The Brothers Rico (Bratři Ricové )

Two brothers, two paths in life, one criminal organization. This lesser known television crime story is based on a book by Georges Simenon, who also created, among other things, detective Maigret. The story of both Ricos would maybe fit quite nicely among the narratives in Michael Mann’s section. We follow two brothers: Eddie, who gave up the gangster life and now lives in a fairly peaceful manner, and Tony, who remains with their criminal organization and desires to do the same. However, Eddie’s escape is nowhere near as complete as it may seem. The story deals, in varying intensity, with topics of family, morality and loyalty, which are often seen across the crime genre globally. Also, this is not the first version of this story that found its way to the Noir Film Festival – Phil Karlson’s version (1957) with Richard Conte in the titular role was screened last year. (bk)