July 12
July 12
1645.) Bertrand Blier’s final film, the farce Convoi Exceptionnel (2019).
July 5
1644.) The second in my series of episodes about the under-appreciated (at least in the U.S.) Italian filmmaker Elio Petri offers us the second in his so-called (by critics of the time) “trilogy of neuroses” from the early Seventies. The Working Class to Heaven (1971) chronicles a period in the life of Lulu (Gian Maria Volonte), a factory worker whose day is dedicated to “piece work.” Lulu trains younger workers to become part of the machine and to consider the thrust involved in doing one’s job as a sexual act. However, when Lulu’s finger is cut off by his machine (yes, Freudian symbolism is implicit) he suddenly changes from an obedient, drone-like worker to becoming more radical than the students who protest outside his factory. The only person he can consult for advice is his older friend Militina (Salvo Randone, the star of previous Funhouse subject His Days Are Numbered), who was put in a mental institution because of his numbing job at the very same factory. Volonte’s performance is the centerpiece here, and the politics aren’t subtle, but then again, when have subtle politics ever gotten anything done? Add to this a galvanizing score by none other than Ennio Morricone and you’ve got an unheralded gem from a very fertile era for great filmmaking.
