Mafia

An overly enthusiastic police Captain uses some less-than-legal tactics to investigate a suspected mob hit in Sicily. A very densely plotted mystery filled with characters adding layer after layer of deceit until the truth is completely obscured. Franco Nero stares heroically, Claudia Cardinale pouts adorably, and Lee J. Cobb projects a powerful aura of doom as the Don running the town. This superb film defies the standard formula at every turn and has a fantastic ending.

It seems a bit slow at times, one not too used to Italian cinema might be distracted by the melodramatic passion with which everybody talks. (Some nice acting though, not contesting that) But when things start falling into place and one understands what is going on, woah! The almost desolated landscape fits the bleakness of it too. Even more striking when you read about the history of the novel it is based on VS the mafia in Italy

It's pretty fascinating how this Sicilian mafia movie contrasts with the Italian-American mafia cinema that would transform the genre in the following decade. There are many similarities, and major differences. It has an elaborate, serpentine plot that ends with a bang. The mob has a fickle Mediterranean temperament, and the cop, while incorruptibly adverserial to the mob, employs dirty and dishonest tactics. Issues of marital fidelity are much more central. Dubbed Lee J. Cobb is awesome.

Em honra do centenário de Leonardo Sciascia. O usual ótimo cinema político de Damiani encontras seu par em Sciascia, é intricando, mas mostra quem realmente mandava em solo italiano. BlurayRip no MakingOff.