Cinema
Hands over the City
Le mani sulla città
Francesco Rosi · 1963
Synopsis
Naples, in the early 1960s. In an old working-class district, a building collapses next to a construction site run by the son of Edoardo Nottola, a property developer and city councillor, who uses his position on the council for his business. There are victims among the poor residents. As the elections approach, a commission of inquiry is appointed, and De Vita, a Communist councillor, seeks to establish Nottola's responsibility.
Context
The film grew out of a walk through Naples during which the director and the writer Raffaele La Capria, friends from school, noticed the proliferation of building sites; they wrote the screenplay with Enzo Forcella. Rod Steiger plays Nottola. Around him, several roles are played by non-professionals, including Carlo Fermariello, a Communist city councillor of Naples, who plays De Vita, and by councillors and trade unionists. The cinematography is by Gianni Di Venanzo. The film was restored in 4K in 2020.
Who it is for
A film of about an hour and three quarters, in black and white, with almost no private plot, about the workings behind a city council.
Prizes and reception
Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1963; the film also enjoyed wide success with the Italian public.
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