The only other film by Elio Petri I ever watched was "Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion", but that just happens to be one of the greatest movies in history, and one that promptly catapulted itself in my all-time personal top 10. Also because of that great film, I didn't hesitate for a second to purchase the BluRay of "Property Is No Longer A Theft" - even though it was quite expensive. Based on the IMDb rating, the favorable reviews, and my own previous experience with a Petri film, I was certain this would be great.
And it is great, ... but sadly not my kind of great. I love cult horror, Poliziotesschi, and Gialli from Italy, but "Property..." is none of that. It's a pitch-black comedy, and more particularly a satire on contemporary capitalism. Not my cup of tea. Despite a strong first half hour and spirited performances throughout, I quickly lost interest. The movie begins very strong, with a bank heist going wrong and the persona of a corrupt and arrogant local butcher triumphing as the big hero. Total, a meaningless bank employee, is so frustrated by having nothing despite living an honest and hard-working life, that he quits his job and dedicates his time to stealing from the butcher.
It's a bonkers version of Robin Hood, basically. Hood stole from the rich to give to the poor, whereas Total steals from only one rich guy and strictly to drive him crazy. He steals a butcher's knife (during a powerful sequence illustrating how the already wealthy butcher gets richer from ripping off his customers) and kidnaps his wife (played by Dario Argento's partner Daria). There are a handful of truly great and masterful sequences, but also a lot of tedious ones; - like the (overlong) monologues of nearly every lead character as they talk/yell straight into the camera, as well as every single sequence featuring Total's father. The story is unnecessarily convoluted, and I'm sure I missed out on many of the spoof elements, what with this being socially and contemporarily relevant in Italy of the 1970s, 10 years before I was born and more than 50 years ago by now.
