Forget everything you think you know about Italian crime from films, books and series. This romantic image of the mafia is gradually peeled away in The Last Ride of the Wolves by debut director Alberto De Michele.
Pasquale, an old crook who lost his fortune to gambling, organises his last big heist and reunites The Wolves, a gang of North-Italian fairground operators who moonlight as thieves. The robbery of a money truck – transporting 12 million euros in cash – could be a good pension for everybody, and secure the legacy of their old-school craftsmanship.
De Michele subtly infiltrates this dark world, in which he ‘steals’ the stories of other thieves in support of his own work. Secretly, according to the filmmaker, another robbery takes place in the film: “Not art theft, but theft as art”. Based on a true crime.
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Available on Festival Scope Pro from 26 January 9:00 CET to 14 February 9:00 CET