Review: 'The Traitor' finds a morality tale in the bloody world of Sicilian gangsters

Director Marco Bellocchio’s “The Traitor” takes a deep dive into the blood-drenched world of the Sicilian Mafia of the 1980s, when talk of honor among the “soldiers” of Cosa Nostra dissolved into battles for power and money.

In 1980, the opening title cards tell us, Palermo is “the world capital of heroin,” and being fought over by two factions: The old guard of Palermo and the new clan in nearby Corleone. (Yes, the town that gave Mario Puzo’s crime family in “The Godfather” its name.) Trying to stay out of the fray is the fugitive Tommaso Buscetta (played by Pierfrancesco Favino), a “soldier” with some influence on the Palermo boss Stefano Bontade (Goffredo Maria Bruno).

Buscetta tries to escape to Rio de Janeiro, where his third wife, Cristina (Maria Fernanda Cândido), was born. The civil war in Sicily rages, with some of Buscetta’s relations killed. Then Brazilian officials arrest Buscetta and deport him back to Italy — where he meets Judge Giovanni Falcone (Fauston Russo Alesi), who is determined to bring down the Mafia, and wants Buscetta to become the first member of Cosa Nostra to become an informant.

Bellocchio — who told the story of Mussolini’s mistress in 2009’s “Vincere” — and his three co-screenwriters overwhelm the viewer, particularly the non-Italian interloper, with mounds of names, dates and places. Once things settle, or the viewer decides not to worry about the historical details and strap in for the ride, the film reveals itself to be a high-stakes courtroom drama tinged with a bit of farce, as the unwieldy legal proceedings become shouting matches between Buscetta and his indicted former colleagues.

For a good stretch, “The Traitor” is a fascinating meeting of minds between the recalcitrant mafioso Buscetta and the thoughtful jurist Falcone, as each one comes to understand and even admire their adversary. For the most part, though, the film is a showcase for Favino (“World War Z,” “Angels & Demons”), who looks like the Italian version of Tom Selleck, ruggedly handsome and beefy, but also carrying an air of nobility as Buscetta reconciles his childhood code of honor with the realities of the modern Mafia.

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‘The Traitor’

★★★

Opened January 31 in select cities; opens Friday, March 13, at the Broadway Centre Cinemas (Salt Lake City), Megaplex Jordan Commons (Sandy) and Megaplex at The Junction (Ogden). Rated R for violence, sexual content, language and brief graphic nudity. Running time: 150 minutes; in Italian, with subtitles.