Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

Marino Pacileo is a lonely man. He is seen performing his daily routine going to his job in a Neapolitan penitentiary. Everybody calls him Gorbaciof because of the birthmark on his forehead, which reminds people of the former Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev. Pacileo walks with a swagger which denotes he is confident about himself. His job consists in taking money from the relatives of inmates, although it is not explained why they pay. At the end of the day, he takes the money to be locked in a safe. We watch as he puts some bills in his pocket.His days end up in the back room of a Chinese restaurant, where a corrupt lawyer holds nightly poker games. Gorbaciof has a terrible gambling addiction which consumes him and makes him "borrow" some of the money in order to satisfy his gambling. He feels an attraction for Lila, the lovely young daughter of the owner of the restaurant, who is himself an addict to the game. Pacileo senses the father will end up sacrificing Lila to a life of prostitution, something he wants to thwart, for he has to come to love the girl."Gorbaciof" directed by Stefano Incerti is not interested in clarifying for the viewer specifics about Pacileo's behavior. The director collaborated to the screenplay with Diego de Silva. It is an enigmatic story because of what is not being said, rather for the revelations on the life of this strange man who hardly utters a word throughout the story. We realize he must have suffer the loss of a loved one. Could it be a wife, or a child? We follow him to a cemetery where he sits and contemplate a humble grave. Pacileo, who sports wide sideburns and evidently does not care to dress, is seen in the only one suit he possesses, as it appears everything is secondary to him, except his addiction to poker. Toni Servillo gives another "tour de force" portraying this strange man with a peculiar walk who gets deeply in debt to the bad lawyer who beats him playing poker. Mr. Servillo is an intense actor who gets under the skin of any of the characters he is asked to play. Without saying much, he speaks volumes in the way he is seen walking the streets of the Chinese section of Naples, in the metro, or outsmarting the man he owes a lot of money. Mini Yang is the sweet Lila. Geppi Gleijeses is effective as the lawyer and Nello Mascia is seen as the jail's superior who lets Gorbaciof think he is getting away with his stealing, but who wants something in return.Pasquale Mari photographed Naples as it is seldom seen. TehoTeardo composed the music score, which plays well in the background. Stefano Incerti delivers a taut film and gets a fantastic performance by his star, Toni Seevillo.

Although it may seem so, this movie has nothing to do with the USSR. The movie's title refers to the protagonist's crimson birthmark on top of his head, just as the former Soviet leader. Gorbaciof works as a cashier at the prison of Naples. Quite easily he manages to embezzle money with which he gambles at night playing card games in the back of a Chinese restaurant. When he starts to feel for Lila, the mysterious and gorgeous waitress of the restaurant, everything changes. The beautiful camera work and excellent editing make up for the lack of dialog in this film (there is almost no spoken word). Lots of dynamic shots, close ups and long takes in combination with the very good acting of Tony Servillo and Mi Yang make for a great cinematic experience. There is a lot of suspense in this film, but it has also funny and romantic moments. The only downside is the story, which is too straight forward in my opinion. If you can live with that I would say that this is nothing less than a must-see. Enjoy!