“New Cinema Monument”: Rated 4.1 out of 5, this “amazing true story” can be seen in theaters

After Traitor (2019), which focuses on the journey of the famous repentant mobster Tommaso Buschetta, Marco Bellocchio signs, with passion, another ambitious film that tells a fascinating true story: the Mortara case, in which a six-year-old Jewish boy. Abducted by papal authorities in the 19th century for Catholic education.

This historical drama, which was released in cinemas this week (after its presentation at the recent Cannes festival), has been very well received by the French press, with an average rating of 4.1/5 (30 for media).

What are you doing?

In 1858, in the Jewish quarter of Bologna, papal soldiers broke into the home of the Mortara family. At the order of the cardinal, they came to take their seven-year-old son, Edgardo. The child was secretly baptized by a nurse as a child, and the pontifical law is indisputable: he must receive a Catholic education.

Edgardo’s parents, upset, will do anything to get their son back. With the support of liberal Italy and the public opinion of the international Jewish community, Mortara’s struggle quickly took on a political dimension. But the Church and the Pope refuse to return the child, establishing an increasingly shaky power…

What does the press think?

According to the latest news from Alsace:

Marco Bellocchio, one of the greatest living Italian filmmakers, creates a pamphlet masterpiece against obscurantism with a masterful representation of sublime classicism. Natalie Chifflett 5/5

According to La Voix du Nord:

“Deceptively classical, this intimate fresco is filled with operatic and moving sequences, shot in chiaroscuro that sometimes gives them a baroque tone. The dramatic power of the story won us over.” (Christophe Caron) 5/5

According to Le Point:

“Treating the art of chiaroscuro like no one else, Marco Bellocchio, accompanying his baroque melodrama with thunderous music, offers a wonderful fresco – the photograph is excellent – a real plea against fanaticism of all kinds.” (Victoria Ghairin) 5/5

According to Ecran Large:

“Abduction is a historical mural of absolute beauty, with heart-wrenching family dramas and fabulous ideas to shake off the classicism of the genre.” (Alexander Janowiak) 4/5

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According to L’Obs:

“That this excellent film, ending with an incredible sequence in which Edgardo gives nothing away, was ignored by the jury at the recent Cannes Film Festival is surprising. Too classic? Too formal? It doesn’t last a moment.” (Sophie Grassini) 4/5

According to La Croix:

“Based on this whole image, reinforced by the ubiquity of religious symbols, the film reflects its oppressive character and makes it a success of the genre.” (Celine Rudden) 4/5

According to aVoir-aLire.com:

“Marco Bellocchio signs one of his best films with this historical drama that subtly mixes lyricism and social criticism.” (Gerard Crespo) 4/5

According to the Prime Minister:

“Everything is in its place, magnificently composed, but still there is a feeling that the essence is missing. His staging only reaches transcendence and begins. We wanted to see Bellocchio as the Comencini of the ‘misunderstood’, which would make a great film of the cruelty of the adult world of the frightened and tormented child seen with the eyes”. (Thomas Baura) 3/5