La pelle

This is a literal adaptation of a novel by Curzio Malaparte, published in 1949 and which provoked the wrath of those who had read it at the time. At first, we suspect nothing, thinking we are in for a philosophical and melancholic journey with an impeccable Mastroianni, playing a former fascist who has been promoted to liaison officer, discussing ‘how ugly war is’ and showing us the chaos around him. Through his character, we understand that in 1943 landing in Naples was like landing in Babylon: it was the misery and rubble of a city that had just emerged from war, but more than that. We also discover the horrors of a liberation (which is desacralized here) revealing the monstrous attitude of the US allied forces as well as the inhuman despair of the defeated Italian population, who are treated like doormats. Little by little, abominable visions flood in and we realise that Cavani sees Mastroianni/Malaparte as a certain Céline surrounded by the flames of hell. What we see around them, off-screen or sometimes in close-up, is increasingly horrific, enough to make you vomit: German prisoners sold by weight, children given to soldiers to be abused, a soldier disembowelled by a mine explosion, wounded dogs used in laboratory tests... (chaosreign.fr)