Salvatore Giuliano (1961)

Salvatore Giuliano 
Directed by Francesco Rosi
Written by Suso Cecchi D’Amico, Enzo Provincale, Francesco Rosi, and Franco Salinas
1961/Italy
Galatea Film/Lux Film/Vides Cinematografica
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men in a society, over the course of time they create for themselves a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it.” ― Frédéric Bastiat[/box]

Rosi gives us some beautifully shot violence and I have a confession to make.

The film is told in a series of flashbacks within flashbacks spanning the years from 1945 to 1960 in Sicily.  At the end of WWII, a Separatist movement arises in Sicily that conducted a reign of terror against both the police and the mafia.  Young Salvatore Giuliano is recruited and becomes an impassioned advocate for independence as well as an adept killer.

Eventually, Sicily is granted a form of autonomy.  Now the separatists become more like the lackeys of the mafia.  Giuliano mostly sticks to his mountain hide out.  He is later betrayed by his right-hand man, Gabrieli Pisciola.

My confession.  I listened to the commentary track on day 1.  On day 2, I watched the film. I had had a bad night the night before and kept drifting between sleep and consciousness.  So this review doesn’t mean much.  I’m not going to be watching it again so this will have to do.

Trailer – no subtitles