Anime Nere’s bleak realism leaves the watcher with a bitter taste in their mouth. The set pace is slow, resulting in the unfolding violence becoming all the more shocking for the audience. As a listening exercise for Italian students, it might not be the best film; the protagonists talk in an incomprehensible dialect that even many of the characters in the film struggle to understand. Nonetheless, this slow-burner is thoughtful in its exploration of the mentalities behind mafia violence, and offers the viewer a unique insight into the world of the ‘ndrangheta.