Institute History
Description
Francisco Lombardi’s remarkable adaptation of Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment is the newest film by the acclaimed director of La Ciudad y Los Perros. Set in the slums of modern Lima, No Mercy tells the story of Ramón Romano, a young man desperately trying to assert himself against the tides of his society. First, he commits a crime that he believes is an act of justice, and then he befriends Sonia, a teenage girl with a pure soul who works as a prostitute.
Ramón, paralleling Raskolnikov in the novel, has to endure the persecution of a stubborn policeman, Mayor Portillo, with whom he eventually creates a strange relationship, a mixture of friendship and hate. In the process, Ramón comes face to face with his own contradictions, which mirror the clash between his sensitive and generous nature and the social realities of his environment.
No Mercy features brilliant performances by Diego Bertie (Ramón), Adriana Davila (Sonia), and Jorge Chiarella (Mayor Portillo). In the masterful hands of director Francisco Lombardi, the film emerges as a compelling mix of classic style and gritty realism.