Marco Bellocchio’s six-episode miniseries Portobello follows the life of Enzo Tortora, a popular Italian television presenter who was accused of being part of the Camorra, a powerful organized crime group, in 1983. The series, which premiered on arte.tv starting October 8 and on Arte on October 15 and 22 at 8:55 PM, delves into the broader issues of violence and instability in Italy during the late 20th century. Bellocchio, an Italian filmmaker known for his work since the 1960s, has directed films such as L'Enlèvement, which was shown in competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023. In Portobello, he collaborates again with actor Fabrizio Gifuni, who previously played Aldo Moro in the 2022 series Esterno Notte. The miniseries chronicles the arrest and imprisonment of Tortora, a prominent figure in Silvio Berlusconi’s television empire, who spent years denying the charges after his career was suddenly cut short. The legal case against him was based on three testimonies but lacked any concrete evidence. One of his main accusers was a man with schizophrenia who claimed to have seen Tortora involved in drug trafficking, though no proof supported this claim. The series uses dreamlike sequences that reference commedia dell’arte, a form of Italian theater from the Renaissance, with the character Polichinelle serving as a symbolic figure. Portobello examines the societal and institutional challenges Tortora faced, including the influence of organized crime, the inefficiency of the judicial system, and the role of the media in shaping public opinion. The series strongly suggests that Tortora was innocent, while also exploring themes of truth, fiction, and the power of false narratives. Through its portrayal of these elements, Portobello invites viewers to reflect on how justice is perceived and constructed in a society marked by corruption and uncertainty.