Marco Bellocchio, the veteran Italian filmmaker, has delivered a gripping miniseries with 'Portobello', a stranger-than-fiction account of a beloved 1980s TV star wrongly convicted of mafia ties. The six-part series, shot for HBO Max, follows Enzo Tortora, a primetime host whose life unravels after a mob secretary falsely implicates him in drug trafficking.
The first two episodes, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival, cleverly crosscut Tortora's glittering rise with the desperate lies of Giovanni Pandico, a Camorra secretary who names Tortora as an insider to save himself. Pandico even claims that a set of lace doilies sent to Tortora by a prisoner was code for a cocaine shipment, and that Tortora's parrot, Ramon, was also involved.
Bellocchio, known for exploring Italy's dark history, plays the story straight as a hard-faced procedural, avoiding comedy despite the absurdity. The series anticipates the rise of Berlusconi and Trump, blending celebrity, politics, and organised crime. Tortora, played by Fabrizio Gifuni, is arrested on live TV, transitioning from light entertainment to nightly news.
'Portobello' is potent, serious, and mordantly funny, a biting critique of a justice system that can destroy a man on a whim. It is Bellocchio's second historical miniseries after 'Exterior Night', and cements his reputation as a master of morally complex drama.
