Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto (Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion). 1970. Directed by Elio Petri

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Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto (Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion). 1970. Directed by Elio Petri. Courtesy of Photofest.

Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto (Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion). 1970. Italy. Directed by Elio Petri. Screenplay by Petri, Ugo Pirro. With Gian Maria Volonté, Florinda Bolkan, Salvo Randone. In Italian; English subtitles. 4K DCP. 115 min.

Wielding satire like a stiletto, Elio Petri laid bare the rampant corruption, spiritual bankruptcy, and violent chaos of 1970s Italy—the notoriously grim “Years of Lead”—in films like Investigation of a Citizen above Suspicion and The Working Class Goes to Heaven. Played with repulsive charm by a brilliant Gian Maria Volonté, the unnamed sociopathic police chief who murders with impunity, taunting colleagues and strangers by planting tell-tale clues—underlined by Ennio Morricone’s capering score—is all the more chilling today as we witness certain world leaders flouting the rule of law and any sense of common decency. “Petri’s visually flamboyant film turns into a heady mix of Marx, Freud, Wilhelm Reich, and Brecht, with a bit of Dashiell Hammett thrown into the blender” (Elliott Stein, The Village Voice).

This film accompanies Ennio Morricone.

Past events

Tue, Dec 26, 2023, 4:00 p.m.

MoMA, Floor T2/T1, Theater 2

The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 2
Thu, Dec 21, 2023, 6:30 p.m.

MoMA, Floor T2/T1, Theater 2

The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 2

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