Elio Petri’s wonderfully grotesque caricature of the Catholic run government in 1970s Italy, in all of its corrupt and immoral glory. I am not too knowledgeable on the subject matter behind this satire but I think I know enough to understand it. This is one of the finest satires within cinema; it’s perfectly absurd while still retaining the importance of its subject, something very poignant and controversial at the time. The film is situated within an underground bunker for the majority of its runtime, the bunker is full of important political figures and has a large Christian theme with daily spiritual activities and a priest that plays an important role within the community. The community experiences many strange murders which take a toll on everyone, this could be referring to the instability of Italy’s political system at the time and the increase in violence and scandal. The gradual increase in violence and the decay of morals and values within the film also very clearly reflects a system that’s rotting from the inside, similar to the church and how political figures used it as a tool for self benefit and protection from hypocrisy. Gian Maria Volonté is becoming one of my favourite actors at the moment; his performance in this film was exceptionally electric, embodying the intense and unsettling face of corruption within the government, his strange manner and intoxicating personality really accentuated the pure absurdity of the situations. It’s my favourite performance of his so far. Marcello Mastroianni’s performance was also terrific, he played the subtly grounded priest who lived within the bunker, his religious power and confidence really led the powerful people and ultimately ended with his (suspicious) death. Visually this film is brilliant, the compositions are always slightly claustrophobic, with uncomfortable close-ups on faces and dingy lighting that really sets the atmosphere in a perfect way. Overall this is an absolutely fantastic film, that really fascinatingly captures the essence of the subject in a exceptional black satire.
Elio Petri’s wonderfully grotesque caricature of the Catholic run government in 1970s Italy, in all of its corrupt and immoral glory. I am not too knowledgeable on the subject matter behind this satire but I think I know enough to understand it. This is one of the finest satires within cinema; it’s perfectly absurd while still retaining the importance of its subject, something very poignant and controversial at the time. The film is situated within an underground bunker for the majority of its runtime, the bunker is full of important political figures and has a large Christian theme with daily spiritual activities and a priest that plays an important role within the community. The community experiences many strange murders which take a toll on everyone, this could be referring to the instability of Italy’s political system at the time and the increase in violence and scandal. The gradual increase in violence and the decay of morals and values within the film also very clearly reflects a system that’s rotting from the inside, similar to the church and how political figures used it as a tool for self benefit and protection from hypocrisy. Gian Maria Volonté is becoming one of my favourite actors at the moment; his performance in this film was exceptionally electric, embodying the intense and unsettling face of corruption within the government, his strange manner and intoxicating personality really accentuated the pure absurdity of the situations. It’s my favourite performance of his so far. Marcello Mastroianni’s performance was also terrific, he played the subtly grounded priest who lived within the bunker, his religious power and confidence really led the powerful people and ultimately ended with his (suspicious) death. Visually this film is brilliant, the compositions are always slightly claustrophobic, with uncomfortable close-ups on faces and dingy lighting that really sets the atmosphere in a perfect way. Overall this is an absolutely fantastic film, that really fascinatingly captures the essence of the subject in a exceptional black satire.
