Saw Salvatore Giuliano, a historical drama about the death of a guerrilla fighter, one Salvatore Giuliano, who was killed shortly after Sicily gained independence, an independence he was instrumental in bringing about. Salvatore's death was extremely mysterious and controversial. The film rocks back and forth in time, alternating scenes about the battle for independence with scenes of the events following his death, the funeral and trial of his murderer and so on. Salvatore's death was probably politically motivated. The Italian, nascent Sicilian, and English governments are all involved, as are the fractious guerrillas and even the Mafia. It's a knotty puzzle.
Unfortunately the film assumes a lot of familiarity with the events surrounding Salvatore's death and does not do much explaining for mouth-breathers like me. This leaves the film a bit flat for me. It's like seeing the drawing-room revelation/explanation scene at end of the mystery without seeing the rest of the mystery. All explanation and no justification. This may be my fault. I saw this when I was kind of sleepy and distracted. Perhaps, with greater attention, all of those scenes from the past and from the future would have laid bare the conspiracy that is then exploded. I don't know.
In any case, the film is beautiful to look at. Shot in stark black and white, there are several scenes that shine with a painterly composition. Check these out. The film is extremely well crafted but unfortunately relates to events which I know nothing about and was too lazy to follow. A well-constructed film for, perhaps, a more alert person.
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