Ultrà

As if there isn’t enough reason to take heed of Ultrà’s machismo driven violence, a host of English football clubs have recently been left severely discomfited by a problem that now seems endemic, and specific, to Italy. Football hooliganism isn’t a new topic, and this isn’t even a new movie – Ultrà was released in 1990 – but while the subject matter has lost some of its impact, it makes up for such deficiencies in its presentation. Ultrà is evocative of The Warriors by way of its urban tribal and urbane aesthetic, but a bleaker palate downplays any glorification. While the subplots are somewhat rudimentary, Ricky Tognazzi still manages to make the two protagonists engaging, as they are forced to choose between domestication and their fanatical loyalty to the terraces and each other. Tognazzi doesn’t pretend that Ultrà is about football; the banners and scarves are merely dressage to an otherwise fatal theatre of fluorescent, empty hate. [Ray Philp]