Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

Nonureva Really Surprised!

Executscan Expected more

Aubrey Hackett While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

philosopherjack Marco Bellocchio's Slap the Monster on Page One certainly reflects a particular time and place, seeped in the self-satisfied calculations of the monied Italian establishment, but it resonates bleakly in our time of heightened political cynicism and authoritarianism and of systematic disregard for truth. Gian Maria Volonte's Bizanti is the editor-in-chief of a prominent newspaper, leading its self-portrayal as a societal bulwark against violent leftist forces. When a young well-connected woman is brutally murdered, the paper seizes on the story in the way media always does, as a flagrant circulation booster and, when a likely suspect emerges, as particularly potent evidence of the degradation of the left. But the reporter on the story becomes aware that the trail is all too well-lit and the conclusion is too convenient a contribution to the narrative of a looming election; his reward for his awakening is to get fired. The film's subtlety lies in how Bizanti isn't at all oblivious to his personal corruption and culpability: on the contrary, he exults in it, seeing himself as the operator of an elaborate machine contributing to keep the worker suitably and obediently incentivized, and at the same time implicitly assuming that the worker understands and accepts his subjection to this calculated narcotic. Anyone who can't perceive (and it seems even appreciate, as one does a work of art) the workings of this system is merely a contemptible moron - including his wife, as he expresses in a memorably cruel outburst. In the end the truth is placed safely in storage, although with an understanding that it may be allowed to emerge in the future depending on the outcome of the election; the film ends on images of the Catholic church (by then degraded by an earlier deranged juxtaposition of the dead girl with the Virgin Mary) and then - amusingly if not subtly - on a river of garbage. Concise, dark and potent, the film might still be capable of inciting outrage, at least for a viewer still in possession of any sense of societal optimism.

PimpinAinttEasy This is a film I watched only because I am a big fan of Gian Maria Volante. I'm not aware of the political context of this film.The film came across as a one sided political satire that is severely critical of a right wing newspaper and its almost godlike ability to manufacture popular opinion. The film is also a sort of a murder mystery with a brief account of a love triangle.The murder of a teenage girl provides an opportunity for a right-wing newspaper to blame the crime on a communist activist, just before an important election. The film provides a detailed account of how the editor of the newspaper (played by Volante)and his colleagues goes about manipulating the public opinion against the communists.Laura Betti was very good as a jealous lover. The scene where she reads out of her rival's (the teenage girl) diary is quite hilarious. Volante's performance seemed to be uninspired. His role as the evil conniving editor of the right wing newspaper where he simply walks into witnesses, reporters and suspects houses and convinces them to support the case against the communists was hard to digest. The scene where he manipulates Betti's character was rubbish.The editing was flawed because scenes seemed to end rather abruptly. Background score was quite good but was used minimally.There were some nice directorial flourishes like the ending with a dry canal being filled with polluted waste filled water.

hypermodernsarego ..left out of the above is the equal condemnation of the left. No side is unscathed, I think the overall thrust of the film is that the victims are the innocent believers in justice. A very complex portrayal of the chaos and selfishness which imbue (Italian) politics. And, of course, each individuals complicity in the whole stewpot. I would add that the montage sequences date this film. Overall the cinematography is outstanding, performances excellent. The score and pacing satisfy. Not a traditional police procedural, but more of a character study. It is definitely a deft delivery of a construction that relies more on your faith in the film maker, rather than the presentation of a protagonist. I hate giving films stars, but how about 7.

f. baez The film's main lesson is its realism, miles away from Hollywood's view of newspaper and newsmakers, even when it tries to be critical. The cynical newspaper editor's character (played by Volontè) is a brilliant and accurate portrait of the worst manipulative journalism.