• Home
  • News
  • Top Picks
    • Movies & Films: Top 25
    • Documentaries: Top 25
    • Films For Students: Top 10
    • Music Videos: Top 10
  • Categories
    • Film
    • Documentary
    • Shorts
    • Blog
    • Calendar
    • Links
    • About

Miss Liberty's Film & Documentary World

Libertarian Movies, Films & Documentaries

The Palermo Connection (1990)

Tagged: Legalize Drugs

WINNER: TOP 25 LIBERTARIAN FILMS
A New York City politician who campaigns on a platform of drug decriminalization encounters deadly opposition from the Mafia. [ The Palermo Connection credits: Dir: Francesco Rosi/ James Belushi, Mimi Rogers, Joss Ackland/100 min/ Thriller/ France, Italy/ Filmed in English/ Legalize Drugs]

“A film that correctly identifies drug prohibition as the root cause of so many modern woes.”

“Do you believe drugs are bad? —Yes. Do you want your children to take drugs? —No. Do you think we should shoot the drug pushers? —Yes, yes, yes! [By wording the questions in that way] we work [the public] up to give us an answer that we want, so that everybody can go on making money out of something that, if it were legal, would not be that big a deal.” Thus the cynical politician at the center of The Palermo Connection explains how he and his fellow politicos manipulate the voting public to support the “War on Drugs.” But then a terrible thing happens to him. In a moment of uncharacteristic integrity, he attempts to live up to his own campaign promise “to make a difference.” Realizing that the public could just as easily be manipulated to do what’s right—i.e., decriminalize drugs—he runs on such a platform.

Friends and family begin cautioning that his platform may place him in danger. Organized crime makes too much money on the illegal trade to allow such a change. He ignores these warnings and the next thing you know, the Mafia threatens him with death if he doesn’t abandon his decriminalization platform. Will he give in or will he resist? Even he isn’t sure of the answer to that question until the very end.

In the course of these events, most of the right arguments are made, although the theme here is only decriminalization with some state control, not complete legalization. Nonetheless, it’s very refreshing to see a film that correctly identifies drug prohibition as the root cause of so many modern woes. One of the best parts of the film is a brief speech by the lead Mafia boss, who explains matter-of-factly the symbiotic relationship between government and organized crime: “Governments invent prohibitions so that they can control the people. Then we [the Mafia] give the people what they want. That is why the governments need us, and why we need them.”

That’s an unusually intelligent observation and it’s typical of The Palermo Connection, which benefits from an insightful screenplay coauthored by Gore Vidal. It’s also an effective thriller that conveys with some originality the subtle danger surrounding the politician. Much of this Franco-Italian production is shot in Palermo, Sicily, so it has an interesting Old World feel. Also listed as To Forget Palermo and Dimenticare Palermo.

How to See It

Amazon (DVD-Europe)
Online Video Search

Links

IMDB
Wikipedia

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Related

Featured Post

weird

Things Are Weird. Is It Time To Watch Wild Palms?

For years, the most outrageous conspiracy theory that had any popularity was the claim that a corrupt cabal of pedophiles and pervs were somehow calling the shots behind the scenes, protected by governments. This was considered tin-hat stuff. Then the world learned that there actually was a pedophile island … Continue Reading

obsolete industries

All Obsolete Industries Deserve A Bailout

This hilarious video put out by The Coalition for Obsolete Industries takes a (tongue in cheek) stand against progress in order to save jobs. You can learn more about the coalition on their Facebook page. … Continue Reading

the stranger

The Stranger (1946)

A post-WWII war crimes official hunts down a little-known escaped Nazi: the man who secretly planned and managed the Holocaust. [ The Stranger credits: Dir: Orson Welles/ Orson Welles, Edward G. Robinson, Loretta Young/ 95 min/ Drama, Thriller/ Democide] “I will not spoil this tightly-crafted cat and … Continue Reading

Themes

Abuse of power American revolution Anti-draft Anti-regulation Anti-slavery Anti-socialism Anti-taxation Anti-war Ayn Rand Corrupt government Creator as hero Democide Econ 101 Eminent domain Equality & law Escape from socialism Freedom of speech Free press as hero Government as bigot Government as torturer Government enforced morality Government healthcare Government schools Incompetent government Individualism John Stossel Law & liberty Legalize Drugs Libertarian heroes Libertarianism 101 Power corrupts Power worship Pro-capitalism Pro-immigration Propaganda Psychiatric coercion Resistance to tyranny Right to secede Search & seizure Second amendment Sexual liberty Social tolerance Unions & monopolies Voluntarism Working for government

Genres/Categories

Action-Adventure Animated Biography Blog Comedy Documentary Drama Family Featured Film Foreign History Horror Music-Dance Netflix News Romance SciFi-Fantasy Shorts Thriller Upcoming Western

About Miss Liberty

This site is a collection of films and documentaries of particular interest to libertarians (and those interested in libertarianism). It began as a book, Miss Liberty’s Guide to Film: Movies for the Libertarian Millennium, where many of the recommended films were first reviewed. The current collection has grown to now more than double the number in that original list, and it’s growing still.

  • RSS

© 2023 Miss Liberty's Film & Documentary World. All Rights Reserved