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Piranhas (La paranza dei bambini)

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Videos & Photos

  • Official Trailer

Movie Info & Cast

Director:

Claudio Giovannesi

Producer:

Marco Camilli, Gianluca Chiaretti, Carlo Degli Esposti

Writer:

Roberto Saviano, Claudio Giovannesi, Maurizio Braucci

Release Date:

Aug 2, 2019

Runtime:

1hr 51m

Synopsis

A gang of teenage boys stalks the streets of Naples armed with hand guns and AK-47s to do their mob bosses' bidding.

Cast

  • Francesco Di Napoli
  • Viviana Aprea
  • Mattia Piano Del Balzo
  • Ciro Vecchione
  • Ciro Pellechia
  • Ar Tem
  • Alfredo Turitto
  • Pasquale Marotta
  • Luca Nacarlo
  • Carmine Pizzo

Letterboxd User Reviews

3.4
11.6K
2.1K
1.9K
RATINGS 17 FANS
3.4
  • Jul 3, 2019

    Based on the novel La Paranza dei Bambini by Roberto Saviano (Gomorrah). Unlike Gomorrah, this film seems a bit more grounded in genre filmmaking and because of this, it ends up feeling like a modern day poliziotteschi film. And I love poliziotteschi films. And the premise…

    151 Likes
    Sean Baker
    Sean Baker
    Jun 11, 2019

    Nicola is a decent kid in a dirty world. A 15-year-old boy who’s mired in the usual mess of pubescent crises — raging hormones, idiot friends, hostile bullies — Nicola stands out for the attention that he still manages to afford his single mom and younger brother; whether…

    74 Likes
    davidehrlich
    davidehrlich
    Dec 13, 2023

    Scarface'nin Napoli versiyonu tarzında.

    59 Likes
    Arfbk
    Arfbk
  •
    Feb 23, 2019

    *neapolitan teen mafia gang dancing to daft punk’ giorgio by moroder drinking champagne in a club* me: poetic cinema

    45 Likes
    Niccolò
    Niccolò
    Oct 17, 2020

    Underage gangsters on Vespas with AKs and iPhones; impressive youth crime drama. Not as big in scope as I thought it’s gonna be, yet still very intriguing and convincingly unsettling, mainly thanks to the superb cast.

    30 Likes
    Sam The Filmfan 🎭
    Sam The Filmfan 🎭
    Oct 14, 2025

    English Version below ... La Paranza dei Bambini (2019) Paranza – Der Clan der Kinder Piranhas Die Kinder sind draussen zum Spielen Paranza - Der Clan der Kinder ist ein Thriller aus dem Jahr 2019 von Claudio Giovannesi mit Francesco Di Napoli und Viviana Aprea. Eine…

    25 Likes
    Sidibus
    Sidibus
  •
    Dec 20, 2019

    Lessi il libro un paio di anni fa e mi piacque. Il film secondo me è anche meglio. Lo stile visivo è ricalcato su quello di Gomorra, più la serie TV di Sollima che il film di Garrone. Ragion per cui La paranza dei bambini non sembra avere una personalità tutta sua. Il vero…

    23 Likes
    Alessandro Di Romolo
    Alessandro Di Romolo
    May 2, 2020

    Naples, Italy. The police think they have put away all the mafia bosses. They're all dead, in jail or under house arrest. Now the whole mafia mutates into a headless disorganized crime operation cause the bosses are barely out of high school. Its the baby mafia now. All…

    21 Likes
    Waldo
    Waldo
    May 14, 2020

    a napoli la gente nasce che sa già recitare. che si tratti del protagonista problematico con la pistola infilata nelle mutande o del venditore di cozze che appare per due battute in tutto il film, la performance è garantita e fila in maniera così spontanea che non può non…

    21 Likes
    ribbi
    ribbi
See All Reviews on Letterboxd.com

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Top Reviews
  • Eveeeee
    Eveeeee liked
    Piranhas

    The book is different but this movie is good too

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Metacritic

57
metacritic
Based on 13 Critics
7.0

USER SCORE (8)

Generally favorable reviews based on 8 Reviews
50
Aug 2, 2019

Piranhas generally succeeds whenever it leans into its hangout vibe. The teenage gang isn’t particularly memorable (names and personalities are eschewed for rowdy homogeneity) but their collective energy can be fun to watch, especially because it allows Giovannesi to document youth as currently lived.

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Metacritic review by Vikram Murthi
Vikram Murthi
RogerEbert.com
63
Jul 29, 2019

Claudio Giovannesi’s film is more an interesting tweak of Goodfellas than an eye-opening social statement.

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Metacritic review by Pat Brown
Pat Brown
Slant Magazine
See All Critic Reviews on Metacritic.com

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is Piranhas (La paranza dei bambini) (2019)?
The movie is 1hr 51min long.
What's Piranhas (La paranza dei bambini) (2019) about?
A gang of teenage boys stalks the streets of Naples armed with hand guns and AK-47s to do their mob bosses' bidding.
Who's the cast of Piranhas (La paranza dei bambini) (2019)?
  • Francesco Di Napoli as Nicola
  • Viviana Aprea as Letizia
  • Mattia Piano Del Balzo as Briatò
  • Ciro Vecchione as 'O Russ
  • Ciro Pellechia as Lollipop
  • Ar Tem as Tyson
  • Alfredo Turitto as Biscottino
  • Pasquale Marotta as Agostino
  • Luca Nacarlo as Cristian
  • Carmine Pizzo as Limone
Who's the director behind Piranhas (La paranza dei bambini) (2019)?
Claudio Giovannesi directed Piranhas (La paranza dei bambini) (2019).
Who produced Piranhas (La paranza dei bambini) (2019)?
Marco Camilli, Gianluca Chiaretti and Carlo Degli Esposti produced Piranhas (La paranza dei bambini) (2019).