Excellent Cadavers

The pernicious influence of the Mafia on modern Italian history is the subject of Marco Turco's impassioned documentary Excellent Cadavers, which offers some background data on the internecine struggles within the Mafia that led to increasing levels of public violence in the 1970s. But the real focus here is on the investigation of the organization by prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino in the 1980s, which ushered in the so-called Palermo Maxi-Trial of hundreds of defendants, followed by a retaliation that included the assassination of Falcone and Borsellino in 1992. Artfully combining narration by Alexander Stille (on whose book the script is based), archival news footage, interviews with journalists and members of the judiciary, and stills (many of the most powerful—and frequently gruesome—taken by photojournalist Letizia Battaglia), the film also features especially poignant excerpts of interviews with Falcone and Borsellino. But Excellent Cadavers goes beyond the strictly legal aspects of the tale to point out the role of the Mafia in Italian politics since World War II, highlighting the ways in which various leaders have in effect colluded with the powerful criminal enterprise in order to bolster their party's electoral chances. The documentary takes particular aim at former Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti, who was actually tried on charges related to alleged Mafia ties, as well as the recently ousted regime of Silvio Berlusconi, which aimed to water down laws that could be used to prosecute mob activity. Ultimately, the film both celebrates the courageous few who have used their official positions to take on the Sicilian Mafia, and condemns the political culture that has undermined their efforts up to and including the present day. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)