The Traitor (2019)

Thanks partly to a late start on my part, I didn't connect with the Meetup group that invited me to this showing, even afterward. Still, I overheard many people discussing it as they left, so I got a good sense of prevailing emotions. It's not the kind of movie you can be quiet about once you've seen it.

Based on a true story and spanning decades, it begins when Tommaso Buscetta is already established as Don Masino, "the Boss of Two Worlds." When he's served a fair amount of time for drug trafficking in Brazil and lost far too many relatives to infighting in the Sicilian Mafia (or Cosa Nostra, as they prefer to call it), he decides to spill all kinds of secrets to the legal authorities. This is almost unprecedented at the time, and you can guess how dangerous it is, especially in areas where Cosa Nostra is actually popular.

It's hard to see Buscetta as a hero, given his high rank in the underworld, but his testimony, while downplaying his own crimes, does lead to hundreds of convictions. In his own mind, he's not the traitor; the Mafiosi who lack the relative civility of their predecessors are. He calls the better old-school ones "Men of Honor," a perception not widely shared by more law-abiding citizens. I trust his stated reasons for turning informant and do not begrudge him his natural death in old age.

I can't help thinking of the Godfather trilogy, not least the first entry with its nearly genteel Don Vito. (Scorsese mobster flicks focus on the crasser elements.) But TT stands out among my viewings for bringing a primarily Italian perspective, judging from the dominant language and casting. And might I say, Italian has a knack for vulgarity in anger.

I'm afraid it's hard to find good information about the film, since it hasn't gotten much attention in the English-speaking world yet. I can confirm some of its accuracy by looking up articles on Buscetta, but I'm having trouble piecing together a few of the events. Maybe they shouldn't be all that important to us. Unless you're a historian or have your own family history involved, what matters is the gist.

That gist includes plenty of violence, sometimes enhanced by skilled cinematography. It's especially harsh early on, when scene after scene depicts Sicilians getting killed, usually by surprise. And not always just shooting. No wonder Buscetta had had enough.

The courtroom scenes interested me on several levels. First, the contemporary Italian system has numerous features that, while strict, look highly irregular to my American eyes. Second, the men on trial often make a half-concerted effort to flout the system while putting on an image of innocence. Third, the cross-examinations are extra heated.

At least one character provides a modicum of comic relief. He has trouble speaking intelligible Italian and even more trouble with English when he moves to Florida. Too bad the subtitles don't capture how problematic the former is.

I don't consider TT a must-see. There have been other screen adaptations of the Buscetta story, including a more esteemed one in Italian. But neither is this a waste of time.