Renato De Maria
Italian Gangster

THE REVIEW

Italian Gangster is a 2015 documentary directed by Renato De Maria.

It illustrates the deeds of Italian bandits who gained infamy in the crime reports of the post-war period in Italy.

Ezio Barbieri (1922-2018) “The leader of the Aprilia nera gang.” He shared a cell with Sante Pollastri (sante the bandit is really frightening).

Paolo Casaroli (1925-1993) “The leader of the Casaroli gang.”

Paolo Cavallero “Cavallero gang at the barrier of Milan.” In '68, he is portrayed by Gian Maria Volonté in the film “Banditi a Milano” by Carlo Lizzani. He would spend 25 years in prison.

Luciano De Maria (1930-2010), famous for the '58 robbery on Via Osoppo at the armored car, with the old lady passing among the robbers and telling them “go to laurà!” and De Maria in the midst of the shootout responds “ma'am, but we are working!”

Horst Fantazzini (1939-2001), the gentleman robber, criminal first, writer later.

Luciano Lutring (1937-2013) with the machine gun in the violin case, will become a painter.

The structure of the documentary is interesting. The 6 characters (in search of an actor) are played by 6 young actors. We get to know them through their stories and voices, which are the result of various interviews that the real bandits actually gave at the time to journalists of the stature of Enzo Biagi and Indro Montanelli. During the narrations (alternating, each bandit had his gang and his area), archival images are inserted, or images from films that aren’t necessarily related to their lives but in some way are connected to that historical period.

In a span of about twenty years, these bandits executed many million-dollar heists, sometimes without firing a shot “the perfect robbery of De Maria” 590 million stolen.

They operated in Northern Italy, between Turin, Bologna, and Milan.

Through their testimonies, a “classic” psychological profile doesn’t emerge, which often suggests that a criminal becomes such due to reasons linked to poverty, a difficult environment, lack of work, or the absence of a family. Sure, post-war Italy was in ruins, but the bandits very “honestly” tell of becoming such out of “vocation” more than necessity or even by chance, as seen in De Maria's criminal debut: «One day my aunt asked me to go pay a bill at the post office. I went. But the clerk was slow, and I slammed my fist on the counter. In the movement, the fake gun I carried under my belt was visible. The clerk thought it was a robbery and handed me the money. I thought: “Is it that easy?” And I left with the loot.»

Moreover, someone became a bandit out of rebellion, a revolt against the system, someone quotes Brecht: “it is more criminal to establish a bank than to rob one.”

Anarchists, communists, rebels, bold, daring yet at the same time professionals. They meticulously planned the hits, but casualties would happen, and they wouldn’t be few.

The police searched for them in notorious suburbs, but they were living it up in 5-star hotels, mingling in the jet-set among politicians, industry captains, princes, and princesses.

In portraying this slice of crime reports from Italy that was, albeit very captivating, Italian Gangster has the merit of maintaining a formal rigor and detachment without emphasizing, judging, dramatizing, yet at the same time manages, thanks also to the skill of the performers, to show us something of the personalities of these geniuses of evil. Also interesting is the soundtrack, which blends modern sounds with archival images, curated by the director himself.