Archive of films Property Is No Longer a Theft / La proprietà non è più un furto
Italy / France
1973, 126 min
Section:
Tribute to Elio Petri
Year: 2014
Petri rounds out his trilogy of "social neuroses” with a sardonic burlesque on the desire for property and wealth as a species of social malady. Bank employee Total suffers from a physical allergy to money. Convinced that wealth and the wealthy are the root of all injustice, he decides to attack the depraved system by systematically stealing items (never money) possessed by a rich and unscrupulous butcher.
Synopsis
After focusing on political power in Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion and on automated work as a disease in The Working Class Goes to Heaven, Petri rounds out his trilogy of "social neuroses” with an explicitly theatrical burlesque on another form of social malady: the desire for property and wealth. The protagonist, Total (Flavio Bucci), is a young bank employee who suffers from a physical allergy to money. Convinced that wealth and the wealthy are the root of all injustice, he decides to attack the depraved system by methodically stealing items (never money) possessed by a certain rich and unscrupulous butcher (Ugo Tognazzi). "When I watch children, I feel that the first thing they express is the desire to appropriate. They automatically say, ‘No’ and then, ‘It’s mine!’ This initial refusal and then the appropriation is motivated by the need to forge their own identity.” Injecting his usual dose of sardonic humor, Petri carries Proudhon’s and Marx’s theses ad absurdum. Property can no longer be theft because theft has become a defining part of modern social and economic existence. The visual side of this expressionist-tinged picture, the restored version of which was awarded during its premiere screening in the Venezia Classici section at last year’s Venice festival, is the work of renowned painter and illustrator Renzo Vespignani, a personal friend of Petri’s.
Contacts
Cineteca di Bologna
Via dell'Industria 2, 40138, Bologna
Italy
Tel: +39 051 601 8607
E-mail: [email protected]
Intramovies
Via Eustachio Manfredi 15, 00197, Rome
Italy
Tel: +39 064 577 7930
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.intramovies.com
About the film
Color, DCP
Section: | Tribute to Elio Petri |
---|---|
Director: | Elio Petri |
Screenplay: | Elio Petri, Ugo Pirro |
Dir. of Photography: | Luigi Kuveiller |
Music: | Ennio Morricone |
Editor: | Ruggero Mastroianni |
Producer: | Claudio Mancini |
Production: | Quasars Film Company |
Coproduction: | Labrador Film |
Cast: | Flavio Bucci, Ugo Tognazzi, Daria Nicolodi, Mario Sccacia, Orazio Orlando |
Contact: | Cineteca di Bologna, Intramovies |
Guests
Paola Pegoraro
Other
Milena Gregor
Film Institution Rep.
Manuela Tambascia
Distributor, Sales Agent