San Michele aveva un gallo (1972)

Sentenced to life imprisonment for illegal activities, Italian International member Giulio Manieri holds on to his political ideals while struggling against madness in the loneliness of his... See full summary »

Directors:

Paolo Taviani, Vittorio Taviani

Writers:

Leo Tolstoy (story), Paolo Taviani,

Stars:

Giulio Brogi, Daniele Dublino, Renato Cestiè

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Giulio Brogi	...	Giulio Manieri
Daniele Dublino	...	The Prison Guard
Renato Cestiè
Vito Cipolla
Virgina Ciuffini
Marcello Di Martire
Vittorio Fanfoni
Francesco Sanvilli
Giuseppe Scarcella
Renato Scarpa	...	Battistrada
Sergio Serafini	...	Guelfi
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Cinzia Bruno
Stefano Guerrieri
Renato Niccolai
Samy Pavel

Storyline

Sentenced to life imprisonment for illegal activities, Italian International member Giulio Manieri holds on to his political ideals while struggling against madness in the loneliness of his prison cell.

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Plot Keywords:

anarchist | communism | year 1870 | politics | italian history | 

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

5 March 1975 (Italy)

Also Known As:

St. Michael Had a Rooster

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ager Cinematografica, Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

User Reviews

A study in tragic idealism

What starts as a light-hearted story, as our hero makes a ludicrous attempt to ignite a revolution, quickly turns into a tragic tale of a basically nice guy who tries to preserve his ideals in inhumane conditions. Although the script is an adaptation of a Tolstoy's short story, it looks more like something Kafka would have written if he had had more sympathy for his characters. The film reminds me of a 19th century caricature by Honore Daumier: a kid breathes on the windowpane of a shop, is caught by a guard, brought to trial, spends his entire life in jail, is released an old man, comes to the same windowpane and defiantly breathes on it, another guard arrives, but the man is already dead. The most beautiful scenes can be found at the end of the film, where the splendid and barren landscape of Venetian marshes is used as the adequate setting for the almost unbearably poignant finale.