A Bronx Tale

A Bronx Tale is the film that introduced me to the Mafia genre, as I watched it twice growing up. It has now been a long time since I've last seen it, so rewatching this felt heavenly. There are many masterpieces within this genre, but in my view A Bronx Tale did it the best, or atleast comes really close to that, as I still do have to (re)watch some classics. The characters are so well written and one of the strongest points of the film, as it sets almost its full focus on them. They all have a heart and feel so genuine. One of the things I love most about this is the way it mixes the coming-of-age genre in there. Seeing Calogero growing up and how he deals with all the bad influences that followed him made me fully connect with his character. He always tried seeing the good in people and always wanted the best outcome. Same for Sonny, I think his character is incredibly well written. He shows how impossible it is to truly know someone in the business and why it is so hard to trust someone. It feels like that is an explanation of their behavior that's missing in some other films. The performances were all amazing, with Robert De Niro being a highlight, of course. The story itself is amazing too, being both humane and gut wrenching at times. I like how racism played such a big role, considering how big of a part it always played, though I do need to say that the film forgot a bit too fast about it in the end, and maybe should've picked or up again, as it seems find a resolution too fast. The soundtrack is incredible, and I think every song fits like a glove. The fact that this was Robert De Niro's directorial debut is hard to comprehend for me, it just shows how talented this man is. The cinematography is gritty and captivating, and I love the script. First of all, I have to admit that nostalgia gets this extra points here as it's still so special to me, but I also believe that this is one of the best executed films of the genre, and it's pretty much up there with all the other masterpieces. I do understand the people rating it lower though. There are just certain films that hit harder for others for different reasons, and this is the case for me here. This will forever stay in my favorites, though it maybe isn't at the very top of the mountain.