First of all, don't get me wrong, I am an mafia-film kind of person. I like the atmosphere these movies breath. The whole Italian culture is reflected in films like the Godfather trilogy. Is Bella Mafia one of these movies? No, and I'll tell you why. The casting is poor, no authentic Italian woman had natural blond hair and blue eyes. Most women in this movie have the most non-Italian features, it's a shame. The casting of the men is better, especially James Marsden, who plays Luka is a good portrayal of the character. The story is really good though. Interesting and moving, the movie portrays the life of a Italian family (the standard ingredient of a mafia film) in Sicily. When the head of the family don Roberto Luciano declines an offer of Corolla (he wants to do business in narcotics) he kills his youngest son. Michael Luciano was engaged to be married with the pregnant Sophia (a beautiful blond and blue eyed young woman). Don Roberto Luciano swears revenge on Corolla but before he can do so the whole male side of the family is murdered by Corolla's adopted son Luka, the twisted, uneducated son of Sophia. Sophia, and all the wives of the Luciano men swear vengeance to whoever did it. A very interesting movie to watch, but please do not expect a great mafia movie like the Godfather. The real mafia-Italian atmosphere is missing, but other than that, I can recommend Bella Mafia to the mafia lovers.

This has to be one of the coolest movies ever made for t.v. The plot, the plot twists! I wish there was a sequel so we find out how Sophia and the rest of the "bella mafia" kills the others responsible. Does Moyra, "He's so old," marry Vito Giancamo? What happens to Rosa and Michael? Kinski was the perfect actress to be cast for this film. As was Redgrave. I especially like her during the cooking scene in the Corolla house, "There's more..." as they drug Luka. The script is smart and the dialog well written. I kinda felt like there was some relation to real world cosmic thing, when Luka comes back to his "mi mama." Teresa needed to be given the chance to show how business savvy she was. Moyra was the comic relief. I especially like the end when Sophia, Teresa, and Graziella do a final toast with one of the mafia guys (I can't remember his name). It is so funny how sweet they are. Love this movie!!! I wish it would come out on DVD soon.

This is my favorite movie, I love mafia movies but this one shows the strength of women and their ability to run things just as good as if not better than a man. I would recommend everyone see this movie it is wonderful! It makes you laugh it makes you cry, it even makes you angry but in the end it will make you happy that you decided to watch it. The actors and actresses were great you would think that you were watching their real lives and not just a movie they auditioned before because everything was so natural. There were some little tweaks that I would personally make to the movie to make it more interesting and more tuned to my personal taste but other than those few minor things this is the best movie that I have ever seen.

'Bella Mafia' was a TV mini-series that is available on VHS tape in two versions: one an apparently truncated version of 117 minutes on one tape while the preferable version is over two tapes and 180 minutes or three hours (but that includes seven minutes of previews of other films). One could think of this as a poor cousin to 'The Godfather,' but from the point of view of the women. These women are the wives or would be wife of the Luciano family. The men, father and sons, are all killed and it is up to the women to even the score. It has a nice look to it, but seems to overly draw from 'The Godfather' by using the name Michael and without compelling supporting character actors. Unfortunately for 'Bella Mafia' there are no equivalents of Al Pacino to be found here or anything resembling the presence of Marlon Brando. Hence, the movie is dominated by two presence's: Vanessa Redgrave as the matriarch of the family and Nastassja Kinski, one of her daughters-in-law. With the end of the first half of the movie, it is more than obvious what will eventually happen in the second half. The only question being what will be the details? In that sense, the movie unfolds very predictably and there is little suspense. It is a problem that the author of the novel, Lynda La Plante, never overcomes because she is also credited with the 'teleplay.' It is then a matter of appreciating the performances. All of the male actors seem to be weak and are easily overshadowed first by Vanessa Redgrave and then by the take-control of the film by Nastassja Kinski. Nastassja's performance is intelligent, as usual, and exceedingly even throughout at an elevated level. She is more than believable and has at least given a very good performance, covering lots of emotional range. Make no mistake, this is no 'Godfather' or anything close. Just never mess with Nastassja's Sophia character, otherwise one is likely to end up dead.