Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion

Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion
Original poster
Directed by	Elio Petri
Produced by	Marina Cicogna Daniele Senatore
Written by	Elio Petri Ugo Pirro
Starring	Gian Maria Volonté Florinda Bolkan
Music by	Ennio Morricone
Cinematography	Luigi Kuveiller
Edited by	Ruggero Mastroianni
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures (US release)
Release dates	9 February 1970 (1970-02-09)
Running time	112 minutes
Country	Italy
Language	Italian

Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (Italian: Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto) is a 1970 Italian crime drama film directed by Elio Petri. It is a dramatic, psychological, black-humoured satire on corruption in high office, telling the story of a top police officer, played by Gian Maria Volonté, who kills his mistress, played by Florinda Bolkan, and then tests whether the police would charge him for this crime. During the movie, he is seen planting obvious clues while the other police officers ignore them, either intentionally or not.

Volonté performed one of his most celebrated roles as the idiosyncratic, nervous police inspector, portraying an authoritarian southern Italian police functionary.

Plot

A police inspector, passed with flying colours for the research team murders, suddenly with extreme violence kills his girlfriend. His reasons for committing this crime are shown through various flashbacks.

Cast

Awards

The film was highly regarded in its own time, winning the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film,^[1] and both the FIPRESCI Prize and the Grand Prize at the 1970 Cannes Film Festival.^[2] Also it won as Best Foreign Language Film at the Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards 1971 and the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Mystery Screenplay.

Critical reception

Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion was well received by critics and is widely considered one of the best international films of the 1970s. The New York Times called the film "a suspense melodrama with the moral concerns of angry satire...When it opened in Italy early this year (and later, when it was shown at Cannes), Investigation was hailed for the ways in which it exposed the corrupt, authoritarian practices of the police, who place themselves above their own laws...The story moves forward with a relentless momentum. It is a political parable, and a stunning movie."^[3]

See also

• List of submissions to the 43rd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
• List of Italian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

References

External links