The late Gian Maria Volonte, scruffy and homicidal, squared off with Clint Eastwood in two Sergio Leone spaghetti westerns:
A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and
For a Few Dollars More (1965). He again played a killer, this time a dapper homicide chief who murders his free-spirited lover, in the late Elio Petri’s
Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970). I viewed it last night courtesy of Netflix. It is similar to many films of the era in its contempt for authority. Although the protagonist leaves clues deliberately, he is a member of the power structure and, therefore, untouchable. He incriminates himself not out of guilt but arrogance. The beautiful Florinda Bolkin is the victim, seen largely in flashback. Leftists would probably love this flick, where police are the bad guys. It has a satirical, surreal feel. It had me thinking of the work of Franz Kafka. Curious, I watched an interview in the Special Features section Petri, who collaborated on the screenplay with Ugo Pirro, did for French TV. The most interesting thing he said was that an artist who hates society must love humanity, otherwise his work would be pointless. This sounds like an elitist dodge, as it is humanity that forges societies. I don’t see how they can be taken as exclusive. I suspect he shares the contempt of the average Joe held by many intellectuals who believe the world would be perfect if only everyone applied their wisdom. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with art that portrays the negatives of society, or that criticizes government. The freer a society, the healthier it is. I don’t know enough about Italian history to comment on the abuses portrayed in the film. I do know that the Red Brigade came into existence in the 1970’s and it was not a good alternative to the status quo. No mention is made of it in the film. It is very possible the filmmakers did not know of its existence at the time, and I doubt they would have approved of its murderous tactics. I’m sure they would rather mold the world to their beliefs, non-violently through their work. I guess my objection to the film is its blanket indictment of law enforcement. Abuses have always and will likely always occur as long as humans are in charge. The speech the main character delivers has echoes of Hitler. The Italian police are portrayed as being as ruthless and corrupt as the Russian KGB and East German Stasi. Was this really the case? Given the film’s high rating at IMDb, 8.1 of ten, many seem to believe it was. The score was done by Ennio Morricone. Its quirkiness fits the proceedings well, but is not memorable. The main melody has already escaped me, unlike parts of the music of the spaghetti westerns, which my mind can conjure in an instant. The film is interesting, that much I'll say, and Volonte is excellent. Given my conservative nature and bias, I'll refrain from rating it. Petri directed at least one other film of note,
The Tenth Victim (1965), also an attack on society, its shallowness. The intentionally shoddy soundtrack annoyed the heck out of my college friends. I haven't seen it listed anywhere since the mid 70's. Here’s what really matters to this chauvinist dog about
Investigation… - the lovely Miss Bolkin.
It was bitterly cold today, but the sun was shining and the wind was blowing from the east, which allowed me to use the edge of the apartment building for shelter as I waited for customers to patronize the floating book shop . All the items I sold were in Russian, including two DVDs.
Spasibo, folks.
Vic's 4th Novel:
http://tinyurl.com/bszwlxh Vic's 3rd Novel:
http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3 Vic's Website:
http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/ Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle):
http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb Vic's 2nd Novel:
http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6 Vic's 1st Novel:
http://tiny.cc/94t5h Vic's Horror Screenplay on Kindle:
http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3 Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay on Kindle:
http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp Vic’s Short Story on Kindle:
http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
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