THE MATTEI AFFAIR is the fascinating story of Enrico Mattei, a man who helped change Italy's destiny "from a land of song and dance to an industrial nation," as he himself put it. By promoting methane gas as one of the country's greatest natural resources, he was able to bring Italy into the world market and make himself both powerful and hated. He became head of ENI, a state body formed for the development of oil resources. He was socialist by conviction, led a very modest private life, and had conflicts with powerful American oil capitalists. There is a memorable scene in the film in which in a meeting with these oil moguls, he is insultingly treated as a peon. His 1962 death in a private plane crash outside of Milan was believed to have been an assassination, and his death remains shrouded in mystery. This is not a documentary. It is a thought-provoking and intriguing drama about a great man, brilliantly portrayed by the great Italian actor Gian Maria Volonte' and made by the great Italian director Francesco Rosi.
