L'istruttoria è chiusa: dimentichi (Tante sbarre)

Because of a violation of traffic regulations an architect is put in prison. There he witnesses the grim reality of life behind bars: corrupt staff, corrupt inmates, an inhuman judicial system and the power of the Mafia.

"L´istruttoria e chiusa: dimentichi" - which translates into "The investigation is closed: forget about it" is one in a series of political thrillers Damiano Damiani (when he was good, he could to some extent rival Francesco Rosi, when he became pretentious and preachy he was intolerable) specialized in in the late 60´s through the 70´s. Its overall target is the corrupt Italian state of that day and age. Its means is classic melodrama of the wrongful accused who has to live through purgatory. Because he is wrongful accused, an intellectual and played by the then handsome Franco Nero we pity him for that (there is ample space for the suspicion that we would perceive his private hell in public custody as appropriate were he a criminal).To prove his case Damiani this time took the easy way out and that´s why his film is - judged by Damiani´s own best abilities - bordering on the mediocre side - and still worth watching; which is an achievement in itself.

Another atypical Eurocrime film from Damiano Damiani, most of which takes place in a men's prison. It's low on action but fascinating nonetheless. It'll also keep you on the straight and narrow as you will not want to go through what Franco Nero does here.

You see, Nero has been accused of a hit and run and even before his trial gets thrown into a prison full of hardened criminals. Nero is an architect and his reputation as a snobby rich kid precedes him, although that money does help soften the blow a little as he pays the guards to bring him decent food and even gets a hooker brought in by the crooked doctor. What it doesn't do is make him popular among his cellmates, one of which is psychotic lifer John Steiner, who constantly provokes Nero, mostly by farting every time Nero speaks!

So with Steiner and his friends eating Nero's food parcels and pissing on his bed, Nero does make a couple of friends, one being a dying old man who tries to educate him in the ways of being in stir, the other being a Mafia Don taking the rap for some high ranking Capos who is also pulling the strings of the head prison guard by way of 'favours' regarding his son's career.

During a prison riot, Nero witnesses the beating of a prisoner trying to sneak out a note given to him by another prisoner and suddenly finds himself transferred to the cell containing the very paranoid note-writer. The note-writer is adamant that Nero has been sent to kill him, and Nero finds himself a pawn in some deadly game involving the Mafia and corruption, while his friends on the outside refuse to see the severity of his situation.

I'm not familiar with the actor Riccardo Cucciolla, but he does a great job here as the guy standing up to the whole corrupt society. He's the key in bringing down a corrupt business enterprise and even though his lawyer is on the Mafia's side, his stubbornness and sense of moral duty is unshaken throughout the film, whereas Nero, who can see right from wrong, struggles against the constant psychological torture.

Director Damiani raises a lot of questions here about what we are willing to do to survive and I think the ending was quite fitting. You'll be asking yourself what you would do in such a situation, right up to the very last scene in the film. A grim, morally ambiguous film that deserves adjectives like 'riveting', 'gripping' and 'mesmerizing' in the hands of a better reviewer, whereas I'm just going to point out that for a prison film no one got bum raped.

Strong and convincing prison drama from versatile director, Damiano Damiani, he of Bullet For The General, The Witch and How To Kill A Judge, another crime movie starring Franco Nero. Indeed this is more a crime drama than simply a prison movie, even though it takes place on the inside. I've been putting this to the bottom of my viewing list because of the prison element. I'm not a great fans of WIP and men in prison even less but this is not all about the showers and the beatings and the revenge of that sub genre but more about the corruption of the Italian justice system and the extent of organised crime that make it impossible to conduct properly. Great performance from Nero, of course and a most surprising score from Morricone and some may know of this film only because of the non musical nature of it. More or less made up entirely of odd sounds and general sound effects it is nevertheless most effective.

This may not be Damiano Damiani finest work, but I still believe it is a very good movie. In line with his pessimistic beliefs on the possibility that Justice prevails, Damiani's plot develops this time within a prison (it is not a poliziottesco, but rather a prison drama) where an innocent man is held on suspicion of murder and where he gradually will be forced to change his beliefs and his moral in order to survive the brutal laws of the place. This is on a different level a metaphor on our society, where choices to act according to the moral come often at a price which we may not be ready to pay. Easier is to "forget". Inevitably the few brave who choose the straight way forward, find themselves lonely and pay the consequences. Recommended.