screen Award Francesco Munzi Won
Akai Award for Best Direction Francesco Munzi Won
60th David di Donatello Awards[8] Best Film Cinemaundici, Babe Films and Rai Cinema Won
Best Director Francesco Munzi Won
Best Script Francesco Munzi, Fabrizio Ruggirello & Maurizio Braucci Won
Best Producer Cinemaundici, Babe Films and Rai Cinema Won
Best Actor Fabrizio Ferracane Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Barbora Bobulova Nominated
Best Cinematography Vladan Radovic Won
Best Sets and Decorations Luca Servino Nominated
Best Costumes Marina Roberti Nominated
Best Makeup Sonia Maione Nominated
Best Hairstyling Rodolfo Sifari Nominated
Best Editing Cristiano Travaglioli Won
Best Sound Stefano Campus Won
Best Score Giuliano Taviani Won
Best Song Giuliano Taviani and Massimo De Lorenzo Won
Youngs' David Francesco Munzi Nominated

References

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  1. ^ "International competition of feature films". Venice. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  2. ^ "Venice Film Festival Lineup Announced". Deadline. 24 July 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  3. ^ "TIFF Adds 'Clouds of Sils Maria' and 'Two Days, One Night,' Reveals 5 More Lineups". Indiewire. 12 August 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  4. ^ "Black Souls". Rotten Tomatoes.
  5. ^ "Black Souls". Metacritic.
  6. ^ "Festival di Venezia 2014: ecco tutti i premi della 71ma Mostra del Cinema". 6 September 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  7. ^ "Venezia71, Anime Nere vince il Premio Akai, migliori attori Antonori e Forte - Foto - La Nuova di Venezia". 5 September 2014. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  8. ^ "David di Donatello 2015, le cinquine: 16 nomination per "Anime nere", 14 per Martone". 11 May 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
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