Hands Over The City (1963): Evergreen Politics with the Mightiest Axe to Grind (Review)

Politics will never fail to aggravate, just as episodes from the past will never fail to hold some relevance to the now. Take Masters of Cinema’s newest addition, Le mani sulla città (Hands over the City), as the perfect example. People reading this review in England will be well aware of the floods that have blighted the South of the country over the past few months. Through this recent incident the expose that this Italian film from 1963 offers results in Francesco Rosi’s Hands over the City becomes a sobering, perpetually relevant movie.

Edoardo Nottola (Rod Steiger) is a particularly ruthless Neapolitan land developer and city councilman who uses his political power to make a personal profit in a large real estate deal that would see him and his cohorts making profit hand over fist. A deal that puts his desire and hunger first and the needs of the people second. Before that plan is put into action, a residential building collapses with its inhabitants still inside and Nottola’s son on the scene. Most of Naples political power hierarchy wants this incident swept under the rug and forgotten, all except Communist Councilman Da Vita (Carlo Fermariello) who insists that an inquiry is made to ascertain whether the unscrupulous Nottola was involved.

Italians are passionate people, who gesticulate and talk exceptional fast at the best of times. Hands over the City is delivered at this exact emotional state, with countless political bodies screaming at each other in the politicians do best with the rapid idiosyncrasies of the Italian persona as an added bonus to contend with. Thus even before the ageless political moral compass is discussed, there’s the challenge of the pace of the film to cope with. With no sense of humour and a po-faced demeanour, this film would be tough if it didn’t incorporate some degree of exaggerated pace. This may be a by-product of the nationality of the film, but the result is the same – the electric and confrontational manner of the film is gripping.

Politically, Hands over the City is terrifying, whether you are Italian, English, Japanese or American. The egotistical code Rosi introduces supposes that the system is broken beyond repair. Each department may do their job as they should, but the moment anything goes awry outside of those walls the house of cards comes crashing down, with many openly engaging in illegal activities to maintain the status quo. Power is what matters, not doing the right thing with it just having it is what these people want. This unflinching insight disturbs, especially when the political machinations of the 60s are pretty much the same as they are now. Then there’s the bribery, whereby any desire for change is rendered futile in a world where allegiances can be swapped for a handful of lire. Director Francesco Rosi and writers Enzo Forcella, Enzo, Provenzale and Raffaele La Capria went straight for the jugular and the grip has barely loosened in the preceding 60 years.

As political intrigue, there is little to fault in Masters of Cinema’s latest, but when it comes to the cinematic graces Hands over the City is left wanting. Cinematography is one of the proudest achievements in Italian cinema, alas Gianni Di Venanzo has kept his camera at a deliberate distance implying that stylish camera work would only distract. Likewise, the film lacks in personal stakes. Take any number of exceptionally direct exposes, whether it is Network, Confessions of a Dog or Ikiru, each of them is about people first and sow savage indictment second. While Angelo D’Alessandro (Balsamo), Fermariello and Steiger all equip themselves well, there is a basic failure to elevate Hands over the City beyond the emotionally anaemic.

A claim that could leave the film open to claims that its little more than an axe in need of grinding. In saying that, never does Rosi suggest that he is trying to do anything but create a rallying call to arms, demanding change from the government. And for that purity, Francesco Rosi and Masters of Cinema must be credited for creating something this politically evergreen and savage.

Thanks for reading our review of Hands over the City

For more Movie talk, check out our podcast CINEMA ECLECTICA