The father-son relationship within criminal organisations, and within the Calabrian ’ndrangheta in particular, is the focus of Daniele Vicari’s new title, Tired of Killing, which was presented in the Venezia Spotlight section of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival. The movie homes in on the life of state witness Antonio Zagari in the years of the mafia’s initial expansion in northern Italy, loosely basing itself on the protagonist’s autobiography.

It’s the Seventies and Antonio (Gabriel Montesi), the son of the Calabrian boss now living in Lombardy Giacomo Zagari (Vinicio Marchioni), divides his time between robbing jewellers, racketeering and carrying out murders ordered by his ferocious father. Paraphrasing Cesare Pavese’s famous poetry collection Lavorare stanca, the film’s title suggests that murder can represent a real “profession” in the criminal world, which can also become intolerable. Ironically, Antonio can’t stand the sight of blood, which is a clear metaphor for his unconscious refusal to kill or to carve out a career for himself in this underworld organisation. And his father has suspected this fact for some time, to the point he doesn’t consider his son his heir in the mob hierarchy. A mob which cleverly hides behind the smokescreen of humble, ordinary jobs (Antonio works in a factory), although Colonel Becker (Pier Giorgio Bellocchio) has now started investigating them. Meanwhile, strikes and protests typical of those times unfold in the background, in town squares and universities.

The first signs of a rift appear when Giacomo Zagari decides to kidnap the factory owner’s son, a boy who’s a good friend of Antonio’s younger brother, Enzo (Andrea Fuorto). An old school mafioso who’s highly attached to values, rules and archaic rites of initiation, Zagari is against collaborating with the Sicilian clans who are pushing to expand throughout the country by way of heroin trafficking. Antonio carries on following orders, but he finds the criminal logic clashes increasingly with his feelings, especially when the youngster discovers a pure and unconditional form of love (“I’d follow you to hell”) with a Sicilian girl studying medicine called Angela (Selene Caramazza).

Vicari is known for his socially engaged cinema which alternates between fiction and documentary and often combines realism with storytelling elements. The heavily family-focused architecture of the clans is clearly expressed here, with these family models ensuring the continuity of the organisation, and fathers who pass on a mentality based around honour, vendetta and clan loyalty. But the film doesn’t reveal the inner development of the protagonist who communicates the constant identity crisis he’s experiencing through his writing (his notes are used to incriminate everyone) but who only evades his mapped out criminal destiny when the situation spirals out of control. Every possible opportunity for introspection offered by his character is sidestepped in favour of a “genre” film flavour (the movie is produced by the Manetti Bros who fly the flag for action movies and film noir, and are heirs to the Italian detective movies of the ’70s and ’80s). Subsequently, there are countless action scenes – with excellent photography, historical reconstruction and costumes by DoP Gherardo Gossi, set designer Noemi Marchica and wardrobe design sisters Francesca and Roberta Vecchi respectively – and a dynamic mise en scene approach which genuinely tries to win over wider and younger audiences. Vinicio Marchioni, meanwhile, is a credible baddie who contrasts effectively with his offspring, played by a now highly acclaimed actor by the name of Gabriel Montesi who’s stepping into his first leading role.

Tired of Killing was produced by Mompracem and RAI Cinema. The movie will hit Italian cinemas on 4 December via 01, with Beta Cinema managing international sales.