'Suburra' – Rome bathed in corruption and decadence

The Italian film noir ‘Suburra’ centres on the murky connections between organised crime and politics in Rome.

Based on the novel by Carlo Bonini and Giancarlo De Cataldo, the movie portrays the underbelly of the Italian capital – where sex, votes, even the priesthood can be attained at a price.

Director Stephano Sollina says: “It’s an unconventional, unportrayed part of the city because of course you probably have seen the same images – but in other contexts where Rome is a nice place to be with such a lot of historical beauties – but it (Rome) is not just this.

“It (Rome) is a huge metropolis that is governed by different powers that fight one against the other – in order to maintain, to keep, the equilibrium.”
The story centres around a gangster’s plan to turn Rome’s waterfront into a new Las Vegas.

Pierfrancesco Favino plays a politician drawn into a web of betrayal and deceit.

The actor says Rome is “a beautiful city,” but adds that, “as in every big city in the world, there are hidden parts of it. You would never have the chance to get into the political milieu or the political situation and be invited to an orgy, unless you wanted to.”

Director StefanoSollima and actor pfavino enjoying the new #suburra poster CurzonSoho pic.twitter.com/zJILRHNLs6

— SuburraFilmUK (SuburraFilmUK) June 15, 2016

The movie opened to acclaim in Italy, where it is being developed into a 10-episode series. It will be the first Italian original series on Netflix.

‘Suburra’ opens in the UK on June 24 .