Come pecore in mezzo ai lupi

At first glance, Come pecore in mezzo ai lupi appears to send off its protagonist, Vera, to the wolves not as a sheep, as its Biblical title suggests, but as another wolf. An undercover police agent, Vera has infiltrated a dangerous crime syndicate and won the trust of its kingpins, who want her to source weapons for their upcoming heist. But just as she is about to set up the gang for arrest, she learns that her younger brother Bruno is also mixed up with them. Lyda Patitucci's fierce, gripping crime thriller derives its emotional power partly from Vera's struggle to suppress her humanity as she negotiates her brutal environment. To survive in an unforgiving world of deranged men, Vera is forced to be tough and impassive despite the wanton violence she witnesses. Yet there are moments where her veneer cracks, hinting that she may not be as much in control as she would like. Shot in a minimal, almost monochromatic colour palette resembling graphic novels, Patitucci's hard-boiled film is animated by a network of familial tensions, including a tender, tortured bond between Vera and Bruno. Like the facial scar that gives Vera a smirk despite herself, these equations are not spelled out, suggesting rich, hidden complexities motivating the characters' behaviour. (International Film Festival Rotterdam)