Review by Eric Hillis
Directed by: Julien Colonna
Starring: Ghjuvanna Benedetti, Saveriu Santucci, Anthony Morganti, Andrea Cossu, Fédéric Poggi
The French territorial island of Corsica has rarely been depicted on screen. That's surprising, given its dramatic history. Like the Italian island of Sicily, Corsica has historically been home to feuding clans who have formed criminal empires in more modern times. Some of these clans have been caught up in the country's bloody independence movement, which like so many European conflicts, had its peak between the 1970s and '90s.
It's in the mid-90s that director Julien Colonna (no relation to the infamous Corsican freedom fighter/terrorist Yvan Colonna) sets his feature debut The Kingdom. It's yet another crime movie in which a young person is paired with a hardened criminal, but inspired by Colonna's own childhood experiences, this is a far grittier and realistic take than the likes of Gloria, Leon and Blood Father.
15-year-old Lesia (Ghjuvanna Benedetti) plans to spend her summer holidays in the company of her new boyfriend, so she's none too pleased when out of the blue, she's sent to stay with her father. Lesia's old man, Pierre-Paul (Saveriu Santucci), just happens to be the head of one of the island's violent clans, and he's now in hiding, surrounded by a small army of burly, pot-bellied mobsters. Lesia and Pierre-Paul aren't exactly estranged, but the nature of her father's "business" means Lesia has become accustomed to him disappearing from her life for long stretches.
When the restless Lesia ignores her father's command and makes a phone call to her aunt (with whom she has lived since the death of her mother), it gives away Pierre-Paul's location and leads to the assassination of one of his most trusted men, who also happens to be Lesia's godfather. The death of her godfather and the guilt she feels stirs a newfound allegiance to her father in Lesia. Pierre-Paul and his men move from one compromised safe house to another until eventually he's forced to go on the run with just his daughter, the two changing their appearance and hiding out in a holiday resort.
It's in this portion of the film that The Kingdom eventually settles down and allows its two main characters to breathe. It becomes something of a mob-themed variation on Charlotte Wells' Aftersun, as Pierre-Paul attempts to bond with his daughter in the knowledge that his time may be running out. For all its tense set-pieces, the movie's most riveting scene simply involves Pierre-Paul telling his daughter about a time spent with the mother she never got to know.
Colonna opted for a cast of amateur performers, which greatly adds to his film's rugged verisimilitude. As the central father/daughter duo, Benedetti and Santucci are remarkable, both raw actors conveying their characters' hardened casing and soft centres. As Lesia, Benedetti presents a tough front, but there are moments that remind us she's still a kid, albeit one being exposed to the worst horrors of the adult world. With a face resembling that of an off-season store Santa, Santucci convinces as a man who inspires fear in other men but is a big softy around his daughter.
The Kingdom suffers from pacing issues in points, and when it's not focussed on its father/daughter dynamic its mob movie shtick is a little too familiar. But Colonna and especially Benedetti and Santucci all announce themselves as exciting new talents, if a little raw around the edges.
The Kingdom is in UK/ROI cinemas from August 8th.
