It is right to remember an Italian director like Elio Petri, reviewing here on Debaser some of his well-known films such as "Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion" or "The Working Class Goes to Heaven." But it is also good to remember him for one of his less-known films (a so-called minor work) which, when re-watched today, makes us reflect on the anticipatory character of much cinema (and the related literature) that can be attributed to the science fiction genre.
This is the case of the film "The 10th Victim," made in 1965 and inspired by a story by Robert Sheckley titled "The Seventh Victim," well scripted by Ennio Flaiano and Tonino Guerra. A very particular film, both because the science fiction genre was hardly ever explored by Italian cinema and because it highlighted some paradoxical and violent aspects (for the time) of modern society in full consumptive drift and the relative intrusiveness of mass media. And this is evidently ahead of its time, as will be seen in light of the film's plot.
Briefly the facts. In a hypothetical future called the 2000 (as it was commonly called in the 60s of the last century) the evolution of the human race has reached such a level that makes the recourse to war completely obsolete. In exchange, to find a suitable outlet for the destructive and homicidal impulses of human beings, the so-called Ministry of the Hunt was established. The latter launched a gigantic competition on a global scale in which two people, matched by a supercomputer, face off in the roles of hunter and victim. The person who manages to overcome 10 competitions by killing the opponent will win not only the title of Decathon but also a rich reward of one million dollars.
In such a bleak and dystopian context, we find the American hunter Caroline Meredith (played by Ursula Andress, more fascinating than skilled in my opinion) who has reached 9 victories. To achieve the coveted perfect score, she must eliminate a tough competitor like the Italian Marcello Poletti, stagnating at 6 favorable scores and tendentially lazy. It should be noted that the latter is perfectly portrayed by Marcello Mastroianni not only in his unmistakable state of acting grace but also striking with his bleached blond hair that accentuates his already appreciated indolent and cynical air as Marcello in Fellini's "La Dolce Vita." In short, a type that could undeniably be qualified as a perfect jerk, already dealing with the predictable issues connected to an overly pushy wife and mistress.
The task of taking him down is for Meredith, followed by an efficient TV crew commissioned by a well-known tea brand sponsor, harder than expected even if she approaches him posing as a journalist engaged in making a reportage on the Latin male. Marcello, as would usually be said, "sees through it," but it is equally inevitable that, faced with such breathtaking beauty as Ursula Andress, the reasons of the heart and erotic libido prevail (given the times, what kind of macho would Marcello Mastroianni have been otherwise?).
At this point, the plot gets a bit tangled, and as it later emerged, Petri quarreled quite a bit with producers who forced the then young director to impose a happy ending on the work, which in this way does not turn out to be completely successful. Nevertheless, the film effectively depicts a society so feral that it devalues certain reference values. Suffice it to say that life itself is so debased as to be put up for grabs to achieve rich cash prizes at the end of a hunting tournament. And this is appropriately framed in a reality show that will achieve high ratings. Not to mention the authenticity in interpersonal and emotional relationships in such a social context, so much so that there is no room for true feelings if money and the consequent success are paramount and being old constitutes only a severe handicap.
Such a film could appear, to the average Italian viewer of the time, a bit baffling and unfortunately muddled due to the producers' interference, driven by vile mercantile reasons, that I hinted at earlier. But today, with the classic wisdom of hindsight, rewatching Petri's "The 10th Victim" is quite impressive. The intrusiveness of the media and of many reality shows is a widespread and entrenched phenomenon, so much so that the TV format of "Big Brother" now seems to say the least outdated. Nowadays, dominating is "Squid Game," a TV series from South Korea focused on the participation of 456 debt-ridden poor souls competing to win a rich prize pool. There is only one winner, and the other 455 are eliminated without much ceremony, while the wealthy viewers of the show bet as if at horse races. At these levels, it is difficult to discriminate between reality and fiction. But it is certain that certain cinematic works like "The 10th Victim" tell us a lot about the regressive dangers lurking in contemporary society. Also for this reason, let us not relegate a so-called minor film by Elio Petri to the attic.
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