''Sacred Silence'' () is a 1996

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

film directed by Antonio Capuano that deals with a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

priest, his

pederastic Pederasty or paederasty () is a sexual relationship between an adult man and an adolescent boy. It was a socially acknowledged practice in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, Rome and elsewhere in the world, such as Homosexuality in Japan#Pre-Mei ...

relationship with a Napolitan street boy, and the domination of daily life in Southern Italy by the

Camorra The Camorra (; ) is an Italian Mafia-typeMafia and Mafia-type orga ...

. The title translates as ''Pianese Nunzio, 14 in May'' and the movie was released in the US with the title ''Sacred Silence''.

Plot

Don Lorenzo Borrelli (

Fabrizio Bentivoglio Fabrizio Bentivoglio (born 4 January 1957) is an Italian film and stage actor and screenwriter. Biography Fabrizio Bentivoglio was born in Milan (his father is Venetian). After only one season in the juvenile team of Inter Milan, he left his ...

) is a priest in a poor neighborhood in Naples where

Mafia "Mafia", as an informal or general term, is often used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the Sicilian Mafia, original Mafia in Sicily, to the Italian-American Mafia, or to other Organized crime in Italy, organiz ...

killings are a daily occurrence and most young people see

organized crime Organized crime is a category of transnational organized crime, transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a f ...

as a way to earn respect. Don Borelli tries as best as he can to persuade the adolescents that the Camorra is at odds with Catholicism, but has to learn that nothing will change as long as their parents silently accept the Mafia supremacy. Borrelli's personal life centers on his relationship with a 13-year-old choir boy, Nunzio Pianese ( Emanuele Gargiulo), who is not only strikingly handsome but also a very talented musician. Nunzio plans on becoming a priest as well, as the easy life of a priest without worries about the future appeals to him. The mobsters figure that a

child molestation Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whet ...

charge is a convenient way to get rid of the incendiary Don Lorenzo and try to get the local authorities to investigate. Meanwhile, Nunzio begins to doubt if he should stay his course or give in to the pressure to denounce Don Lorenzo. In the end, Nunzio seems to give in and eventually reports Don Lorenzo for molestation, despite knowing that he was the only person who ever cared about his future.

Cast

as Don Lorenzo Borrelli * Emanuele Gargiulo as Nunzio Pianese * Rosaria De Cicco as Rosaria * Teresa Saponangelo as Anna Maria Pica * Antonella Stefanucci as Sandra * Tonino Taiuti as Cuccarini

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0117336, Pianese Nunzio, 14 anni a maggio 1996 films Italian LGBTQ-related films Italian drama films 1990s Italian-language films Films set in Naples Films about the Camorra 1996 drama films Films directed by Antonio Capuano 1990s LGBTQ-related drama films 1996 LGBTQ-related films 1990s Italian films Italian-language drama films