Hammamet
RAIBettino Craxi has been one of the most controversial political figures in recent history; his political choices and his overall way of ruling Italy left the country with enormous debts and in 1992 he was at the centre of a nationwide judicial investigation into corruption known as Mani Pulite. After being accused and sentenced, Craxi ran away to Hammamet, in Tunisi, where he asked for political asylum and obtained protection thanks to his friend and politic Ben Ali. He remained there for seven years, until his death, never spending a day in prison.
Gianni Amelio’s new feature film, Hammamet, follows the last period of Craxi’s life in the titular city. The director does not explore the consequences of the man’s actions and instead focuses on Craxi’s relationships with his family and close friends, without offering a political backstory to the audience.
After the terrific portrayal of Tommaso Buscetta in Il Traditore, Pierfrancesco Favino has been given another chance to show his versatility by playing Bettino Craxi, a more subdued role than the Cosa Nostra gangster.
Favino effectively embodies the mannerisms and tone of voice of Craxi, but, unfortunately, the movie wastes his notable performance. In that, every relationship developed either lacks engagement, like the one that embroils his daughter, or is dull and pointless. Each scene involving Craxi and Fausto is off due to the distracting performance from Luca Filippi. The young actor is over the top in every mannerism, particularly in the weird gaze that Filippi held throughout the movie.
There are only a few sequences that are worth checking out; the first one being where Bettino Craxi encounters a group of Italian tourists who begin to accuse the ex-minister of stealing their money. In this scene, Craxi shows a more cynical and egoistic side of the man, responding in a bitter way to the accusations. The other good sequence comes towards the end where Craxi, on the brink of death, has a nightmarish vision where he is on a stage being taunted by two comics because of his politics.
Hammamet is a disappointing feature and, given the subject matter, a far more complex movie could have been developed; one that could have implemented a political subtext to his central figure, briefly explored the aftermath of Craxi’s politics or touched upon Silvio’s Berlusconi rise to Prime Minister.