Porte aperte

Excluding any political comment, the performance of G.M. Volontè is simply amazing: the character is explained even with a close-up, expressing what not only a judge but every man should think about so-called undisputed truths... Trying to be anything but superficial trough doubt and curiosity. Maybe "ccthemovieman" were too left-wing or better were too convinced of his opinions once and unfortunately nowadays. He's partially understandable because this movie is deep-seated in Italian culture so is pretty difficult to a foreigner get some light nuances, amplified by the Sicilian environment of the script based on novel of the great Leonardo Sciascia. In my opinion this movie deserves 9 out of 10 stars for the psychological deepening of the characters.

cheers

I must say that I have appreciated more this movie after a second watch, when I was able to better appreciate the great direction and acting, and also to reflect upon the themes of the story.

The scene is set on the backdrop of fascist Italy, which affects the bureaucracy and society in general (and with a good deal of corruption, a sin that is not commonly attributed to historical fascism). We can say that it is a courtroom drama centered around death penalty and its application in the most tempting cases. Being absolutely against it caused a lot of inner turmoil in the protagonist, and even more resistance from the outside. Highly recommended!

He's killing a boss who made a fool of him Replacement, and a wife who talked more than an intelligence informant during the cold war era He wants to be sentenced to death. . .

But someone has other plans.

This Italian film actually makes a multiple-murderer into a sympathetic characters, almost a hero! Now that is just plain wrong.

Yup, it's another super Liberal filmmaker and his main point is to give us another anti-capital punishment film. In this movie, people who support the death penalty are called "fascists." Well, I used to be a flaming Left Winger and I remember calling anyone who disagreed with us a "fascist" back in the '60s, so I guess nothing has changed in that regard.

The main problem with this film isn't the obvious agenda - it's simply that it is boring. It starts off fine, then begins to lag very quickly and by halfway through, I think I began to start snoring. This movie is a "yawner." Pass it up.

Sober, slow, beautifully photographed study of a murder trial in 1930s fascist Italy.

The accused is clearly guilty, but one judge, opposed to the death penalty, is determined to understand the man and his motives rather than join the rush to execute him and be done with it.

Some terrific, subtle acting. But the ideas get a bit clunky in the last third – more didactic, less nuanced. And while I enjoyed and admired the film, I wasn't really moved by it. That said, I will certainly re-watch it at some point, and moments have really stuck with me over time.