Gillo Pontecorvo's final movie is an outstanding thriller. After watching Kapo, The Battle of Algiers and Burn, I was curious to watch this movie about an ETA terrorist cell carefully plotting the assassination of Franco's successor in the final days of his regime.
Ogro is a movie that has all the marks of the celebrated director of The Battle of Algiers: it's based on real events, it's realistic, it's political. But it's also a child of the glorious '70s, the greatest period for intelligent political thrillers. I really don't know why we film lovers were blessed with Costa-Gavras, Bernardo Bertolucci, Elio Petri, Francesco Rosi, Alan J. Pakula and Pontecorvo in such a short time: the movies they left behind were all entertaining, gutsy, raw and stimulating. Ogro is slow-moving, but well-written, acted and directed. It's a very convincing portrayal of the lives of terrorists operating secretly in the streets of Madrid to assassinate a well-guarded politician. The terrorists' plan is like the movie - it demands method, patience and precision. We follow their daily lives as they have secret meetings, change hideouts, abort plans because of changes in circumstances, and live under constant fear of being arrested or murdered. If I had to compare this movie with others, I'd say it's similar in tone to Alain Resnais' The War Is Over, about a members of the Spanish resistance during Franco's era, and Jean-Pierra Melville's Army of Shadows, about the inglorious actions of the French resistance in World War II.
There isn't a lot of action, but the suspense builds up from start to finish. The terrorists' plan moves slowly, but also has some boldness to it, including pretending to belong to the electricity company and setting up a detonator in broad daylight to blow up their target in middle of the road.
The movie, however, is not a celebration of terrorism: although it recognizes the use of violence against totalitarian regimes, when no other solutions are available, it's very clear in denouncing its use in democracy, which is the dilemma that continued to plague Basque nationalists for decades after Franco's fall.
All the actors are very good in this movie, with particular attention to Gian Maria Volontè, who plays the leaders' group and the voice of wisdom and experience. The movie was co-written by two-time Oscar nominee Ugo Pirro, screenwriter of Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion and A Ciascuno il suo. To watch Ogro is to watch a movie by some of Europe's finest talents of the time. Satisfaction guaranteed.
Ogro is a movie that has all the marks of the celebrated director of The Battle of Algiers: it's based on real events, it's realistic, it's political. But it's also a child of the glorious '70s, the greatest period for intelligent political thrillers. I really don't know why we film lovers were blessed with Costa-Gavras, Bernardo Bertolucci, Elio Petri, Francesco Rosi, Alan J. Pakula and Pontecorvo in such a short time: the movies they left behind were all entertaining, gutsy, raw and stimulating. Ogro is slow-moving, but well-written, acted and directed. It's a very convincing portrayal of the lives of terrorists operating secretly in the streets of Madrid to assassinate a well-guarded politician. The terrorists' plan is like the movie - it demands method, patience and precision. We follow their daily lives as they have secret meetings, change hideouts, abort plans because of changes in circumstances, and live under constant fear of being arrested or murdered. If I had to compare this movie with others, I'd say it's similar in tone to Alain Resnais' The War Is Over, about a members of the Spanish resistance during Franco's era, and Jean-Pierra Melville's Army of Shadows, about the inglorious actions of the French resistance in World War II.
There isn't a lot of action, but the suspense builds up from start to finish. The terrorists' plan moves slowly, but also has some boldness to it, including pretending to belong to the electricity company and setting up a detonator in broad daylight to blow up their target in middle of the road.
The movie, however, is not a celebration of terrorism: although it recognizes the use of violence against totalitarian regimes, when no other solutions are available, it's very clear in denouncing its use in democracy, which is the dilemma that continued to plague Basque nationalists for decades after Franco's fall.
All the actors are very good in this movie, with particular attention to Gian Maria Volontè, who plays the leaders' group and the voice of wisdom and experience. The movie was co-written by two-time Oscar nominee Ugo Pirro, screenwriter of Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion and A Ciascuno il suo. To watch Ogro is to watch a movie by some of Europe's finest talents of the time. Satisfaction guaranteed.