Elio Petri: The Forgotten Genius, Institute of Contemporary Arts

Elio Petri is undoubtedly one of the great Italian directors, part of the same pantheon as Fellini, Pasolini and Antonioni. Unlike his contemporaries, however, he is virtually unknown outside Italy. For a week this September, the ICA and Shameless Films Entertainment are screening four of his masterpieces in an attempt to re-establish his critical standing and re-introduce him to the British public.

What to expect from Elio Petri

Stylish and witty while at the same time providing an intellectual critique of Italian society, Petri made films from a radical political perspective while always luxuriating in the potential of the cinematic medium. His oeuvre is idiosyncratic but diverse, without the easily recognisable aesthetic constancy of a Visconti or a Rossellini but united by sublime photography, social critique and a subversion of conventional film genres. Expect the beautiful and the grotesque, the naturalist and the surreal.

Highlights of the ICA's season

The season opens on the 5th of September with Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970), an Oscar winning tale of a murderous police officer obsessed with helping his colleagues discover the crime. Coyly irrelevant while remaining tightly plotted and a searing indictment of post-fascist Italian authorities, Investigation features beauteous cinematography and a towering performance from Gian Maria Volonté as the jittery yet self-assured policeman. There will be a panel discussion after the screening.



Investigation is followed on the 7th by The 10th Victim (1965), which stars the iconic Marcello Mastroianni alongside Ursula Andress. It’s a dazzling futuristic romp set in a world where war has become entertainment, prototype for the likes of The Hunger Games and a bold satire on media, advertising and celebrity. On the 9th Sept is We Still Kill the Old Way (1967), an adaptation of a novel by Sicilian author Leonardo Sciascia, a labyrinthine thriller starring Volonté as a professor unearthing a politically motivated crime. Finally, 1969’s A Quiet Place in the Country is an elegiac Morricone-scored horror starring Franco Nero and Vanessa Redgrave. Set in a crumbling pile amidst haunted rural landscapes, it follows an artist as he slides inexorably into madness. All three screenings will be followed by a Q&A.