Bellocchio’s ‘Kidnapped: The Abduction of Edgardo Mortara’ US Trailer

Bellocchio’s ‘Kidnapped: The Abduction of Edgardo Mortara’ US Trailer

by Alex Billington
May 10, 2024
Source: YouTube

“This will create new tensions.” Cohen Media Group has unveiled an official US trailer for the Italian dramatic thriller now titled (in full) Kidnapped: The Abduction of Edgardo Mortara. This premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival last year under the shorter title Rapito. This is legendary Italian director Marco Bellocchio’s period drama, depicting a scandalous & captivating true story. It also played at TIFF, New York, Mill Valley, and AFI Fest last year. This grand, historical fresco depicts the true story of a young Jewish child who, in mid-19th century Bologna, was abducted from his family by the church on the Pope’s orders. The child had been secretly baptized by his nurse as a baby, and the papal law is unquestionable: he must now receive a Catholic education. Edgardo’s parents, distraught, will do anything to get their son back. Supported by public opinion and the international Jewish community, the Mortaras’ struggle quickly takes on a political dimension, all against the backdrop of the riveting true events that shook the world. Starring Enea Sala, Leonardo Maltese, Paolo Pierobon, Fausto Russo Alesi, Barbara Ronchi, Andrea Gherpelli, & Samuele Teneggi. This film earned mostly positive reviews during its festival run last year.

Official US trailer for Bellocchio’s Kidnapped: The Abduction of Edgardo Mortara, from YouTube:

From one of Italy’s most revered directors comes Kidnapped, the true story of the boy Edgardo Mortara (Leonardo Maltese). Mortara was a young Jewish boy living in Bologna, Italy, when in 1858, after being secretly baptized, was then forcibly taken from his family by the Pope, to be raised Catholic. His parents’ struggle to free their son became part of a larger political battle that pitted the papacy against forces of democracy and Italian unification. Kidnapped: The Abduction of Edgardo Mortara, also known as Rapito or just Kidnapped, is directed by the prolific Italian filmmaker Marco Bellocchio, director of many films including Victory March, The Seagull, A Leap in the Dark, Vacation in Val Trebbia, The Eyes The Mouth, Henry IV, The Conviction, The Wedding Director, Vincere, Dormant Beauty, Blood of My Blood, Sweet Dreams, The Traitor, Marx Can Wait previously. The screenplay is written by Marco Bellocchio & Susanna Nicchiarelli, in collaboration with Edoardo Albinati & Daniela Ceselli; adapted from Daniele Scalise’s book titled Il caso Mortara. This first premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival last year. Cohen Media Group will debut Bellocchio’s Kidnapped in select US theaters starting May 24th, 2024 this summer. Interested?

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