A film that succeeds in the impossible task of holding together Totò, Alfred Hitchcock and an exceptional cast
A maze of intrigue, blackmail, love and subterfuge in Naples as you’ve never before seen it
Forget the Naples of postcards, showing the gulf with Mount Vesuvius in the background. Yes, there is a mandolin, but it’s not here to help us find our way to the calming embrace of folklore. The city that hosts this maze of intertwined stories is a theatre of murky scenes, giving a convincing impression of reality. Totò, the leading figure of Neapolitan culture, is placed beside a figure who seems totally out of place: Alfred Hitchcock. Surprisingly, the pairing of these two characters works. Mystery, blackmail, love, subterfuge, cons and betrayals all happen at such a fast pace that the viewer inevitably gets dragged in. Even the cast, at first sight, seems impossible to hold together: Marcello Mastroianni, Ornella Muti, Renato Pozzetto, Michel Piccoli, Zeudi Araya and Peppino De Filippo (in his final role). Yet each of them is perfectly suited for the role they play in the tapestry of the story.
Raffaele Capece is a mandolin teacher constantly short of cash. He performs in the street to earn money to pay the debts of his father, an inveterate gambler. He finds himself unwittingly involved in three mysterious crimes, revolving around an extraordinary group of characters. Resolving the intricate mystery would mean earning a substantial sum of money.
A film that succeeds in the impossible task of holding together Totò, Alfred Hitchcock and an exceptional cast
A maze of intrigue, blackmail, love and subterfuge in Naples as you’ve never before seen it
Forget the Naples of postcards, showing the gulf with Mount Vesuvius in the background. Yes, there is a mandolin, but it’s not here to help us find our way to the calming embrace of folklore. The city that hosts this maze of intertwined stories is a theatre of murky scenes, giving a convincing impression of reality. Totò, the leading figure of Neapolitan culture, is placed beside a figure who seems totally out of place: Alfred Hitchcock. Surprisingly, the pairing of these two characters works. Mystery, blackmail, love, subterfuge, cons and betrayals all happen at such a fast pace that the viewer inevitably gets dragged in. Even the cast, at first sight, seems impossible to hold together: Marcello Mastroianni, Ornella Muti, Renato Pozzetto, Michel Piccoli, Zeudi Araya and Peppino De Filippo (in his final role). Yet each of them is perfectly suited for the role they play in the tapestry of the story.
Raffaele Capece is a mandolin teacher constantly short of cash. He performs in the street to earn money to pay the debts of his father, an inveterate gambler. He finds himself unwittingly involved in three mysterious crimes, revolving around an extraordinary group of characters. Resolving the intricate mystery would mean earning a substantial sum of money.
