The Inner Cage

Written by Bruno Oliviero, Valia Santella and Leonardo Di Costanzo, The Inner Cage  / Ariaferma (2021) presented as part of St ALi Italian Film Festival (2022) explores the intricacies and developments of guard and inmate relationships in a remote Italian prison. This story is a slow burn, without any stark climaxes, but engages the audience in a way that they won’t want to miss a minute of it.

The film opens with guards sitting around a fire, celebrating that the remote prison that they work and reside at is being closed and the inmates sent to a number of other prisons to continue their time. They will shortly learn that the prison that 12 inmates were meant to be sent to is no longer available, and as such a small number of guards have to stay on duty for a while longer until new spaces for these inmates can be found. 

Procedure for this situation doesn’t seem to be quite ironed out, with many of the rules and regulations beginning to fall aside as the barriers of relationships between detainer and detainee start to blur. In this the comradery of the inmates and the cracks within the guards start to show. With such small numbers, the level of emotional intimacy between the groups grows and develops, in a way that would not be possible in the average prison system. 

Head guard Gaetano Gargiuolo (Toni Servillo) particularly portrays this, much to the dismay of fellow guard (and more staunch rule follower) Franco Coletti (Fabrizio Ferracane). But surely showing a little humanity can’t lead to that many problems, right?

Silvio Orlando plays Carmine Lagioia who acts as a sort of head inmate, negotiating and coordinating with the guards to improve the limited conditions of their current situation, but we’re led to wonder whether this man can really be trusted.

Newcomer Fantaccini (Pietro Giuliano) is introduced but it turns out he may not be new to the prison at all. His familiarity with the guards identifies that this is not his first trip through the judiciary system. This character strongly speaks to the need for support following incarceration and actual rehabilitation rather than simple punishment. 

The crimes committed by the inmates are rarely discussed, allowing the audience to see each member for the person that they are, rather than the mistakes they have made in the past. The directing by Leonardo Di Costanzo and acting by each of our leads puts forth these characters in a way for their audience to truly empathise with, root for, and yearn for genuine compassion. 

The music by Pasquale Scialò is particularly engaging and even strange at times but works to set the necessary tone. The cinematography by Luca Bigazzi and set design allows senses of both beauty and sadness to this prison setting. 

This story potentially speaks to a better system of incarceration. Smaller groups, more integration and a reduction of the dehumanisation of inmates. For some audiences it will be important to note in this film that prisons across the globe have vastly different set ups to those we’ve seen portrayed in western media. Inmates wear their own clothes and furniture is moveable and functional. The inmates are allowed a higher sense of individuality and simple humanity. 

The Inner Cage is a sobering film, that won’t have you on the edge of your seat, but will keep you thinking and feeling long after the story ends.

The Inner Cage is screening at the Italian Film Festival at Palace Cinemas. Get tickets below.