Arrested on suspicion of a hit and run, a succesful architect is put in prison awaiting trial or release. Whilst there he witnesses the grim reality of life behind bars: corrupt staff, corrupt inmates, an inhuman judicial system and the power of the Mafia.
Acting
Nero's slow unraveling from smug architect to broken man.
Direction
Damiani's claustrophobic framing turns every corridor into a trap.
Writing
Prison as corrupt ecosystem, not just backdrop.
Director
Damiano Damiani
Franco Nero
Vanzi
Georges Wilson
Campoloni
John Steiner
Piro
Riccardo Cucciolla
Pesenti
Turi Ferro
maresciallo delle guardie carcerarie
Piero Nuti
Doctor
Patrizia Adiutori
MiIena
Ferruccio De Ceresa
direttore del carcere
Luigi Zerbinati
Zagarella
Enzo Andronico
avvocato di Pesenti
Claudio Nicastro
Salvatore Rosa
Corrado Solari
Crotta
Damiano Damiani
avvocato di Vanzi (non accreditato)
Antonio Casale
Ventura
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Damiani researched in actual Italian prisons; several extras were real inmates. The production had government cooperation until officials saw the final cut.
Released during Italy's 'Years of Lead,' the film's paranoid institutional critique hit harder than genre entertainment—police unions called for boycotts.
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