Sicilian Ghost Story (2017)

Bizarre, Stylish Mystery/Crime/Fantasy Drama - Sicilian Ghost Story review by GI

A moody, enigmatic drama that is very stylish and with it's elements of fantasy attached it is both bewildering and intriguing even though it's narrative ideas mask an horrendous crime and it's not until the final scenes that the shock of it hits you. Luna (Julia Jedlikowska) is a 12 year old girl besotted with her classmate Guiseppe (Gaetano Fernandez). They share a kind of young love nurtured by secret adventures in the nearby forest. But when Guiseppe inexplicably disappears Luna struggles with the wall of silence that is drawn over him by his family, the school and the authorities. In fact the film reveals that Guiseppe has been abducted by the mafia as his father has been informing on them to the police. Luna decides she will find him at all costs but her search is an emotional one as she fantasises about the Guiseppe she remembers but his real self is gradually withering under the confinement conditions. There's a sense of a supernatural connection that Luna is drawn to as she become increasingly obsessed by Guiseppe's location and the need to be with him. A strange film, almost a Sicilian Love Story, with a nice visual style and a sense of mystery that does dissipate as the film runs on a little too long. Interesting though.