Daniele Vicari Talks ‘Tired of Killing. Autobiography of an Assassin’

In “Tired of Killing. Autobiography of an Assassin” [“Ammazzare stanca. Autobiografia di un assassino”], Italian director Daniele Vicari reaches for the explosive autobiography by the late Antonio Zagari, former assassin for the Calabrian criminal syndicate ‘Ndrangheta.

“It surprised me that this uncultured, ignorant man came to a more important conclusion than all the intellectuals, philosophers, journalists or directors. The moment you kill someone you also kill yourself,” he tells Variety ahead of the film’s premiere in Venice. 

Vicari discovered Zagari’s book many years ago. 

“I mention it’s an ‘Autobiography of an Assassin’ because that’s what he says to himself: ‘I am a murderer.’ It’s his problem, the problem that has defined his entire life. [In the book] he looked at his own story as if he was watching a movie. I liked that, because it allowed me to interpret these events in a subjective way.”

Zagari’s desire to shape his own destiny instead of following the path he was forced to take – as a son of a Calabrian boss – feels universal, he stresses. 

“We are also imprisoned by so many rules. Sometimes they can be changed – other times they crush us. There is something beautiful about seeing this violent man realizing he lacks the most important thing: freedom.”

He adds: “He wasn’t well-read and yet he chose the book’s title by referencing one of the most important Italian post-war novels, “Hard Labor” [“Lavorare stanca”] by Cesare Pavese. He understood, probably while in jail, that writing could free him instead.”

Starring Gabriel Montesi in the lead role, joined by Vinicio Marchioni, Selene Caramazza and Andrea Fuorto, the film was produced by Mompracem with Rai Cinema. Beta Cinema handles sales and debuts exclusive clip here:

Kicking off in the 1970s, among protests and societal changes, “Tired of Killing” allowed Vicari to show a period of time when “the desire for freedom became very strong.” 

“Young people all over the world were thinking about freedom and Antonio realized he didn’t have it. His destiny, his origins, forced him to do what he was doing. Psychoanalysts say that sometimes, you have to ‘kill’ your father in order to move on. But how can you kill a father who can kill you too?”

In the film, and the book, his entire body starts to physically react to his “job,” aggressively rebelling against it. 

“I grew up in the countryside, in the mountains. At a certain point we killed a pig, the same one I used to feed, and its blood repulsed and attracted me at the same time. When Antonio writes about being a killer who develops this repulsion for blood, even his own… It made me think that every human being hides something mysterious inside,” says Vicari.

After “Prima che la notte,” in which he told the story of Giuseppe “Pippo” Fava, a journalist killed by the Mafia, he never wanted to make “another mob movie.” 

“It’s not something I’m interested in at all – I was interested in Antonio. He is this samurai, a prisoner of his own rules. His story says something about our life today, because we are being crushed by so many things: economy, politics, international conflicts. The problem is, we are not repulsed by blood.”

Following Antonio’s internal journey led Vicari to some unexpected places. 

“He talks about his own actions as if describing a gangster movie. It almost makes you laugh! There’s irony in it, but it’s a morbid irony. It was his way of dealing with all the pain, all the violence. He doesn’t know how to distance himself from that. So, what does he do? He jokes about tragedy,” he reveals. 

“These people are miserable, even though they have expensive clothes, cars and an entire army at their disposal. He says it explicitly in the book: there’s no honor in this behavior. There’s no honor in being a member of ‘Ndrangheta. He demolished, from the inside, the very organization that imprisoned him.” 

Zagari uncovered a lot: also ‘Ndrangheta’s coded language. 

“During my research, I understood he’s one of the most hated people by the Mafia, because he didn’t just give out names. He revealed their secret codes,” says Vicari.

“In gangster movies, in ‘The Godfather,’ the son replaces the father and creates an even bigger empire. Antonio refused this ‘inheritance’. Also, he betrayed not just his father; he betrayed the whole organization. No mobster would ever forgive that.”