Marino Pacileo is a lonely man. He is seen performing his daily routine going to his job in a Neapolitan penitentiary. Everybody calls him Gorbaciof because of the birthmark on his forehead, which reminds people of the former Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev. Pacileo walks with a swagger which denotes he is confident about himself. His job consists in taking money from the relatives of inmates, although it is not explained why they pay. At the end of the day, he takes the money to be locked in a safe. We watch as he puts some bills in his pocket.
His days end up in the back room of a Chinese restaurant, where a corrupt lawyer holds nightly poker games. Gorbaciof has a terrible gambling addiction which consumes him and makes him "borrow" some of the money in order to satisfy his gambling. He feels an attraction for Lila, the lovely young daughter of the owner of the restaurant, who is himself an addict to the game. Pacileo senses the father will end up sacrificing Lila to a life of prostitution, something he wants to thwart, for he has to come to love the girl.
"Gorbaciof" directed by Stefano Incerti is not interested in clarifying for the viewer specifics about Pacileo's behavior. The director collaborated to the screenplay with Diego de Silva. It is an enigmatic story because of what is not being said, rather for the revelations on the life of this strange man who hardly utters a word throughout the story. We realize he must have suffer the loss of a loved one. Could it be a wife, or a child? We follow him to a cemetery where he sits and contemplate a humble grave. Pacileo, who sports wide sideburns and evidently does not care to dress, is seen in the only one suit he possesses, as it appears everything is secondary to him, except his addiction to poker.
Toni Servillo gives another "tour de force" portraying this strange man with a peculiar walk who gets deeply in debt to the bad lawyer who beats him playing poker. Mr. Servillo is an intense actor who gets under the skin of any of the characters he is asked to play. Without saying much, he speaks volumes in the way he is seen walking the streets of the Chinese section of Naples, in the metro, or outsmarting the man he owes a lot of money. Mini Yang is the sweet Lila. Geppi Gleijeses is effective as the lawyer and Nello Mascia is seen as the jail's superior who lets Gorbaciof think he is getting away with his stealing, but who wants something in return.
Pasquale Mari photographed Naples as it is seldom seen. TehoTeardo composed the music score, which plays well in the background. Stefano Incerti delivers a taut film and gets a fantastic performance by his star, Toni Seevillo.
His days end up in the back room of a Chinese restaurant, where a corrupt lawyer holds nightly poker games. Gorbaciof has a terrible gambling addiction which consumes him and makes him "borrow" some of the money in order to satisfy his gambling. He feels an attraction for Lila, the lovely young daughter of the owner of the restaurant, who is himself an addict to the game. Pacileo senses the father will end up sacrificing Lila to a life of prostitution, something he wants to thwart, for he has to come to love the girl.
"Gorbaciof" directed by Stefano Incerti is not interested in clarifying for the viewer specifics about Pacileo's behavior. The director collaborated to the screenplay with Diego de Silva. It is an enigmatic story because of what is not being said, rather for the revelations on the life of this strange man who hardly utters a word throughout the story. We realize he must have suffer the loss of a loved one. Could it be a wife, or a child? We follow him to a cemetery where he sits and contemplate a humble grave. Pacileo, who sports wide sideburns and evidently does not care to dress, is seen in the only one suit he possesses, as it appears everything is secondary to him, except his addiction to poker.
Toni Servillo gives another "tour de force" portraying this strange man with a peculiar walk who gets deeply in debt to the bad lawyer who beats him playing poker. Mr. Servillo is an intense actor who gets under the skin of any of the characters he is asked to play. Without saying much, he speaks volumes in the way he is seen walking the streets of the Chinese section of Naples, in the metro, or outsmarting the man he owes a lot of money. Mini Yang is the sweet Lila. Geppi Gleijeses is effective as the lawyer and Nello Mascia is seen as the jail's superior who lets Gorbaciof think he is getting away with his stealing, but who wants something in return.
Pasquale Mari photographed Naples as it is seldom seen. TehoTeardo composed the music score, which plays well in the background. Stefano Incerti delivers a taut film and gets a fantastic performance by his star, Toni Seevillo.
