Gino Roma holds a pizzeria for thirty years in Brussels, purchased with money from his wife Simone. His quiet life is turned upside down when he learns of the imminent death of his uncle, godfather of the Mafia, Italian billionaire with a promised big inheritance. Gino must prove to his uncle that he is a formidable godfather reigning on Brussels pizzerias, ordering a director, a documentary to present it as a major mobster. Nothing happens quite as planned: Gino family does not quite agree and the crew is not "open" to Gino orders, taking his new role very seriously, especially as the comedy soon attracts the malevolent eye of a true thug.
Acting
José Garcia commits fully to pathetic delusion; heartbreaking and hilarious.
Direction
Benchetrit blurs reality and fiction until neither holds up.
Writing
Script collapses under its own meta-weight—intentionally, deliciously.
Director
Samuel Benchetrit
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Belgian cinema's love of awkward working-class protagonists meets Italian-American mafia mythology—Gino is pure Brussels self-deprecation.
Ben Gazzara's final role; he filmed his scenes while visibly ill, lending Uncle Giovanni's deathbed scenes unintended gravitas. Benchetrit kept the footage raw.
FR
