The Couchpotatoes
A Ciambra is set in Calabria, a beautiful region of Italy, but that's not what you get to see. Instead you get to see the dark side of Gypsie life, the life we all think about when it comes to Gypsies. At least that's what I've always been told here in Europe, to not trust the Gypsies as they are raised thieving. I don't think there are much people thinking differently about Gypsies here and I don't think it will change after watching this movie. Because thieving and deceiving are the major points of this dark movie. I wonder what the Gypsies think about this movie? Are they proud of them being portrayed like that? In this case they used a real Gypsie family as the actors, almost playing themselves. The Amato's are not the kind of Hollywood actors we all know, without flaws, beautiful and tanned, but they are real and that makes this movie exceptionnal. Pio Amato is the youngest brother of the family, and the story turns around him, watching and learning how to provide for the family. Unfortunately that is by thieving. It looks like stealing is their only way to survive. For not so professional actors I thought they did a brilliant job. A Ciambra is a simple but good movie to watch, a drama that won't change the opinion most people have about Gypsie life I'm afraid.
lukasserwir
This film drags you into the world of Pio, the main character, from the very first shot to the last, making you descend very slowly and blissful back onto your seat, long after the lights have gone on. Unblended cinema magic! You could feel the passion and heart that was put into this throughout; the filming took more than 90 days (wich is abnormally long) but this care and eagerness to bring Pio's world to life in a pure and enthralling way is reflected upon every scene. An important reason for this was probably the characters who felt delightfully authentic, not infected by hollywoodian handsome faces but (apparently the director also used real people from the area) real human faces of wich you simply couldn't doubt there truth and were going straight into your heart. Another decisive factor in the film's relish was beyond a doubt the dynamic and beautiful camera work, capturing the streets of South-Italy and it's powerful faces in warm colours and shifting it's close focus across the action. At the same time A Ciambra shifts your own focus upon Pio's social reality, offering you an absorbing and enriching window upon this poor region in Italy in the spirit of Italian neorealism.
Morten_5
28th STOCKHOLM INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL. DAY 3, NOV 10th 2017. "A Ciambra" (2017) premiered in Sweden at the festival on Nov 8th.A soundtrack and score vibrating with the power of life. An authenticity rarely seen and felt. Friendship, dreams and desperation.The second feature by Italian-American writer-director Jonas Carpignano, "A Ciambra" (2017) is shot with amateur Romani actors, more or less portraying themselves. In 2014, he made a 16 minutes short with the same title and main character/actor, depicting one night in his life.
chong_an
In Italy, gypsies have been settled into low-rise apartment blocks. Grandpa is nostalgic about the time when they were nomads, represented in the film by a horse. The story is about his grandson, a 14-year- old who wants to be considered an adult and join the family business. While he is given training, he is always told to stay home. However, when all the adult males are rounded up by police, he springs into action, collecting ransom for cars, stealing, selling drugs, etc. He is assisted by his African best friend, a point of irony as the blacks are looked down upon by the gypsies. Eventually, he has to decide whether to betray his friend.I saw this at the Toronto International Film Festival, where the director pointed out that the extended gypsy family was a real family of non-actors, and the script was based on stories they told of their lives. The portrait is of a culture where crime is their main source of income, and formal education is not valued (even though the boy has to get a girl to read him a text message on his phone). While the director has obvious sympathy for the gypsies, to many others it will serve as a warning to keep these people far from our shores.
AD
