Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion

Apart from the film's own intriguing theme and interesting credentials, I had always been keen on catching this one because it had defeated Luis Bunuel's magnificent TRISTANA (1970) for the title of the Best Foreign-Language Film at the Oscars! However, the path that ultimately led me to it was quite thorny: I first caught the start of it during a rare Italian TV prime-time screening in the mid-1980s; then, after dropping off the radar for decades, it turned up again on late-night Italian TV but the reception was terrible so I could not tape it; later still, having finally acquired it on my PC, the hard disk went bust before I had a chance to make myself a copy…so that, I had to get hold of it (via the same channels) all over again when the PC was back on its feet!! Even so, a whole year passed before I actually sat down to watch it (on the heels of two other Elio Petri-Gian Maria Volonte' films). INVESTIGATION OF A CITIZEN ABOVE SUSPICION won a clutch of other international awards, so it is not all that surprising to see it emerge triumphant at the Oscars as well and, after seeing it for myself, I cannot say I was displeased by that fact. In short, the film is a veritable masterpiece: brilliantly-made and utterly fascinating, albeit making for typically demanding viewing (particularly during its latter stages). As can be gleaned from the title, the plot revolves around a crime (actually, the murder of his mistress) committed by a highly-respected public official: ironically, the culprit is none other than the exiting Chief of the Homicide Squad (Gian Maria Volonte' who is on fire throughout as the megalomaniac protagonist) – on his way out to becoming the Head of Political Intelligence – and which, of course, he has the duty to investigate himself! This he does with complete confidence and not a little trickery (destroying and/or planting evidence, deviating the path of the investigation but at the same time admitting to his new superior of having known the victim, etc). His unusual relationship with the latter (sensuously played by Florinda Bolkan), then, is seen via intermittent flashbacks: she is a libertine (much is made of the fact that she possesses no underwear!), initially getting in touch with Volonte' almost in jest and, eventually, playing the willing murdered party(!) in re-enactments of crimes of passion solved by him throughout his illustrious career (of which he, unashamedly, also keeps photographic records). Other important figures to feature in the narrative are: Arturo Dominici (from Mario Bava's BLACK Sunday [1960]) as Volonte''s long-suffering successor; a young student radical who lives in the same apartment block as Bolkan and of whom Volonte' was jealous; and Salvo Randone (like the star, a Petri regular) as a confused old man to whom the pompous anti-hero actually confesses his guilt in the matter and bullies into turning him over to the Police…but the latter, naturally, is shocked to see him lording it at the Homicide bureau! For all the social and political relevance of Petri and frequent collaborator Ugo Pirro's Oscar-nominated script – culminating in a delicious double ending (Volonte''s quasi-surreal exoneration by his colleagues, after he professes to have committed the ultimate sacrifice for the good of Established Law & Order, is revealed to have been mere wish-fulfillment on his part…with the true development of the facts cleverly left to the audience members' own judgment) – the element which has perhaps been mainly responsible for securing the film its longevity is Ennio Morricone's celebrated bizarre (i.e. half-urgent, half-playful) score which definitely ranks among his finest works, and that's saying a lot!

I first saw this movie in December 1969 in New York. Apparently it did not open in LA before the year ended and, as a consequence, won best foreign film for 1970 (Z won for 1969). In the 1990's sometime IFC aired the film and I was lucky enough to tape it and then transfer it to DVD.

During the years following seeing the film, I would recommend the film to all my friends. What struck me when I had the chance to view it again was how well I had remembered the movie, every scene. Few, if any, movies ever made such a lasting impression from my first viewing and it still has that effect.

Besides the great script and direction, what made it complete was one of the finest performances by an actor I've ever seen. It is up there with the greatest work of such as Olivier, O'Toole, Depardieu and Mastroianni, to name a few whose work was staggering.

As to its unavailability, maybe someone should rattle IFC's cage asking them to air it again or maybe get TCM to air it.

If the crime, corruption , comes from who is expected to judge or to combat the crime ( judges , policemen)the chances that you will not pay for it is infinitely lesser than if are not part of the system.

This 1970s Italian political drama opens with a compelling murder live show, a dapper man, Volonté (the head of homicide squad) artfully kills his erotic mistress (Bolken) with a sharp blade, and what's befuddling the viewers is after that, Volonté intentionally leaves many traces which could be implicated to him at the scene of the crime, all the more a face-to-face encounter with a witness when he leaves the building. Naturally, one has to divine his motivation of his deviant contrivances, but the film doesn't opt to give a straightforward answer to the illogicality, instead it unwinds itself into a sociological tirade aiming at the blazon compliance of the ruling power echelon, Volonté has been promoted to a more authoritarian post, politics-oriented, and the cover-up process degrades the whole investigation into a farce, lushly recorded by the agile camera.

Arguably, this is Elio Petri's most famous film, an Oscar's BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM crowner, and won him 2 awards in CANNES that year, Petri may not occupy an international cachet so high as his Italian peers, but the film can potently justify his talent, it is an authentic gas, wonderfully designed camera-work with a great architectonic predilection, astute sense of unpicking the tacit phone-interception dirty business, a twitchy sensibility towards the rotten authorities, and upbraids an undeniable self-awareness of being politically-biased.

Volonté is tailor-made for the leading role, a typical male chauvinist, over-cocksure by appearance while underneath he is a man haunted by his impotence and jealousy (Bolken has mentioned a few times he is only a child which effectively irritates him), although ambiguous about the raison d'être of his act, Volonté is confident, menacing and impressive out of his common Spaghetti image. Bolken is billed as the co-lead, but mostly appears in flashback and the film has curtailed her character to a sexy trophy, a power-worshipper and a dispensable pawn whose stupidity overshadows her own demise, nevertheless she is a stunner in all her shots. The standout of the all-male supporting cast is Salvo Randone as an innocent plumber, who caves in poignantly in front of power, a bona-fide scene stealer.

Last but not the least is Ennio Morricone's score, the repeated motif has a synthesized rhythm, catchy and indelible, throughout the film, it renders the film a touch of ridicule and never leave any chance for the audiences to be bored by the doctrinal tone the film unintentionally betrays.

A chief of detectives (Gian Maria Volontè), homicide section, kills his mistress (Florinda Bolkan) and deliberately leaves clues to prove his own responsibility for the crime.

I absolutely loved this film. It is part crime thriller, part detective story, and a bit of political corruption. Being Italian and having an Italian sensibility, it reminded me more than a little bit of the giallo film genre. But yet, it was distinct. The giallo is in some ways the precursor to the slasher, and this was not that sort of film -- not gory and the killer is not a masked and gloved man.

What really stands out is the score from Ennio Morricone. He has made many scores over the years and without exception they have been quite good. Is he the best composer of the 20th century? Maybe. And I would daresay this is among his very best, easily in the top three. The score alone makes the film worth watching.