Portobello

“Portobello” has its slow spots, but its portrait of the institutionalized chaos of Italian society is finely woven and convincing.

There’s a purposeful and near-rhythmic balance between the anguish of Tortora and the cold bureaucracy in which he’s held prisoner.

Marco Bellocchio‘s six-episode Italian-language drama is a living nightmare of the past that doubles as an agonizing manifestation of the present — a potent reminder that widespread stupidity isn’t confined to a single time or place.

Despite the length and dodgy pacing of the first episode, Portobello is an entertainingly detailed retelling of one of the strangest stories in recent Italian history.