Chiara Bellosi, primarily known for her work as a documentary filmmaker, makes her feature film debut with Ordinary Justice, a quietly impactful legal drama featuring a sensitive focus on female bonding.
Premiering at the 2020 Berlin International Film Festival, the film follows a trial involving the attempted robbery of a service station from the perspective of the defendant, the prosecution and their supporters. Outside the doors of a large courtroom, a mother and her daughter, and a teenager wait in the hallway. On one side sits Domenica, an adolescent girl whose father is on trial for shooting one of the assailants in an alleged act of self-defence. On the other side sits wide-eyed Angelina (Daphne Scoccia, Fiore IFF18) and Luce, her playful young daughter, who doesn’t seem to fully grasp the dire circumstances that her father is in. Inside, the complicated trial of pump attendant Viale (Nicola Rignanese) versus young thief Magia (Giovanni Anzaldo) is unpicked with a growing intensity as their judgement becomes imminent.
Italian with English subtitles