The Escort

De Francesco is the judge who has been chosen to replace a murdered district attorney. Four men are hired for his protection - his escort. Angelo, Andrea, Fabio and Raffaelo meet for the first time during the assignment. They all have different backgrounds and experiences, but slowly they learn to co-operate and become a team. The escort's respect for the judge grows when they realize how much he is prepared to sacrifice in the name of truth. Eventually the judge realizes that his escort are the only ones he can really trust.

COMMENTARY
To those who have followed the very impressive Italian mafia serial La Piovra on TV, The Escort may seem familiar. The movie breathes the same pitchblack, though clear-sighted, pessimism and depicts the struggle of a few honest people against a deeply corrupt society.
A young soldier, Angelo, played by the deadpan but brilliant Claudio Amendola, returns to his Sicilian home town and begins to work as a bodyguard for the Don Quixote of the judicial system who are trying to control the mafia. But corruption is everywhere and the atmosphere is marked by a suspicion that turned into a chronic state of paranoia a long time ago.
Everyone, from the district attorneys and the politicians to the bodyguards and their wives, seem more or less suspect.
Real and potential intrigues succeed each other and the stress poisons already strained temperaments.
Not only does The Escolt depict a society about to dissolve, but it also shows how the individual is eaten away by his or her life always being in danger, and by the feeling of never being able to trust anyone. The relationships between colleagues are strained by the continuous surveillance of threatening streets and maze-like buildings, And the men of justice who still have any family left, live in a permanent state of crisis even on the homefront; the irregular, to say the least, lifestyle and the constant threats affect the wives' nerves.
But somehow the solidarity grows, and so does the respect between individuals who have taken upon themselves the thankless task to clear up in the swamp of organized crime. And despite its dark message, The Escort is a very energetic and lively movie, The cinematic language is quick and dramatic and the pace is sometimes almost hazardous. ~,
Göran Underoth

Orig. titel
La Scorta: Medverkande
Claudio Amendola, Enrico Lo Verso: Producent
Claudio Bonivento: Manus
Graziano Diana & Simona Izzo: Foto
Alessio Gelsini: Musik
Ennio Morricone: Talat språk
Italian