Synopsis
How will you kill me this time?
Rome, Italy. After committing a heinous crime, a senior police officer exposes evidence incriminating him because his moral commitment prevents him from circumventing the law and the social order it protects.
Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion
1970 ‘Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto’ Directed by Elio Petri
Cast
Gian Maria Volonté Florinda Bolkan Gianni Santuccio Orazio Orlando Sergio Tramonti Arturo Dominici Aldo Rendine Massimo Foschi Aleka Paizi Vittorio Duse Pino Patti Salvo Randone Fulvio Grimaldi Giuseppe Aguinaldo Nicastro Filippo De Gara Ugo Adinolfi Franco Marletta Giacomo Bellini Giuseppe Terranova Vincenzo Falanga Roberto Bonanni Guido Buzzelli Gino Usai Calogero Azzaretto Gianfranco Barra Aristide Caporale Ettore Geri Alfonso Giganti Franco Magno Show All…
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Alternative Titles
Investigation of a Citizen… Above Suspicion, Onderzoek naar een burger boven alle verdenking, Undersøgelse af en borger hævet over enhver mistanke, Epäilyksen yläpuolella, Epäilyksen ulkopuolella, 殺人捜査, Śledztwo w sprawie obywatela poza wszelkim podejrzeniem, Hevet over mistanke, Undersökning av en medborgare höjd över alla misstankar, 완전 범죄, Enquête sur un citoyen au-dessus de tout soupçon, Ermittlungen gegen einen über jeden Verdacht erhabenen Bürger, Investigación sobre un ciudadano libre de toda sospecha, 对一个不容怀疑的公民的调查, Inquérito a um Cidadão Acima de Qualquer Suspeita, Podivné vyšetřování, Investigação sobre um Cidadão Acima de Qualquer Suspeita, Следствие по делу гражданина вне всяких подозрений, Следствие по делото на гражданина извън всякакво подозрение, Vizsgálat egy minden gyanú felett álló polgár ügyében, Anchetă asupra unui cetățean mai presus de orice bănuială, Her Türlü Kuşkunun Ötesinde Bir Vatandaş Üstüne Soruşturma, Nezvyčajné vyšetrovanie, Слідство у справі громадянина поза всякими підозрами, Υπεράνω Πάσης Υποψίας, Investigació sobre un ciutadà
Genres
Themes
Releases by Date
Premiere
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Italy
Milan
03 May 1970
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France
Cannes Film Festival
20 Dec 1970
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USAR
New York City
Theatrical
16 Oct 1970
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France
13 Nov 1970
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Germany16
25 Mar 1971
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UK
17 Jun 1971
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Hungary16
27 Jul 1975
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Spain16
Releases by Country
France
03 May 1970
- Premiere Cannes Film Festival
16 Oct 1970
- Theatrical
Germany
13 Nov 1970
- Theatrical16
Hungary
17 Jun 1971
- Theatrical16
Italy
12 Feb 1970
- Premiere Milan
Spain
27 Jul 1975
- Theatrical16
UK
25 Mar 1971
- Theatrical
USA
20 Dec 1970
- PremiereR New York City
Popular reviews
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The film as recrimination of reality because reality itself could not reconcile itself. It is paradoxical that those in power stay in power even, or perhaps most, when they are most indicted, because who's going to believe the word of a nobody citizen against that of one above suspicion? It can't be happening, even when it is happening, already happening, because it can't possibly be happening. Mass cognitive dissonance; the powerful warp how reality is experienced. These abuses are absurd because absurdity is a tool, unbelievable, so they are no longer believed. It is only in retrospect that the paradox is unpacked, abuses confessed to because they are relegated to the past. These things used to happen but not anymore. Now? That's absurd. There is no abuse. Something like that could not possibly happen now.
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Junesploitation: Day 4 – Cops!
The impotence of state power.
Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion is a title with a double meaning: it is about a high-ranking police chief who commits a murder, and the “investigation” is both of him to see if he did it and by him (of the department) to see if it’s even possible for him to be caught. As the head of homicide, he is a man of such authority and prestige that it begins to seem as though he might be immune to the law.
On the surface it’s a compelling murder mystery with hints of giallo (sexualized violence): there’s an effective tension in the question of how the (dual) investigation(s) will turn…
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“Everyone is innocent here.”
American Psycho meets Rope meets an “every politician, billionaire, and figure of authority should eat shit and die” mentality. An all too real black satire that transcends borders, cultures, generations, and political lines in depicting the outright arrogance of those who wield the “rules for thee but not for me” power to protect themselves from scrutiny and self-righteously determine the consequences of their own pompous actions. I could go on for hours waxing a symphony of hatred towards the untouchable narcissists of society who freely deal in corruption, bribery, blackmail, extortion, censorship, persecution, and murder knowing full well that even if they were to lead Johnny Law by the nose and explicitly confess all their sins,…
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Above the law. What a movie this is... impeccably made by Petri with yet another fantastic Morricone score, but also highly relevant—biting in its satire and highly disturbing.
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Among the number of movies that would serve as the very definition of what I like to call "A Letterboxd Movie", this would be at the top. Especially last year, a good number of people here reviewed this film for various reasons. All this intrigued me.
I must admit that I was a little bit disappointed at first. For a film that everyone seems to put on a pedestal, calling it some kind of "hidden gem", the first half had me a little confused as to why. However, by the end of the film, especially in the third act, the movie really comes to life. Although the film's commentary becomes even more powerful, its ending, despite its impact, felt kind…
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I don't really choose my roles — I either accept a film or not according to my conception of the cinema. And I don't intend here to give a definition of political cinema, a category I don't believe in anyway because every film, in a general manner, is political. An 'apolitical cinema' is an invention of poor journalism. I only hope that the films I make say something about the mechanisms of our society, that they engage in the search for a bit of truth.
— Gian Maria Volonté, 1975Spoilers ahead.
I find it almost impossible to think about Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion in a narrative, coherent way because, for me, the movie is Gian Maria Volonté. His…
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(I said in my first review that I was going to talk about the clothes when I watched this again. Well, here we are.)
Spoilers ahead.
The first time we see Augusta Terzi (Florinda Bolkan) on the phone with the Inspector (Gian Maria Volonté), she taunts him for his ineffectualness at work, referring to "30 murderers still wandering free in this city." After that, she scoffs at the way he dresses, first his affection for dark suits and, later, when they're together, she mocks the childishness of his short socks, his thick, off-the-rack shirts, and his attachment to undershirts.
On the day the Inspector murders Augusta, he wears a light suit and a finely tailored shirt with no undershirt; when,…
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Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion is, even before a film, a real act of courage with which for the first time - violating a censorship code and surveillance that had denied Italian filmmakers a right of criticism already recognized, for example, to American colleagues - dares to denounce the distortions of the institutions. The film directed by Elio Petri, and written by him together with Ugo Pirro, is the product of the new climate of liberalism propitiated by the protests of the late sixties, which brings political passions to flare up also on the screen, for the benefit of a cinema that is finally able to perform important civil tasks.
The director gives these needs the form of a…
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As a main character, I feel as if Dottore was primarily used as a plot device, perpetually enforcing movement within the story regardless of the fact that the audience has little knowledge about his identity. Although it makes sense to me why this is - Petri’s vision is unquestionably demonstrating a politically inclined outlook that is meant to be urgent and relevant - it left me without anything to grasp onto emotionally. The concept is properly developed and unique, providing for an experience that seems rather slick and tricky. It takes the supposed ‘detective case’ narrative and flips the perspective, it's almost as if the POV is entirely reversed or naturally uncomfortable. Gian Maria Volonté is cleverly fierce, dynamically persuasive and truthfully daring. Along with Ennio Morricone’s eccentric and unmatched score, his performance is the reason to see the film. Despite its concrete merit and notably original storyline, Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion didn’t leave me with many takeaways.
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Revisited this on the Criterion blu and my golly gosh, does this look good.
I still stand with my comments from The Working Class go to Heaven how Pasolini was "allegedly" killed by a fascist cell tied to the state secret services and P2 with the upcoming release of Salo, yet Petri was fine considering all three releases in the Trilogy of Neurosis, which this was a part of, as it is a hell a lot more direct satire and brutal attack of what was to be the Years of Lead.
Also have always wondered how much did Gilliam take from this to construct parts of Brazil.
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Angry and absurd, “Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion” is perhaps the best satire, possibly even the best film, ever made about corruption.
Paced to an instantly iconic Ennio Morricone score that is both driving and full of kitschy twangs, “Citizen” is an outcry against corruption in the Italian police and government.
Like the music that accompanies its action, “Citizen” can only cause its viewers to laugh with fury. It is simultaneously irrational and all-too-tangible, exactly like the systems it portrays.
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You can also read this review at Psychotronic Cinema.
Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion is a savage satire on corruption, bureaucracy, and authoritarianism. Director Elio Petri concocted a work that picked apart the weaknesses and failures of Italian policing, merged with the tendencies the powerful have towards wanting more control. It's a clever use of Kafka-esque ideas, used within a very clear and specific context. This isn't a pseudo-intellectual rendition of surrealism, this is a pointed and political work that remains relevant in Western society to this day.
The premise follows a police inspector who commits a murder and steers the investigation towards finding him guilty, in order to test whether he is above suspicion and whether his fellow…
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