The Kingdom (15)

Ghjuvanna Benedetti is transfixing as teenage Lesia, who is taken from her sheltered Corsican existence in the summer of 1995 and dropped at a villa where her estranged mob-boss father, Pierre-Paul, is hiding. An assassination attempt sets off a deadly chain of vendettas forcing the two of them on the run. While her father dreams of another life where wife and daughter were central, Lesia, in understanding her father’s adherence to brutal underworld codes, is drawn into an equal devotion for revenge. Taking director Julien Colonna 3??1/2 years to make, and featuring amateur actors, this gripping thriller gives a unique perspective on the coming-of-age theme. (S) (A Guardian Top 50 of 2025 film)