In a small town, an ageing loan shark, who lives with his mother, is undone by greed and his fatal attraction to a beautiful young woman.

The film kicks in with a galvanisingly bizarre intro - a nun buried up to her neck in sand, set to a blast of what can only be described as heavy metal cello - and never lets up. Rizzo plays Geremia de'Geremei, an elderly tailor and moneylender who has accumulated a fortune by making small but lucrative loans, but who still lives with his ancient, bedridden mother in a gruesomely squalid flat. Geremia likes to think of himself as a best friend to the people he helps, poking his nose into their lives like a benevolent but fussy uncle. But if they default on their debt, his clients are likely to find themselves buried in sand, or worse.

CAST AND CREW

Giacomo Rizzo Laura Chiatti Luigi Angelillo Marco Giallini Paolo Sorrentino

GENRE

Drama, World Cinema

CERTIFICATE

Suitable only for 15 years and over

RUN TIME

1 hour 40 minutes

RELEASED

2007