I just can't believe it, only 1 review for this tense sicilian drama full of psychological details and lot of twists. "In nomme della legge" is the story of the new judge arriving in a small mountain village and facing all kind of rivalries, especially with owners (like in western). The tension is getting faster and faster, more and more violent. All the casting is extraordinary, of course Massimo Girotti, and as always Charles Vanel. I can swear that the final is a real slap that every villager have in their face, as for the viewers. I really don't undestand why so many masterpieces like this one are forgotten.
Plot summary
A mule-cart crosses the countryside. Two bandits push the driver off and kill him when he resists. The bandits steal the mules - The town of Capodarso, Sicily. The Baron doesn't want help from Mafia boss Passalacqua to recover his stolen mules. A new judge is arriving - At the station, the new judge Schiavi meets the departing judge Pisani. Schiavi is young, but he's Sicilian and set on changing the old ways - A man in town has been shot, Aleo, one of the bandits. Before he dies, he refuses to name his killer but looks strangely at Messana in the doorway. The other bandit, Vanni, is on the run - Schiavi learns that much of the town is unemployed because the mine is closed. The mine is owned by the Baron's beautiful wife, but the Baron runs it. Why keep the mine closed in spite of the old court order to reopen? Schiavi goes to the mine to investigate. He is confronted by Passalacqua and his band of armed horsemen.
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Cosa Nostra.
Giuseppe Guido lo Schiavo based his 'Piccola Pretura' on his experiences as a praetor in Barrafranca, Sicily. Its potential was quickly spotted and Pietro Germi's film was released the following year.
When Massimo Girotti's black-suited and hatted Judge Guido steps off the coach into a bleached landscape one thinks of Spencer Tracy's man with a mission in 'Bad Day at Black Rock' from 1957. Like Sturges' film this is a mixture of Western and Film Noir. There is also a passing nod to John Ford and Carlo Rustichelli's stirring music that accompanies the Mafiosi on horseback further heightens the Western feel. The town marshall is played by Germi regular Saro Urzi and the local landowning Baron by Camillo Mastrocinque.
The obligatory bandit chief has here become the Mafia 'Boss' of Charles Vanel, superb as always but not very convincingly dubbed.
The judge is a man of unimpeachable principles and moral integrity and as such could easily be a one-dimensional bore. This is not the case here however as Massimo Girotti is both a strong leading man and an excellent actor whilst the film's emotional balance is fulfilled by his attraction to the baron's cultured and deeply unhappy wife, played by the ravishing Jone Salinas.
Guido feels powerless to achieve his noble intentions in the face of corruption, complacency and fear and just when he is about to throw in the towel and go off with the baroness, the murder of an innocent young man is committed. Could this be the catalyst that brings opposing forces together.......?
This powerful piece is wonderfully shot by Germi's chosen cinematographer Leonida Barboni and the screenplay is by Fellini and Monicelli. The assistant director is Enzo Provenzale who went on to direct his own Mafia-themed 'Vento del Sud'.
The optimistic finale was shown in 'Cinema Paradiso' and loudly applauded, understandably so as it gives the impression that Justice will prevail.
History has a habit though of teaching us that the more things change, the more they remain the same!
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If I die, I forgive him /If I survive,I'll kill him!
The title is the last line of the dialog.It took the whole movie to allow judge Schiavi to enforce the law ,but this ending may seem too optimistic to some viewers.
Third movie by Pietro Germi ,a director whose first works displayed a strong social concern ("gioventu perduta" "il cammino della speranza ")
Both the beginning of "il cammino della speranza " and " in nome delle legge" take place in Sicily .The latter might be seen as some kind of continuation of the former :as the mine has definitively closed , the inhabitants of the village leaves for the so called promised land (France)
In their form ,both movies belong to the neo-realism school :the depiction of the stretches burnt by a blistering sun an of small village under the maffia's thumb .When he arrives ,the judge feels that the baron wants him to be a pawn in his game ,by trying to bribe him; and even though he is popular among the humble people , he cannot stand their resignation, their omertà (ringing the bells is the first call to rebellion );but ,if he also puts the blame on the inhabitants' passivity ,he has his own weaknesses :why not give up this thankless life and leave for a much more comfortable career in a peaceful town ,with the baron's wife he has fallen in love with?
Good performances by character actor Massimo Girotti (also present in "Gioventu perduta" ) and French actor Charles Vanel,whose career almost spanned the whole twentieth century.