Stellead Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Tobias Burrows It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

GeneralUrsus This mafia revenge story might have been a good film but, a weak script and some horrendous acting render it with the kiss of death. As a child young Rita witnesses her father's cold blooded murder at the hands of a rival mafia clan. Years later in an attempt to bring justice she seeks the assistance of the district prosecutor and is placed in a witness protection program in Rome.While strolling the Colosseum she feels she is being followed. Moments later she encounters the stranger and shortly after is calmly chatting with him soon they are dating. It is mindless and ridiculous instances like this that completely undermine any credibility in this tale. Her life has been threatened but, somehow it's okay to strike up a budding romance with some guy in Rome.Much later Rita is placing phone calls home from her Rome apartment not terrific thinking if you value your life and your enemies can easily be tapping the lines. Aside from many flaws within the story the biggest fault with this film was the casting of Veronica D'Agostino in the title role.Ms. D'Agostino is an acting neophyte and it shows with every over the top glare and pained expression she delivers. In her attempt to appear indignant her face contorts in such odd fashions she looks somewhere between constipated and deranged, or both. She is capable of one note throughout the entire film, anger. In fact you get the feeling that the love interest she encounters in Rome was probably created to develop another more uplifting shade to her on screen demeanor.A good actress would hold the picture together and elevate the weak material by giving the viewer someone to care about. The Sicilian Girl suffers from wretched acting, poor writing and should be swimming with the fishes and not in your cue.

gelman@attglobal.net Only because more people will have seen "Veronica Guerin," I cite that splendid film as an introduction to "The Sicilian Girl." The themes are similar -- true stories of young women who invite death by exposing murderous activities. In this case, Rita Atrria (Veronica D'Agostino), a 17 year old from a Sicilian village controlled by the Mafia, takes her story, documented by diaries she has been keeping for many years, to an anti-Mafia prosecutor, Paolo Borsellino (Gerard Jugnot) seeking vengeance for the murder of her father and brother, both of whom were themselves members of the Mafia. Rita's diaries confirm incidents which the police have tracked and lead to the arrest of her town's Mafia chieftains, including the ones who had her father and brother killed. To avoid spoiling the story, I will offer no more of the details except to say that Rita's revelations make both her and Borsellino targets for assassination. Ms. D'Agostino and Mr. Jugnot are excellent actors, and a number of other roles are very well done. The movie is exciting and well worth the two hours it takes to watch it. As with any of the movies based on a "true" story, one is left wondering where truth leaves off and fiction takes over. I can guess at the juncture, but for the most part "The Sicilian Girl" is very convincing.

m_pooley Having lived in Sicily, this movie had extra relevance for me, especially as it deals with an aspect of the investigations into the Mafia, by magistrates Falcone and Borsellino, and the resulting maxi-trials in Palermo, with which I was not familiar, namely the part played by Rita Atria. I particularly liked the way the role of the mother typifies the see-nothing/say-nothing attitude of the people. This is emphasized in the scene where Rita's mafioso father is murdered by a rival. Windows and shutters are quietly closed and the piazza is deserted save for the corpse. The director also deserves credit for not making Rita a docile, frightened informer; instead she is feisty and she is not slow to tell the police what she thinks of them. It is a beautifully paced movie,with a well-told tale and is, like, "Gomorra" which concerned the Neapolitan Mafia, the Camorra, a movie that makes you angry. Angry at the utter scum who still permeate society in southern Italy and angry at the corruption of public officials who deal with such scum. At least something good has come out of those investigations and trials. There is a grassroots movement in Palermo called "addiopizzo". Young business people who were so shocked by the excesses of the mafia during the period of the investigations and the maxi-trials that they took to the streets, as can be seen in real-life footage at the end of this movie, and declared they were no longer willing to pay the "pizzo" (extortion) money demanded by the Mafia. A gripping and important movie.

danlougheed This is a movie I would see again and again. The is the kind of film that pays tribute to the true cinematic experience: a perfectly told story with beautiful cinematography that lets us move along with the characters and took the necessary time to let us care about these people. Wonderfully directed, with awesome performances by the actors. While some directors might have chosen more violent scenes in this true account of going up against the mafia, Marco Amenta chose something we don't see too much in films anymore: imagination. This film unfolded rather than assaulted, tantalized rather than terrorized. Bravo!