Review of La banda Grossi

This is a true story and a realistic historical film about forgotten people in a forgotten place. The film is set in 1860. While Garibaldi is hogging the national spotlight we go to the Marche region of central Italy about 200 km from Rome. It's not a glamorous or a famous place, but it's a beautiful place as the photography in this film reveals. Neither are the characters glamorous or famous or beautiful. They are real people: poor farmers, carabinieri drafted by the king, landed gentry, a priest, outlaws. Nobody is particularly saintly and then again nobody is purely evil. The characters are believeable and realistic. This is not a story about heros who wrench power from the aristocracy, because they fail at doing that. This is not about the glory of a recently unified Italy, the focus is much too close to be aware of national politics. It's the story of frustrated and angry peasants trying to fight back against a system that for centuries has exploited and wronged them. It's the story of humble people trying to achieve justice during social and political upheavals that are so much larger than them.