Marco Bellocchio’s “Portobello”: The Red Carpet Recalls Enzo Tortora’s Judicial Ordeal
One of the most notorious judicial errors in Italian history is being brought back into the spotlight at the Lido. Directed by Marco Bellocchio, “Portobello” recounts the story of Enzo Tortora, a television presenter who fell from the heights of fame into a nightmare.
The evening of the premiere, the red carpet wasn’t just a glamorous stage but bore a symbolic dimension: a vivid reminder of a story of injustice and resilience. Leading the walk up the stairs was Marco Bellocchio, a familiar face at these events, followed by an intense and measured Fabrizio Gifuni, alongside Lino Musella, Barbora Bobulova and Romana Maggiora Vergano.
The film evokes the atmosphere of 1982, a golden year for Italian television, when Tortora drew 28 million viewers per episode with his TV series Portobello and was awarded the title of Commendatore of the Republic by Sandro Pertini. Bellocchio’s cinematic work reconstructs that dramatic arc meticulously: starting with the presenter’s triumph to the unexpected accusation, which was brought by the revelations of Giovanni Pandico, a key figure in the Nuova Camorra Organizzata. On June 17th, 1983, the presenter’s life changed forever: carabinieri at the door, trials, public humiliation, while the country watched in shock. Bellocchio portrays innocence trampled and the fragility of certainty, blending the rhythm of the 80s television codes with the pathos of modern tragedy.
Text: Germano D’Acquisto
Photo: Ludovica Arcero
