Porte aperte

This film had the tension and intellectual underpinning of a Doestoyevski novel. The cinematography was superb, but the main focus of interest was in the acting, particularly that of the judge and the accused.The tenderness and general humanity of the judge and above all his compassion, is an example for all of us, and it is what each human being should strive to be like. A beautiful, poignant and evocative movie, that makes one think and think hours afterwards about the nature of crime and punishment.

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.

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.

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!