Film Details:

• Film: L’abbaglio (2025)
• Director: Roberto Andò
• Cinematography: Maurizio Calvesi
• Editing: Esmeralda Calabria
• Music: Michele Braga, Emanuele Bossi
• Screenplay: Roberto Ando, Ugo Chiti, Massimo Gaudioso
• Production: Angelo Barbagallo, Attilio De Razza (Tramp Limited, BiBi Film, Rai Cinema, Medusa Film, with Netflix)
• Main Cast: Toni Servillo, Salvo Ficarra, Valentino Picone, Tommaso Ragno, Giulia Andò
• Locations: Palermo and other historical areas of Sicily.

Critical Analysis of L’Abbaglio

“L’Abbaglio” is a film that, despite moments of striking visual intensity and intriguing symbolism , ultimately capitulates to nationalistic rhetoric and a facile interpretation of Italian history. From its inception, the direction appears resolute in its message, yet consistently lacks the true courage to fully confront its subject matter. Any nascent seeds of social critique and moral ambiguity are systematically incinerated by a narrative that prioritises expedient rhetoric over complex honesty.

Characters and the Myth of Heroism Orsini emerges as the most profoundly tragic and human figure, yet his redemption arrives as a mere, pathetic attempt to assuage his conscience – a gesture rendered too late. Domenico and Rosario (Ficarra and Picone), captured and ultimately sacrificed, are reduced to mere instruments within a rhetoric that systematically denies their inherent humanity. The former nun Assuntina, initially compelled to steal and subsequently driven to seek redemption through Garibaldi, ultimately exemplifies the substitution of divine authority with a secular rhetoric that cynically legitimises all forms of violence.

Patriotic Rhetoric: Good Versus Evil The film starkly perpetuates a simplistic dichotomy: the Bourbons are depicted as absolute evil, while the Garibaldians are presented as inevitable heroes. Even when the narrative fleetingly hints at internal fissures (such as the sacrifice of Corleone or Orsini’s fleeting doubts), these are swiftly and superficially sealed by an epic aesthetic and a desperate compulsion to appease the dominant narrative.

Sicily as a Brand of Infamy The depiction of Sicily as an indelible land of mafia, underscored by anachronisms such as the use of the term “mafiosi” in 1860, and as a perpetual crucible of superstition, deliberately reinforces the insidious notion that violence is an inescapable fate inherent to the South. This constitutes a profound act of symbolic colonialism, effectively reducing Sicily to an exoticised backdrop and a moral dumping ground for the Italian unification.

Orsini’s Parable and the Final Rhetoric The epilogue in 1880, portraying Orsini’s search for survivors followed by his descent into the clandestine gambling den, irrevocably brands “L’Abbaglio” as a film devoid of ethical coherence. Orsini’s pursuit of forgiveness and redemption is ultimately a belated and futile gesture. The concluding rhetorical question “Poor Italy? The mistake?” loses all resonance because the film consistently lacked the courage to authentically portray complexity.

Conclusion “L’Abbaglio” possessed a profound opportunity to narrate history as a poignant human and political tragedy. Instead, it consciously opted for hollow aesthetics and a rhetoric that actively negates truth. History, in its unvarnished reality, is not forged by heroes, but by desperate individuals, by complicity, and by betrayal. Within this film, truth was unequivocally sacrificed in the service of a facile, consolatory epic, thereby squandering the chance to genuinely articulate the dignity and profound disillusionment of a people

Your turn to dissect. This analysis offers a perspective on “L’Abbaglio,” challenging its narratives and underlining its ethical oversights. Do you concur with this critique, or does your engagement with the film reveal different layers of complicity or resistance? Share your unvarnished insights below; we welcome critical discourse that pushes beyond the surface.