IT, FR | 1968 | colour | 112 min
reż|dir Damiano Damiani  pro|pro Luigi Carpentieri, Ermanno Donati scen|wr Damiano Damiani, Ugo Pirro zdj|ph Tonino Delli Colli muz|mus Giovanni Fusco mon|ed Nino Baragli ob|cast Claudia Cardinale, Franco Nero, Lee J. Cobb, Tano Cimarosa, Nehemiah Persoff dys|dis Compass Film

Screening of a first criminal novel written by Sciascia in 1961. From the north of Italy arrives in Sicily police captain Bellodi. He has to deal with a case concerning homicide of a local entrepreneur. Unfortunately he has very little traces. The murder was committed not far from the Nicolosi’s apartment: the husband disappears, and his wife doesn’t want to cooperate with police. Moreover the city is ruled by a Mafioso, who closely follows the progress of investigation. The main value of this film is an excellent acting, especially in the case of Claudia Cardinale  and Lee J. Cobb as Mafioso Arena. Sciascia and Damiani both examine the social mechanisms present on the island, and create a depressing picture of Sicily as a place ruled by laws inaccessible for strangers.

AWARDS
1968 David di Donatello Award – category Best Actress for Claudia Cardinale

DIRECTOR | Damiano Damiani (1922) Italian director and writer. Author of many psychological and drama films. He gained real popularity thanks to his movies about mafia – a topic to which he used to return frequently . Damiani won many international awards, for example Grand Prix in San Sebastian 1962 for the film  Arthuro’s Island  and Golden Prize in Moscow 1971 for Confessions of a Police Captain. He directed a TV series “The Octopus”. His last movie appeared in 2002.