A ruthless Mafia hit-man shows his soft side in this Italian noir from filmmakers Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza. We meet Salvo (Saleh Bakri) on a Palermo street, where he dispatches a bevy of rival killers who are trying to assassinate him. Salvo then takes out the man who hired them, but can't bring himself to kill the victim's sister, Rita (Sara Serraiocco), a beautiful blind girl. Instead, Salvo takes her to an abandoned building where he holds her captive, treating her gently until his boss shows up to demand that he get rid of the inconvenient witness. Salvo does a good job of depicting the title character's empty life—he rents a dreary room from a couple who fret over his failure to eat enough—but is less successful in bringing much depth to Rita (whose sudden recovery of at least partial sight at a crucial moment breaks the realistic mood). Nonetheless, Salvo exudes a strong sense of place and a menacing atmosphere as it generates considerable suspense, especially in the final stretch. Recommended. (F. Swietek)
Salvo
Film Movement, 108 min., in Italian w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $24.95, Jan. 6 Volume 30, Issue 2
Salvo
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