Marco Bellocchio's stunning new film faithfully retells a disturbing scandal of the Catholic Church in 19th-century Italy

In June 1858 in Bologna, Italy, the Jewish merchant Momolo Mortara returned home to find papal police questioning Marianna, his terrified wife. Without their knowledge, their six-year-old son Edgardo had been baptised by their former maid, an illiterate young Catholic woman. The child was now considered a Christian and therefore could not reside amongst Jews. Pope Pius IX’s Inquisitor ordered the boy to be removed from his parents and five siblings. The following day, Edgardo was seized, reducing not just the family, but also the two guarding policemen, to tears of anguish. These historical facts begin the latest offering by veteran filmmaker Marco Bellocchio.

Jews inhabited Italy prior to Christians, yet they had become the outsiders. In the 16th century, there were 11 synagogues and around 900 Jewish people residing in Bologna and contributing to the culture. In 1593, the Pope expelled Jews from the region and their books were publicly burned. By the mid-19th century, about 200 Jewish people had returned to the area, living in a separated ghetto and practising their faith without a synagogue or rabbi, while taking care not to upset the authorities.

Edgardo's indoctrination began as soon as he entered the Christian world. In the film, he is told that Jesus was a Jew like him, and killed by Jews. He learns the catechisms by rote and sleeps in a dormitory with other stolen Jewish children.

Momolo tried every avenue to have his son returned. News of the abduction spread across Europe and to America, bringing anxiety to the ‘Pope’s Jews’. In Rome, desperate to appease the pontiff, senior members of the Jewish community gift him a silver menorah. Brushing it aside, he forces each Elder to lick his shoe. A later scene depicts Edgardo as a young man, forced to do the same and worse: he has to make the sign of the cross on the floor three times, with his tongue. Controversially, in 2000, Pius IX was canonised by Pope John Paul II and officially declared a saint.

The Mortara case became an international scandal. French Emperor Napoleon III withdrew his support of the Pope, contributing to the eventual dissolution of papal temporal power and the unification of Italy.

Bellocchio's cinematography is stunning, with many interior scenes in chiaroscuro, lit like a Caravaggio painting. Care has been taken to reconstruct settings and even the speech sounds authentic: Enea Sala, who plays the child Edgardo, comes from Bologna and speaks in the local accent. The acting is first class: Paolo Pierobon as Pius IX can chill with his eyes, while manufacturing a benevolent smile; Fabio Massimo Capogrosso’s powerful score is used sparingly throughout the film, rising to a crescendo in the highest dramatic moments.

Kidnapped illustrates the maxim attributed to the Jesuits: "Give me the boy before the age of seven and I’ll show you the man." It reminds us of the complex, troubled history of Jewish-Catholic relations, and of the corrupting nature of absolute power.

By Irene Wise

Kidnapped is out now at select UK cinemas and available to stream on Curzon Home Cinema. homecinema.curzon.com