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It took me years to find a good quality copy of this neglected and under seen Italian drama featuring an anti-fascist activist priest who has a sexual and romantic relationship with the titular character. I almost broke down and bought a DVD from Amazon UK so I could rip it.
You can now buy the DVD or the VHS tape ($99!) from Amazon US. [affiliate link]
I’ve been wanting to write about the film and maybe I’ll get around to it, eventually. In short, though, it’s a subtle and expressive exploration of sometimes contradictory themes: principled commitment vs reckless passion, exploitation vs. compassion, and naturally, the personal vs political. To its credit, these binaries aren’t expressed, which might have something to do with why it’s never been mentioned in any LGBT best-of lists by the usual suspects, at least that I’ve seen, although it would feature prominently on mine.
Sacred Silence also experiments with form, particularly in its elliptical editing patterns, disjunctive narrative structure, and exemplified in a circular pan of a pre-sex encounter between Nunzio and the priest that reminded me of similar tactics employed by Peter Wollen and Laura Mulvey in Riddles of the Sphinx.
Sacred Silence (Italian: Pianese Nunzio, 14 anni a maggio) is a 1996 Italian film directed by Antonio Capuano that deals with a Catholic priest, his pederastic relationship with a Napolitan street boy, and the domination of daily life in Southern Italy by the Camorra. The title translates as Pianese Nunzio, 14 in May and the movie was released in the US with the title Sacred Silence.
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Wikipedia
As always, the first person to comment on this post will gain access to my gay movies collection.
Loved this movie maybe because I love Italy and the cinematography is beautiful and the characters almost sociopathic and definitely lovable
Thanks for commenting, Robert. Let me know if you weren’t redirected to the link to my gay movie collection.