7.6/10
639
2 user 4 critic

Why? (1971)

Detenuto in attesa di giudizio (original title)
PG | | Comedy, Drama | 27 October 1971 (Italy)
Why? Poster
The surveyor Giuseppe Di Noi experiments the troubles of the Italian Justice System of the '70s while back in Italy for a vacation.

Director:

Nanni Loy

Writers:

Sergio Amidei, Emilio Sanna | 1 more credit »

Stars:

Alberto Sordi, Elga Andersen, Andrea Aureli | See full cast & crew »
Reviews
2 wins & 3 nominations. See more awards »

Photos

See all 7 photos »
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Edit

Cast

Cast overview:
Alberto Sordi ... Giuseppe Di Noi
Elga Andersen ... Ingrid Di Noi
Andrea Aureli ... Guardia
Lino Banfi ... Direttore del carcere di Sagunto
Antonio Casagrande Antonio Casagrande ... Giudice
Mario Pisu Mario Pisu ... Psichiatra
Michele Gammino ... Don Paolo
Tano Cimarosa ... Un secondino
Gianni Bonagura Gianni Bonagura ... Avv. Sallustio Giordana (as Gianfelice Bonagura)
Nino Formicola Nino Formicola
Silvio Spaccesi Silvio Spaccesi ... Maresciallo
Nazzareno Natale Nazzareno Natale ... Saverio
Giovanni Pallavicino Giovanni Pallavicino
See full cast »
Edit

Storyline

Giuseppe Di Noi, an Italian land surveyor who has lived in Sweden for the past seven years, goes to his native country with his Swedish wife and children for his holidays. At the border he is however jailed for no apparent reason. He thus begins a nightmarish kafkian experience while he's moved from one prison to another, subject to any humiliation and violence. Written by Salvatore Santangelo <pappagone2@libero.it>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

prison | italian | humiliation | italy | children | See All (52) »

Taglines:

From the Producer of "The Garden of the Finzi-Continis" and the Director of "The Four Days of Naples" A New Dimension in Suspense!

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

Certificate:

PG | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

Add content advisory for parents »
Edit

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

27 October 1971 (Italy) See more »

Also Known As:

Why? See more »

Filming Locations:

Henriksdals Reningsverk - 23 Värmdövägen, Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden See more »

Company Credits

Production Co:

Documento Film See more »
Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See full technical specs »
Edit

Did You Know?

Connections

Edited into Appunti per un viaggio alle radici dell'emigrazione vista al cinema... (2010) See more »

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User Reviews

 
Very upsetting
3 December 2004 | by Zmajina – See all my reviews

I saw this excellent film a long time ago, but it's still vivid in my mind. The plot is very simple. Sordi gets busted for something he didn't do. A series of coincidences and unfortunate events pushes him further and further into the murky depths of the state penal system.

As the film progresses, dark comedy is getting darker by the minute, as our hero gets stripped of even the basic human dignity. The scary bureaucracy and gritty prison sequences retain just enough realism not to slip into a morbid fairy-tale. If the story was not set in post-war Italy but in a dictatorship, it would come out as perfectly realistic.

Sordi, one of the best Italian actors of all time, is perfect as the naive good guy in an extreme predicament. This is paranoid entertainment at its best.
18 of 20 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you? | Report this
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