Three Brothers Becoming Overnight Millionaires with Pirated Tapes... Unveiling the Unjustness of 80s Italy

The father manufactures and sells counterfeit whisky. The family is harmonious. The three brothers step up to make the whisky and assist in selling it for their father. The eldest, Pepe (Giuseppe Arena), dreams of becoming a bootlegger when he grows up. The middle child, Enrico (Luigi Doriano), dreams of becoming a DJ but only manages to get a job cleaning a local record shop. The youngest, Angelo (Emanuele Palumbo), is a renowned brawler. The three brothers wish to become rich, but they live in poverty. They reside in Naples, known for its poverty in the 1980s Italy. But they quickly become millionaires and even celebrities that shake up all of Italy. What is their secret?

Three brothers living in Naples, Italy, dream of becoming rich through an illegal cassette tape duplication business. picture=01distribution

1) The Illegally Duped Tapes Packed with Talent

Enrico is well-versed in pop music and has an exceptional selection ability. When the record shop suddenly closes down, his money-making path hits a dead end. Pepe is also in dire straits. Enrico proposes the idea of an illegal cassette tape duplication business to Pepe. The tapes that Enrico records, carefully selecting songs to match people's tastes, become a huge hit. Pepe takes on the role of pioneering the business route, while Angelo handles any intervention from thugs. The brothers quickly amass enough wealth to afford a sports car like a Lamborghini. They are audacious and also have business acumen. They even take out loans to quickly expand their business, set up a secret hideout to evade police searches, and even demonstrate quick reflexes by selling tapes containing songs sung at the Sanremo Music Festival before the festival ends.

Enrico is knowledgeable in pop musicand has exceptional selection abilities. He thinks of the production of illegal duplicate tapes as similar to being a DJ. picture=01distribution

2) Dominating the Market in Italy

The tapes that the brothers sell are distributed under the brand 'Mixed by Ery.' Ery is Enrico's nickname, meaning 'handpicked by Enrico.' 'Mixed by Ery' becomes a pop culture phenomenon in Italy, especially in the south. The tapes they release receive a warm reception, and cheaper versions of the tapes even start appearing in street markets. 'Mixed by Ery' even captures the number one spot in Italy's music market share, creating a bizarre situation. Of course, record companies can't just stand by. The police accelerate their investigations. But catching the three brothers red-handed in the act of producing illegal pirated tapes is no easy feat.

3) Satire on Italian Society in the 1980s

The movie doesn't just focus on the brothers' business and parties. It highlights the state of the times in Italy and the unfair aspects of society. For instance, the contrast between impoverished Naples filled with old buildings and poor people, and affluent northern Milan with its array of luxury cars and clean streets, hints at the serious regional disparity in Italy. The brothers' business is clearly illegal, but for them, who grew up in Naples where the Mafia reigns, illegality is part of their lives. The Milan record company executives, who already are wealthy but collude with the brothers to make more money, are no different from the brothers. It raises the question: how many Italians can genuinely throw stones at the brothers? 

'Mixed by Erry' is based on a true story. It's said that the brothers sold around 150 million pirated tapes. Their sentence was just over Four and a half years, and all their assets were seized. The film stirs up excitement with popular songs from the 1980s and mocks the era with the brothers' bumbling antics. The brothers' illegal activities may not be detestable due to their innocent rogue tendencies. There's a small twist related to money hidden towards the end. You'll have to wait until all the ending credits have rolled up. The secret of the three brothers and the Sanremo Music Festival is finally revealed then.