Cohen Media Group debuted the official trailer for Kidnapped: The Abduction of Edgardo Mortara, the drama film tells the true story of Edgardo Mortara, a young Jewish boy living in Bologna, Italy, when in 1858, after being secretly baptized, was forcibly taken from his family by the Pope, to be raised Catholic.

Starring in the movie are Enea Sala, Leonardo Maltese, Paolo Pierobon, Fausto Russo Alesi, Barbara Ronchi, Andrea Gherpelli, and Samuele Teneggi.

Release Date

Directed by Marco Bellocchio (The Traitor, Marx Can Wait, Dormant Beauty), Kidnapped: The Abduction of Edgardo Mortara premiered at Cannes Film Festival and will be released in theaters on May 24, 2024.

Synopsis

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 take a political dimension. But the Church and the Pope will not agree to return the child, to consolidate an increasingly wavering power …

Reviews

Movieweb review gave the film a luke warm reception, writing, ‘By the end, Kidnapped gets several key points across, but it leaves more to be desired when it comes to the focus of said kidnapping. It might not be one of Marco Bellocchio’s finest films, but it gets the job done. By contextualizing one historic event with the overarching downfall of the Papal States, Bellocchio has created a visual form of historical storytelling to paint a broader picture on politics and what it means to have one identity’s stripped away in a forced act.”

Official Trailer

Watch the official trailer for Kidnapped: The Abduction of Edgardo Mortara