‌Berlinale 2022 | Una Femmina

Una Femmina (The Code of Silence) is a look at women (and men) affected by life in Calabria under the control of the ‘ndrangheta (crime syndicate). Inspired by Lirio Abbate’s book “Fimmine Ribelli” and the real women who spoke up about what life was like under their control, director Francesco Costabile along with his co-screenwriters Lirio Abbate, Serena Brugnolo, and Adriano Chiarelli, crafted a narrative centring Rosa (played by Lina Siciliano), whose mother was killed when she was a child for trying to speak to authorities.

You can gather much from a film based on what they choose to reveal or withhold from a frame. How the shot is set up. The image is deliberate, and Una Femmina begins with a very deliberate image of Berta (played by Anna Maria De Luca) as she speaks to her daughter Cetta. There is a clear ultimatum in her voice, a threat, as she brings up Cetta’s own daughter Rosa, the image losing focus the longer Berta speaks. Eventually, you can make out male figures in the background. Everything here is intentional. It comes as no surprise when Cetta is killed shortly after her return home.

Years later, now a young woman, Rosa is still dealing with repressed memories from seeing her mother murdered and her grandmother standing by. Lina Siciliano, in her debut role, is asked to carry you on the emotional journey of this film, and in her capable hands, it’s easy to watch her switch from seeking answers, the throws of first love, to cunning acts of revenge. She says a lot while often choosing her words carefully or allowing her silence to speak for her. Her performance carries the film. This is good because sometimes the male performances seemed a little over the top and almost cartoonish. Perhaps this is because we were seeing them from Rosa’s perspective. I especially noticed in a scene in a graveyard, after the lackeys of Cicco (one of the rival ‘ndrangheta heads) just committed a heinous act, there is such unconcealed/clownish joy on their faces. It would make sense if we were seeing Rosa’s perspective of their reactions. Alternatively, they’re just sycophantic.

This is another film that deals with generational trauma. These women don’t see a way out of the ‘ndrangheta control, so much so Berta betrayed her own daughter and was willing to pimp out her granddaughter. In both cases, I think there’s an implication that Berta sees it as the only way to keep Rosa alive, but at what cost? It cost her daughter her life. What life is there if these are the kind of bargains you keep making? This world is what Rosa struggles with as she uncovers the truth about her mother, her family, and what’s been hidden from her. With that information, she sets out on a path of revenge. But it’s a dangerous one when you are going up against an extremely powerful and far-reaching crime syndicate that controls the town.

In The Godfather, you had a horse head in the bed. In Una Femmina, there’s a pig’s head on the table.

Una Femmina premiered at the 72nd annual Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) as part of the Panorama section.