The story is well known from press reports. Young anti-globalisation protesters had set up camp at the Diaz PascoliSchool in Genoa. There had been clashes with the police over the course of the Summit which was heavily policed. But most of the protesters were peaceful despite some anarchists among them who managed to bring some degree of disruption to the streets to the city.
Suddenly after midnight police charged into the school and attacked the protesters beating them for more than two hours and leaving hundreds injured and needing hospitalization. The beatings continued for those that were taken to the police station and later to a detention center. One protester eventually died. To cover up for their brutality the police planted false evidence of Molotov cocktails in the school.
Vicari goes in for showing us as much blood, violence and brutality as possible but he risks going overboard in general scenes of chaos and bloodbath without giving us anything to focus on. The hand held camera gives the film a documentary feel but in the end this becomes overly repetitive. The film would also benefit from more background and more effort spent on putting the events into context. We never actually understand why these events are unfolding as they are. The police are portrayed as brutal and inhuman to the point of risking turning them into caricatures.
Speaking at the press conference the director said that he had made the film for very personal reasons. "What happened in Genoa at the G8 summit was unacceptable. It calls into question democracy in Italy and in Europe." The director said that the decision had been taken not to try to explain the events because they were too complex but to let the audience decide for themselves what had happened. However the film would have benefited from more background and explanation especially given the fact that the events took place ten years ago.
The film was mostly shot in Romania where the Diaz school and the surrounding streets were recreated. Well known and respected Romanian producer Bobby Paunescu who helms Mandragora Movies was one of the coproducers on the Italian French Romanian coproduction. The Italian producer Domenico Procacci said that he wanted to shoot in Romania so that the film shoot would be able to work without interference from the Italian press or the authorities. He also had worked before with Mandragora and wanted to the chance to work with Paunescu again.
The title of the film refers to a sign that was posted soon after the police attack that said "Don't Clean Up This Blood" referring to the need not to wash away the memory of the event. The film while not without its faults certainly serves that end.
Director: Daniele Vicari
Cast: Elio Germano, Jennifer Ulrich, Claudio Santamaria
Coproduced in Romania by Mandragora Movies (www.mandragora.ro )
Romanian National Centre for Cinema (www.cncinema.abt.ro )
