In “The Traitor,” Bellocchio (“Fists in the Pocket,” “Good Morning, Night”) and his three credited co-writers make a point of emphasizing the surreal events that preceded and continued after Buscetta’s testimony, which is shown to have played a major role in the conviction and imprisonment of dozens of prominent Italian mobsters. Buscetta lives in the eye of a political storm, so he’s not the main subject of “The Traitor,” but rather the constellation of events surrounding his testimony. “The Traitor” is, in that sense, a comedy about how Buscetta’s environment informed his character. Bellocchio doesn’t use Buscetta to preach about national identity or a specific historical moment. If anything, “The Traitor” could be renamed “The Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man” if that title weren’t already taken by another great Italian satire.

In 1980, Buscetta tries to leave the mob, and move to Brazil with his family. Later that year, his sons are murdered by pissed-off rival mob bosses while he and his third wife Cristina (Maria Fernanda Candido) are imprisoned and tortured by Brazilian military police. The local authorities send Buscetta back to Italy four years later, but only after they make a big show of giving Buscetta a clean bill of health, which naturally blows up in their face (he may or may not have tried to poison himself). Once in Palermo, Buscetta is offered a deal: become an informer (in Italian: a “penitent”), or die in a cell. Not much of a choice, but also not an easy call for Buscetta, a self-described “man of honor.”

A lot of information about Buscetta—especially what motivates him—is hidden in plain sight. Buscetta was, as fans of Italian true crime know, the star witness at a couple of Mafia trials, where hundreds of gangsters were charged with multiple life sentences; during these trials, the accused wait in barred, zoo-like enclosures at the back of massive, halogen-lit auditoriums. Many defendants act out, exposing themselves, smoking cigars (for their health), screaming threats, demanding to cross-examine Buscetta. But these trials all look very different to Buscetta, a man whose closest professional connection might be Totuccio Contorno (Luigi Lo Cascio), a fellow informer who dreams about the salad days of caviar and prostitutes. “What sensational fucks we had, what grand sluts they were,” Contorno sighs as Buscetta meticulously applies shoe polish-thick hair dye to his greying mane.

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