"Sacred silence" reminds me of grainy, gritty black and white neo-realist Italian movies of the 1950' and 60'. It has the same natural, almost documentary quality, like filming life itself. The people in this movie are hardened, with worn and deeply lined faces. Their lives are nothing but hard work and barely getting by. Even the hero of this story, priest with courage to fight the gangs of Napoli is a sinner. He manipulates Nunzio, the 13-year old with the soul of 25-year old, into sexual relationship. This movie dares to tell us a story about a child molester who has some admirable qualities. He isn't just some devious animal who corrupts the innocents, but he is much more complex, as most of human beings are. In the end you feel morally appalled by his actions and in the recesses of your soul even little sorry for him. Brave and powerful movie that clings to us long after we've seen it.

Others have the spoilers already, so I'll try to make this a different thing: Nunzio is almost fourteen and really handsome. He sings for TV and a record company. He plays the organ at the local parish. He's the current lover of Father Lorenzo.Lorenzo is a priest that fights the Camorra. He opens the doors of his church for the ones who need it.The Sanità neighbourhood is as violent as it comes.Naples is under siege by the same kind of violence the Camorra has always been praised for... the southern version of the Mafia.Capuano, who wrote and directed this and his previous film, does an amazing job. Each character has the depth needed to understand the surroundings and the sad situation of a troubled neighbourhood in one of the world's most controversial cities.He shows the power of many things that are not a standard for us, and maybe because of that, we don't understand. Examples of his Latin creativity and point of view, are the silent scenes that were shot hand-held where most of the murders are shown. The delicate way of portraying a difficult subject. The utter precision and realism of Catholic rituals with his own amendments.The underlying truth of life in Naples through brief but poignant phrases. The political situation that still runs in Naepolitan life. The words used in the songs Nunzio sings. The terribly painful reality of lives that struggle with everyday life where the "bosses" roam seldom leaving society unscathed.The really peaceful moments you can rob Naples just walking a few blocks away from downtown knowing that the sea is for you.The switching from dialect to language on the fly when you have both parties at the same table. The small talk on coffee as is in real life, everyday in Naples... and the bursting city that is always on the brink of something, under the clouds of mighty Vesubius.A film which stares inside the people who know the main character. All in all, a very Italian film with a lot to learn from. Don't miss the rest of Capuano's films!

Sacret Silence is shoot in an unique way as many of the characters talk directly to the viewer. It almost seems that as if nothing else is happening around them – and it is only you they want to share their troughs with. This method adds a documentary atmosphere to the movie, which I believe will be appreciated by everyone who likes the serious European cinema.Sacret Silence is a movie about society and the way it can be blinded by its own perceptions or by people who want the others to see the world through their eyes and refuse to accept that there are other ways to think about an issue than their own.. That is why the priest is fighting with Camorra (the mafia ) – it is just that sometimes in life there is more to loose than to win.Traditional Italian songs are used for the soundtrack of Sacret Silence; most of them are performed by the 13-year-old Nunzio. I come to appreciate this music as it is evident that he feels the music – just look at his facial expression while he is singing.The movie focuses on a whole range of moral issues. The relationship between the priest and Nunzio is only one of them – at first I thought that I can understand the priest – his love for Nunzio, but at the same time his past is flashing through the eyes of the other boy who comes to visit him – and this past seems to be disturbing.Yet another issue is to be able to decide for yourself who is committing the biggest crime in this movie – it is the priest , or the mafia or may be as often happens these days the crime committer is the police itself ?

In Naples a priest begins a campaign against the Camorra. He's particularly vulnerable in that he has a "relationship" with 13-year-old Nunzio an alter boy, semi orphan and talented singer. The priest in this film is both a hero in his fight against the Camorro and a villain in his abuse or molestation of Nunzio. Lest the priest be too sympathetic a character there is Gigi an older boy who apparently was the priest's last protégé who appears at the beginning of the film and complains that the priest doesn't seem to have time for him anymore. `Things change' he's told. The audience is left to judge for themselves as the priest seems to harbor no guilt about his actions and the boy says that he enjoyed the affection. This is another of those films that deal with morality at the uncomfortable border between what is rightfully the business of a society and what is better left as a private matter between consenting partners.