A ciascuno il suo (1967)
Directed by Elio Petri

Film Review

Elio Petri followed up his enjoyably zany sci-fi thriller romp La Decima vittima (1965) with this deliciously tongue-in-cheek thriller based on a popular and highly influential novel of the time, A ciascuno il suo (a.k.a. We Still Kill the Old Way), by Leonardo Sciascia.  Never one to disguise his left-leaning politics, Petri embellishes his slick little thriller (an early example of the conspiracy thriller or neo-polar that would become popular in the1970s) with a flagrant assault against what he perceived to be the main enemies of Italian society - the Mafia, the Catholic Church and the self-interested bourgeoisie.  In his film, these three appear to form the unholiest of alliances, and even though the Mafia is not mentioned by name its malignant presence can be felt in almost every shot, a corrupting and poisonous shadow of evil that is as alluring as it is deadly.

Not only is the film superbly well-scripted and acted, it is designed and photographed with remarkable flair.  The lush panoramic shots of Sicily make an unsettling contrast with the moodier shots (street scenes and interiors), creating a palpable sense of a Mediterranean paradise that has been tainted by an unseen, all-powerful force of malignancy, one that is capable of destroying anyone who dares to oppose it.  As the hopelessly inept amateur sleuth and sexual inadequate Laurana, Gian Maria Volonté typifies the laughable impotency of anyone who seeks to take a stand against the vice that underpins Sicilian society - that he fails, and fails spectacularly, comes as absolutely no surprise.

Volonté was an actor who shared Petri's politics and was greatly admired by the director; he would feature in his subsequent masterpiece, La Classe ouvrière va au paradis (1971), which was justly rewarded with the Palme d'or at Cannes in 1972.  In common with many of Petri's early films, A ciascuno il suo was criminally overlooked when it was first released but it did receive an award at Cannes in 1967 for its innovative and quirky screenplay.  An obvious forerunner of the slew of gangster films that took cinema by storm in the 1970s it is definitely worth revisiting - a telling yet deeply disturbing commentary on the invisible threads that bind organised crime to the supposedly legitimate custodians of power in modern society.

Film Synopsis

In a small Sicilian town a pharmacist named Manno begins receiving anonymous letters threatening him with death.  Because Manno has something of a reputation as a Don Juan no one takes the death threats seriously, until he is shot dead, along with his friend Roscio, during a hunting trip.  Schoolteacher Paolo Laurana, a friend of the murdered men, smells a rat when three illiterate peasants are arrested for the killings and sets out to uncover the truth for himself.  Laurana's suspicions that the murders are the work of the Mafia are confirmed when Roscio's diary comes into his possession.  Little does he know that his own death warrant has already been signed and sealed...