Among the restored films on schedule today at the Venice International Film Festival there is Todo Modo (1976) by Elio Petri.
Adapted from Leonardo Sciascia's eponymous novel, the film takes place in a Catholic monastery called Zafer based in a mysterious location in Italy.
Here a series of Italian powerful men - politicians, ministers, entrepreneurs, newspaper directors and bank and insurance managers - gather under the spiritual guidance of Father Gaetano to pray and repent of their sins.
While at Zafer, the group is supposed to ponder for a few days about their corruption and greed, but soon the idyllic retreat is revealed for what it truly is - an excuse for all these characters to plot and scheme against each other and to essentially find a way to remain in power.
Their scheming plans are shaken though by multiple murders that eliminate various prominent politicians leaving Magistrate Scalambri puzzled about the rather uncanny explanation the enigmatic President gives him (apparently bits and pieces of companies directed by the victims form the sentence "Todo modo para buscar la voluntad divina" - "One must use every means to seek and find the divine will", a principle by St. Ignatius of Loyola).
The film was considered as a critique of the corruption in the Italian Christian Democratic Party and an attack to the power of the Catholic Church, yet it is an absolute must to re-watch for too many reasons: it features a strong screenplay, superb interpretations by Gian Maria Volonté starring as The President (a figure that evokes Italian politician Aldo Moro, killed by the Red Brigades in 1978), a man who seems interested in making everybody happy, but prompted by an endless thirst for power; Marcello Mastroianni as Father Gaetano, a greedy priest with many friends among prominent politicians, and Mariangela Melato as Giacinta, the President's wife, plus music by Ennio Morricone (Charles Mingus was originally called to write the music for the film).
Though some may find the film cryptic and slow, Todo Modo may provide interesting architectural inspirations and it should be filed under the "architectural film" category: it is actually a shame it wasn't among the films included in the "Monditalia" selection at the 14th Venice International Architecture Exhibition.
While Zafer is a thieves' and murderers' pit, it is indeed also a sort of architectural monster full of neutral, impersonal and nightmarish spaces. Its concrete walls and spiralling staircases or geometric ceilings (in cleverly composed frames) may evoke at first Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn, but they actually point towards the arid souls of the powerful men gathered there to pray.
The interior design is also bare, with pine wood doors and bed frames, while corridors, vast halls and the dining space are populated by disquieting white figures reminiscent of George Segal's life-sized plaster cast monochromatic sculptures. Similar works of art also made an appearance in Petri's The Tenth Victim, though in this film the figures are sculpted as praying, crying, or recreating scenes from the Stations of the Cross.
The effect in some of the scenes (set design is by Dante Ferretti) is almost futuristic: Mastroianni as Father Gaetano in an ample T-shaped overcoat worn over his billowing priest's cassocks calling his audience to repent in front of the Cross surrounded by a sort of fuchsia halo could actually be seen as a commander of a spaceship talking to his crew; his rosary session in which he marches the group of powerful men up and down from one side of the room to the other gives instead the impression of watching a catwalk show.
Criticised by many and retired soon after its release, Todo Modo is a deranged and grotesque caricature (how could you otherwise define the scene in which the Magistrate finds the President quietly taking notes on a glass coffin that doubles up as a desk and contains the body of the umpteenth murdered politician?) with some Pop Art references included (see the young priests broadcasting live prayers and reports from the television sets scattered around the building).
The film remains a must for Petri's fans and for passionate lovers of architectural films, but it wouldn't hurt if many politicians out there would watch it at least a couple of times in their careers.
Member of the Boxxet Network of Blogs, Videos and Photos
Member of the Boxxet Network of Blogs, Videos and Photos
Comments