KIDNAPPED: THE ABDUCTION OF EDGARDO MORTARA:
![](https://www.memhall.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/KIDNAPPED-THE-ABDUCTION-OF-EDGARDO-MORTARA-300x144.png)
2 hours 14 minutes
drama / history
click on poster for trailer
~ in 4K ultra-high definition at this theatre ~
Friday, July 12 – 7:15 pm /
Saturday, July 13 – 4:00 pm & 7:15 pm /
Monday, July 15 – 4:00 pm & 7:15 pm /
Tuesday, July 16 – 7:15 pm /
Thursday, July 18 – 7:15 pm /
In 1858, in the Jewish quarter of Bologna, the Pope’s soldiers burst into the home of the Mortara family. By order of the cardinal, they have come to take Edgardo, their seven-year-old son. The child had been secretly baptized by his nurse as a baby and the papal law is unquestionable: he must receive a Catholic education. Edgardo’s parents, distraught, will do anything to get their son back. Supported by public opinion and the international Jewish community, the Mortaras’ struggle quickly takes a political dimension. But the Church and the Pope will not agree to return the child, to consolidate an increasingly wavering power.
“Mr. Bellocchio [director], who also co-wrote the screenplay with Susanna Nicchiarelli, has crafted a weighty, suspenseful family drama that touches on the eternal conflicts of religion but widens into a consideration of law, personal development and power politics.” (Kyle Smith, Wall Street Journal)
“Kidnapped is an expertly paced, gorgeously shot and evocative true story of faith, family, and the power of people coming together to right deeply ingrained wrongs.” (Barry Levitt, Empire)
“Set in 1800s Italy and based on a true story, “Kidnapped” is so primally upsetting that you would think it would be unbearable to watch. But it proves intoxicating, at times nearly overwhelming, thanks to perfect casting, an economical and impassioned screenplay, and filmmaking overseen by 84-year-old cowriter-director Marco Bellocchio, who might be one of the greatest living narrative filmmakers who is not usually recognized as such.” (Matt Zoller Seitz, RogerEbert.com)
Nominated for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes film Festival, Kidnapped: The Abduction of Edgardo Mortara has 16 wins and 16 additional nominations for excellence.