Scena del crimine

The underworld has a stranglehold on the Italian city of Naples. In seven "scenes," Dutch documentary filmmaker Walter Stokman examines the impact of Mafia-related crime on the city and its inhabitants. In one scene, he visits the youth detention center on Nisida island. We hear young people talking about their life and criminal past, while viewing Stokman's footage of narrow streets in the city shot from a scooter. He is likely to be following in the tracks of many a youthful thief, dealer or mugger. Some of their peers, however, chose to stay on the straight and narrow by going to military school. Then there is the forensic detective, whose former classmates are either involved in crime, in prison, or dead. Their main motivation is not lust for violence, he claims: "It's not the fascination of being violent, but of feeling powerful." A young female criminal seems to confirm his words when she proudly explains how she uses her favorite weapon primarily to terrify other people - with a shocking lack of regard for the consequences of her actions. Scena del Crimine intersperses scenes from daily life with security camera recordings of hold-ups and photos of crime scenes.