Bronx Tale, A

In the tradition of innumerable films dealing with Mafia paternalism, A Bronx Tale, a coming-of-age stroy set in the 1960s about the relationship between a young boy named Calogero and a gangster (Chazz Palminteri) and the boy's bus driver father (Robert De Niro ), is a worthy contender.

The technique of a narrator recalling his journey from child to man (Lillo Brancato as a teenager) has been done many times before however this is well-written by Chazz Palminteri (based on his own play) and well-directed by a man pretty much synonymous with the Mafia genre.  The film moves at a relaxed, albeit ineluctable, pace, and effectively captures the narrator's position of true affection for his past. Some memorable moments such as Sonny's "door test" and De Niro's observation that "sometimes the little head tells the big head what to do" are indicative of the welcome humour that makes this an entertaining but convincing film.

 

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