December 1969: A bank in Milan is blown up, killing 17 people. An anarchist leader with impeccable credentials dies while being interrogated. Prosecutors, judges and the government struggle to get at the truth, never knowing who within their ranks may be listening in.
Marco Tullio Giordana (The Best of Youth) investigates a devastating true story of political violence with remarkable clarity, precision and elegance. He depicts a Machiavellian labyrinth of deceit, featuring political extremists, police conspiracy, informants and spies.
Comedy star Valerio Mastandrea plays the anguished police commissioner, Pierfrancesco Favino is the martyred activist, and Fabrizio Gifuni the nation’s future prime minister and eventual victim of Red Brigades terrorism. All are superb, as Giordana sets the stage for 30 years of Italian violence and resistance.
Larry Gross, Telluride Film Festival
