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constituted authority and the implacable secret power that has so long dominated Sicily, and still claims its victims today. The film builds up an atmosphere of Sicilian life, and the plot makes its virile way without concessions, up to a rather questionable idyllic sequence near the end. It is a courageous film, but not courageous enough. As the story develops, everything points to victory once more for the Mafia, and discouraged defeat for the young magistrate — and in such bitter defeat could be the ferment for a better tomorrow. But instead, a noble, happy ending is tacked on, in which the members of the Mafia admit their guilt and promise to abide by the law.
77 cammino della speranza (The Path to Hope) (1950) has too obvious a happy ending, too. It is the sad tale of a group of Sicilian sulphur miners who face unemployment and hunger when the mine closes down. A dealer in illegal emigration appears amongst them and convinces them to give him their remaining money in the hope that they can reach the French border — and new jobs. He promises to make all arrangements, but plans to desert them at the half-way mark.
Here and there the plot development betrays what promised to be a courageous social film, based on a daring and dramatic theme. It begins powerfully, when the poor people take leave of their land and their dead. They meet with many misfortunes, some turning back, others determined to continue at all costs. There is a jarring note in the scene of a typically Sicilian duel in the snow of the Alpine valley, a la Cavalleria rusticana. They finally arrive in French territory, greeting it as though it were the promised land. The faults and lack of balance in the film are evident, and they exist because there was no genuine inspiration in the second part. It is contrived, and in fear of being too sparse, the story becomes overloaded. Similar defects may be seen in La citta si difende (The City Defends Itself) (1951) which is a mechanical story of the underwold ; in II Brigante di Tacca del Lupo (The Brigand from Tacca di Lupo) (1952), a recreation of 19th century manners ; and in La presidentessa (The Lady President) (1953) , a modest comedy of errors.
Lattuada, Castellani, De Santis
Alberto Lattuada should be mentioned immediately after Germi. His special interest is a devotion to the so-called « classics » of the film. He has a disciplined taste which keeps him from being attracted by passing temptations. When he is restricted by the demands of a producer, he performs with a frigid detachment that gives him a way out. The limitations which come from too close a study of other films as « models » are visible in some of his work, but he has an instinctive freshness, and now and then a daring touch.
He has created films with obviously literary roots : Giacomo I'idealista (James, the Idealist) (1942) in which the characters are strongly typed ; II delitto di Giovanni Episcopo (Giovanni Episcopo's Crime) (1947) ; films with a rather forced realism, such as II Bandito (The Bandit) (1946), and Senza pieta (Without Pity) (1942) ; or films with both defects, like II Mulino del Po (The Mill on the Po) (1948). Luci del varieta (Variety Lights) (1951) is perhaps his most genuine film, for it was created in an atmosphere of free initiative. Lattuada here allied him