Mondocane

Name: Mondocane
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi
Released: May 20, 2022
Duration: 110 min
Rating: 45
Cast: Alessandro Borghi, Barbara Ronchi, Dennis Protopapa, Federica Torchetti, Francesco Simon

2022

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Mixed or average reviews based on 6 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 4 Ratings

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6.5	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 4 Ratings

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Mondocane (US Trailer 1)

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Movie Details & Credits

Kino Lorber | Release Date: May 20, 2022 | Not Rated

Starring: Alessandro Borghi, Barbara Ronchi, Dennis Protopapa, Federica Torchetti, Francesco Simon, Giuliano Soprano, Giuseppe Boscicchio, Josafat Vagni, Ludovica Nasti, Valerio Volpe

Summary: In the not-too-distant future on Italy’s southern coast, the city of Taranto has become a toxic wasteland ruled by warring gangs and surrounded by barbed wire, where best friends Pietro (nicknamed Mondocane) and Cristian (nicknamed Pisspants) dream of escaping their hardscrabble existence for a better life in nearby New Taranto. OpportunityIn the not-too-distant future on Italy’s southern coast, the city of Taranto has become a toxic wasteland ruled by warring gangs and surrounded by barbed wire, where best friends Pietro (nicknamed Mondocane) and Cristian (nicknamed Pisspants) dream of escaping their hardscrabble existence for a better life in nearby New Taranto. Opportunity knocks when Hothead, the charismatic and dangerous leader of a local gang called the Ants, recruits the two boys and gives them everything they fantasized about: money in their pockets, a family, and a father figure. The friendship begins to splinter, though, as Cristian displays a surprising talent for mayhem and quickly rises through the ranks. With a new female friend pushing them further apart, an obsessed cop hounding the gang, and Hothead becoming increasingly unhinged, the boys barrel toward a confrontation that will determine if their bond is strong enough to survive. … Expand

Director: Alessandro Celli

Genre(s): Action, Sci-Fi

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 110 min

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Critic Reviews

Michael Talbot-Haynes

May 26, 2022

Mondocane is the finest Italian post-apocalypse movie ever made. Read full review

Movie Nation Roger Moore

May 19, 2022

Mondocane is a mixed bag, as its sci-fi without really committing to that, “Oliver Twist” without the warmth, entirely too predictable for stretches and entirely too frustrating in its finale. Read full review

Jeannette Catsoulis

May 19, 2022

At its grungy heart, Alessandro Celli’s Mondocane is about the dissolution of a friendship. Yet this cynical, near-future crime thriller, with its Hunger Games morality and Mad Max aesthetic, is too busy glamorizing cruelty to allow its central relationship to resonate. Read full review

William Bibbiani

May 21, 2022

Although the film takes place in a dystopian near future, the story rarely reveals any meaningful information about how society functions after an environmental collapse, or indeed portrays hardly any scene as though it could take place only within the confines of Mondocane. Read full review

IndieWire Robert Daniels

May 19, 2022

This Italian post-apocalyptic film from director Alessandro Celli angles for child soldier depravity without any of the heart. Read full review

The Film Stage Ethan Vestby

May 20, 2022

For what’s supposed to be a post-apocalyptic landscape, what you get seems more like an unremarkable city that a tourist’s European train-ride barrels through. If anything, something so wholly dependent on parts from the past to depict the future is the most dystopian prospect. Read full review

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User Reviews

Brent_Marchant

Jun 10, 2022

In a world of the future characterized by environmental degradation, rampant brutal crime, out-of-control gang activity, and an ever-widening gap between haves and have-nots, life is a struggle for those who've been left to fend for themselves. Such is the case for a pair of Italian teenageIn a world of the future characterized by environmental degradation, rampant brutal crime, out-of-control gang activity, and an ever-widening gap between haves and have-nots, life is a struggle for those who've been left to fend for themselves. Such is the case for a pair of Italian teenage street urchins living by their wits to survive. They have few choices, and most of them aren't good. And, as their story unfolds, matters tend to go from bad to worse. These are the circumstances graphically depicted in director Alessandro Celli's allegorical debut narrative feature, whose story realistically could be as much about the present as it is about what's to come. Because of that, this cautionary tale that echoes elements of "Blade Runner" (1982) and the "Mad Max" franchise isn't especially revelatory but serves more as yet another reminder of where we're headed as a civilization, one that will probably be seen more as an action-adventure entertainment vehicle than a statement meant to be taken as a warning. The picture's tendency to meander, its lack of narrative specifics in some regards and its incomplete resolution of several story threads don't help, either, despite the screenplay's noteworthy introduction of a number of intriguing concepts and characters. The bottom line here is that this release could have used some script tweaking and tighter editing to make for a better offering -- and it's unfortunate that these measures weren't implemented.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

alanpotter17

Jun 30, 2023

Mesmo que o filme tenha como base uma pegada meio apocalíptica e distópica, o grande destaque fica por conta de elementos tradicionais, como a simples simbiose da dupla protagonista e a fotografia, eu particularmente achei lindo o tom amarelado do filme.
Mas o roteiro, é não apenasMesmo que o filme tenha como base uma pegada meio apocalíptica e distópica, o grande destaque fica por conta de elementos tradicionais, como a simples simbiose da dupla protagonista e a fotografia, eu particularmente achei lindo o tom amarelado do filme.
Mas o roteiro, é não apenas superficial, mas completamente chato, sem um envolvimento. Você vai acompanhando os dois visitarem vários arcos e lugares, e você simplesmente se pergunta o que é tudo aquilo à volta, não há uma maior explicação. O olhar e passeio perdido deles se torna o nosso. A busca pela sobrevivência, misturada com inocência mas também com um instinto malicioso, eleva a amizade dos dois a ponto de nos fazer manter o interesse, mas fora isso o que sobre é um punhado de cenas onde mostra o poder das hierarquias em ambientes hostis, os recursos escassos, e a insalubridade das locações como ambientes onde se dá todo o cenário do filme.
A grande questão aqui é que tudo ficou ao mesmo tempo aleatório e mal desenvolvido. Não se tem, por exemplo, os vilões centrais, ou uma trama bem delineada, é como jogar um RPG de ambiente aberto e vai-se desbravando os lugares mais insólitos possíveis.
Diante de tudo isso, o tom épico cede lugar a uma enxurrada de esquetes mal conectadas entre si, como se fossem produzidas por devaneios, e só servem mesmo para contemplarmos a multifacetada amizade dos garotos. As cenas de ação, então, tornam-se burocráticas demais, feitas para dar uma movimentada naquilo que já nasce vazio.
Eu sinceramente optaria por um clima um pouco mais contemplativo e explorava mais a relação dos meninos. O final devastador mostra a crueza por essa luta pela sobrevivência, e sendo uma decisão corajosa, é um dos acertos do filme, que não é de todo ruim.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

TomHorn76

Aug 14, 2023

It's always refreshing to see a film from Italy that is close to the genre and not set in the mafia milieu. At first glance, Mondocane with its slight SF and end-time flair seems a welcome change. At least until you realize that this story of two friends falling out over moral differencesIt's always refreshing to see a film from Italy that is close to the genre and not set in the mafia milieu. At first glance, Mondocane with its slight SF and end-time flair seems a welcome change. At least until you realize that this story of two friends falling out over moral differences has been seen many times before. And that this topos is also often used in mafia films.
The world in which Mondocane takes place is said to be in an indefinite but near future. The script keeps a low profile in terms of dates and developments. It establishes no narrative, reveals no context, only snippets of it.
Anyway, too many questions remain unanswered as to how this microcosm in Taranto actually works.
If the setting doesn't give much, the main focus is automatically on the characters. As already noted, the story about Pietro and Christian develops archetypally.
Technically, however, the makers can hardly be accused of anything. The staging, like the narration, is very tight. Camera work and image design are extremely pleasing.
In the end, Mondocane offers a rather pleasant, if uninspiring, passing two hours of film. The only thing missing is a bit the salt in the soup.… Expand

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