Toni (1999) [N/A]
Featuring:
Alessandro Gassmann, Béatrice Dalle, Raf Vallone
Written by:
Philomène Esposito
Patrick Laurent
Directed by:
Philomène Esposito
Release Date:
January 20, 1999
Original Title:
Toni
Genres:
Crime | Drama | Romance
Production Companies:
Galfin
PFA Films
Production Countries:
France | Italy
Ratings / Certifications:
FR: U
Runtime: 90
Toni is a mob movie combined with an urban love story and reflections about one's roots. The protagonist, Toni, is a young man from a small village in the south of Italy who arrives at the station Gare de Lyon in Paris. He never questions the education he receives from his mob family or the rules to which he is always chained. He contacts a man called "The Old Man," a strange character discarded by the family who is of help from time to time. This man is supposed to communicate to Toni all necessary information for him to accomplish his mission. Toni plans to execute it in perfect calm. But things do not go according to plan. He meets Marie, a vulnerable journalist whose best friend has just committed suicide. Two doomed characters enter a mysterious relationship.
Toni arrives in Paris coming by train from Calabria. He enters an Italian restaurant and kills the owner who is member of the Minelli family. For no obvious reason he stays in Paris and meets an old man who is living in kind of an asylum because he murdered another Italian family many years ago. Only the mother of that family survived. The old man tells him that the Minelli family will seek revenge and try to kill him. Toni now meets the Minellis again and talks with them. He gets nervous and kills 3 more family members. He continues to talk with the old man who tells him that the killing was necessary and that Toni's family always considered Toni a bastard because he was an illegitimate child. Because of that they sent him to Paris to get rid of him. The only way to achieve reconciliation would be to kill a certain Buffo. After that his family would forgive him. Overall the story is entertaining to follow but it's the kind of story where you are not allowed to ask too many questions - like e.g. why doesn't Toni himself know anything about the bastard story. I haven't seen any real plot holes, though. I found the acting to be OK and the overall impression of the movie was mediocre. Besides the talky relationship between Toni and the old man there is some action and a little romantic subplot where a French girl falls in love with the Calabrian guy and surprisingly they talk without any language problems. The French authorities never interfere so that the murder plot can continue.Recommended if you have some time to kill and like any of the actors.
