Porte aperte

He's killing a boss who made a fool of him Replacement, and a wife who talked more than an intelligence informant during the cold war era He wants to be sentenced to death. . .

But someone has other plans.

This Italian film actually makes a multiple-murderer into a sympathetic characters, almost a hero! Now that is just plain wrong.

Yup, it's another super Liberal filmmaker and his main point is to give us another anti-capital punishment film. In this movie, people who support the death penalty are called "fascists." Well, I used to be a flaming Left Winger and I remember calling anyone who disagreed with us a "fascist" back in the '60s, so I guess nothing has changed in that regard.

The main problem with this film isn't the obvious agenda - it's simply that it is boring. It starts off fine, then begins to lag very quickly and by halfway through, I think I began to start snoring. This movie is a "yawner." Pass it up.

On 10 March 1937, in Palermo, the clerk Tommaso Scalia (Ennio Fantastichini) that was the scapegoat for embezzlement in the Confederation Building kills with a bayonet his former chief, the lawyer Spadafora Vincenzo (Tuccio Musumeci), and his replacement, the accountant Speciale Antonio. Then he drives his car through a lonely road and rapes and executes his wife with a shot on her head. He goes to trial expecting to receive the capital punishment, but Judge Vito Di Francesco (Gian Maria Volonté) that is against the death penalty finds evidences that the murder has a passionate motive. However, the defendant wants to be executed by the firing squad in an eccentric situation.

"Porte Aperte" has the intention of discussing the capital punishment, using the Fascist Italy as background and a judge that does not agree with this sentence that serves to politicians but not to the citizens in his opinion. The theme is disclosed in slow pace and using a very unusual situation, with the defendant declaring himself guilty and wishing to be executed by the firing squad. Gian Maria Volonté has a great performance, as usual, but this movie is confused and boring. In Brazil, it was released on VHS by Top Tape Distributor. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "As Portas da Justiça" ("The Doors of the Justice")

I must say that I have appreciated more this movie after a second watch, when I was able to better appreciate the great direction and acting, and also to reflect upon the themes of the story.

The scene is set on the backdrop of fascist Italy, which affects the bureaucracy and society in general (and with a good deal of corruption, a sin that is not commonly attributed to historical fascism). We can say that it is a courtroom drama centered around death penalty and its application in the most tempting cases. Being absolutely against it caused a lot of inner turmoil in the protagonist, and even more resistance from the outside. Highly recommended!

Excluding any political comment, the performance of G.M. Volontè is simply amazing: the character is explained even with a close-up, expressing what not only a judge but every man should think about so-called undisputed truths... Trying to be anything but superficial trough doubt and curiosity. Maybe "ccthemovieman" were too left-wing or better were too convinced of his opinions once and unfortunately nowadays. He's partially understandable because this movie is deep-seated in Italian culture so is pretty difficult to a foreigner get some light nuances, amplified by the Sicilian environment of the script based on novel of the great Leonardo Sciascia. In my opinion this movie deserves 9 out of 10 stars for the psychological deepening of the characters.

cheers