The Traitor

Name: The Traitor
Genre: Biography, Drama, Crime
Released: January 31, 2020
Duration: 153 min
Rating: 64
Cast: Alessio Praticò, Bebo Storti, Bruno Cariello, Fabrizio Ferracane, Fausto Russo Alesi

2020

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 22 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 19 Ratings

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6.8	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 19 Ratings

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The Traitor

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Movie Details & Credits

| Release Date: January 31, 2020 | Not Rated

Starring: Alessio Praticò, Bebo Storti, Bruno Cariello, Fabrizio Ferracane, Fausto Russo Alesi, Gabriele Arena, Giovanni Calcagno, Jacopo Garfagnoli, Luigi Lo Cascio, Maria Fernanda Cândido, Massimiliano Ubaldi, Nicola Calì, Nino Porzio, Pierfrancesco Favino, Vincenzo Pirrotta

Summary: In the early 1980’s, an all out war rages between Sicilian mafia bosses over the heroin trade. Tommaso Buscetta, a made man, flees to hide out in Brazil. Back home, scores are being settled and Buscetta watches from afar as his sons and brother are killed in Palermo, knowing he may be next. Arrested and extradited to Italy by the BrazilianIn the early 1980’s, an all out war rages between Sicilian mafia bosses over the heroin trade. Tommaso Buscetta, a made man, flees to hide out in Brazil. Back home, scores are being settled and Buscetta watches from afar as his sons and brother are killed in Palermo, knowing he may be next. Arrested and extradited to Italy by the Brazilian police, Buscetta makes a decision that will change everything for the Mafia: He decides to meet with Judge Giovanni Falcone and betray the eternal vow he made to the Cosa Nostra.… Expand

Director: Marco Bellocchio

Genre(s): Biography, Drama, Crime

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 153 min

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Critic Reviews

A.O. Scott

Jan 29, 2020

Bellocchio’s approach to the story is at once coolly objective — the movie is part biopic, part courtroom procedural — and almost feverishly intense. He has a historian’s analytical detachment, a novelist’s compassion for his characters and a citizen’s outrage at the cruelty and corruption that have festered in his country for so long. Read full review

Liam Lacey

Feb 6, 2020

The Traitor is a pleasure to watch. Working with cinematographer Vladan Radovic, Bellocchio blends sweeping camera work and flurries of action with painterly lighting and often ironic musical cues. The story itself is somewhat over-stuffed — the time-jumping narrative (Bellochio and three other writers are credited) and an onscreen counter of murder victims — but this is still a welcome chance to see a great old school European auteur at work. Read full review

Ty Burr

Feb 19, 2020

The Traitor is a coolly epic appraisal of a country’s struggle with its dark side rather than a mobbed-up melodrama. If it’s “Godfather” clichés you want, there’s always “The Godfather.” Read full review

Tim Grierson

May 24, 2019

The film digs into the minutiae, giving off an unmistakable air of expertise, but the screenplay ends up being a collection of footnotes and intriguing digressions without necessarily feeling like an authoritative handling of this sprawling material. Read full review

Matthew Anderson

Aug 4, 2020

The moral ambiguities and questions of legacy, friendship, family and integrity in Marco Bellochio’s The Traitor are the strongest points of an ambitious, punishing addition to a long line of films to explore the inner workings of the Cosa Nostra. Read full review

A.A. Dowd

May 24, 2019

There’s just no real perspective on Buscetta, which separates this brisk but uninvolving history lesson from the truly great mob movies. I was a little bored with it, too, honestly. Read full review

G. Allen Johnson

Feb 5, 2020

The biggest betrayal of The Traitor is its crime against the usually compelling Mafia movie genre. This is an offer you can refuse. Read full review

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User Reviews

NickTheCritick

Jun 4, 2022

Bellocchio at his best here. The cast is also stellar in this film. An outstanding performance by Pierfrancesco Favino who plays here in the same league as Daniel Day Lewis you saw in "There Will Be Blood", though its role is different. The other members of the cast are also fantastic, LuigiBellocchio at his best here. The cast is also stellar in this film. An outstanding performance by Pierfrancesco Favino who plays here in the same league as Daniel Day Lewis you saw in "There Will Be Blood", though its role is different. The other members of the cast are also fantastic, Luigi Lo Cascio in particular. Marco Bellocchio is truly in a state of grace in this film that really borders on perfection.… Expand

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CMC

Feb 5, 2020

This is a very watchable long film with very developed and colorful characters, told mostly though the events and perspective of one character. There is a lot well-done of inter-personal drama as is typical for Italian films. The use of titles to drop the viewer into different places andThis is a very watchable long film with very developed and colorful characters, told mostly though the events and perspective of one character. There is a lot well-done of inter-personal drama as is typical for Italian films. The use of titles to drop the viewer into different places and times is clumsy. Despite the enormity of events, the film never achieves any kind of epic quality.… Expand

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