Kidnapped: The Abduction of Edgardo Mortara
In 1858 Bologna, Italy, the Mortaras, a Jewish family, are facing a crisis. One of their sons was secretly baptized years ago and the Church exercised its papal power to seize the boy and raise him a Catholic. His father and mother face a year’s long battle to get their boy back in “Kidnapped: The Abduction of Edgardo Mortara.”
Laura's Review: B+
Robin's Review: B+
When I think about “The Inquisition” (and I do very occasionally, sometimes), I picture medieval Spain and the heinous tortures inflicted on the “sinners.” That impression is shattered by director Marco Bellocchio’s true life story of that inquisition, in Italy, which lasted far longer into the 19th century than I could ever imagine. This probably because I rejected the Catholic faith when I was 15 and promptly stopped caring about the Catholic faith.
The filmmakers picked an interesting subject for this indictment of the Catholic Church and the pain and suffering it caused in its call to the faithful. It all starts when the Holy Office of the Papacy orders that one son in the Mortara family, 6-year Edgardo (Enea Sala), be taken from the family. A servant girl, a Catholic, secretly baptized to boy when he was in the cradle but only openly admitted it years later.
At first, the boy’s parents, Salomone (Fausto Russo Alesi) and Marianne (Barbara Ronchi), think it is all just a big mistake. Soon, though, their appeals to the Church are soundly rejected and they have little to no recourse to get their son back. The parents’ battle will last for years – without their getting any satisfaction,
Bellocchio wears his heart on his sleeve in his view of the Catholic Church and gives us a bit of Italian history in the process. This is important, to me, in that, while I knew of the power of the papacy in the past, I did know not that the power lasted until nearly the start of the 20th century. As such, I felt a sense of anger in how the Church committed such extra-legal dealings as kidnapping children as its god-given right. Even as the papacy was being replaced by democracy in Italy, its power and influence remain – even to this day.
The political statement notwithstanding, there is also the story of the Mortara family, with their brood of kids, and how they deal with the crisis. There is a sense of helplessness the mom and dad feel as they run into one obstacle after another as they try to get their son back.
Barbara Ronchi, as Edgardo’s mom, Marianna gives a fine performance as a mother whose son is, quite literally, torn from her arms. Her depth of sorrow is fully realized in her short time on screen. Fausto Alesi, as the boy’s father, also gives a solid portrayal of a man helpless in his fight against the church. What happens in the story is, unfortunately, all too easy to guess.
Cohen Media Group releases “Kidnapped: The Abduction of Edgardo Mortara” in select theaters on 5/24/24, expanding in subsequent weeks. Click here for theaters and play dates.
