''The Mattei Affair'' ( it, Il Caso Mattei) is a 1972 film directed by

Francesco Rosi Francesco Rosi (; 15 November 1922 – 10 January 2015) was an Italian film director. His film '' The Mattei Affair'' won the Palme d'Or at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival. Rosi's films, especially those of the 1960s and 1970s, often appeared to ha ...

. It depicts the life and mysterious death of

Enrico Mattei Enrico Mattei (; 29 April 1906 – 27 October 1962) was an Italian public administrator. After World War II he was given the task of dismantling the Italian petroleum agency Agip, a state enterprise established by the Fascist regime. ...

, an Italian businessman who in the aftermath of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

managed to avoid the sale of the nascent Italian oil and hydrocarbon industry to US companies and developed them in the Eni, a state-owned oil company which rivaled the ' seven sisters' for oil and gas deals in Northern African and Middle Eastern countries. The film shared the ''

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

'' with '' The Working Class Goes to Heaven'' at the

1972 Cannes Film Festival The 25th annual Cannes Film Festival was held from 4 to 19 May 1972. The Palme d'Or went to the Italian films ''The Working Class Goes to Heaven'' by Elio Petri and '' The Mattei Affair'' by Francesco Rosi. The festival opened with the French fi ...

. Italian star Gian Maria Volonté was the leading actor in both films. The film is an innovative

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...

of documentary and fiction, representing Francesco Rosi's concept of cine-inchieste (film investigation). The flashback structure shows the influence of '' Citizen Kane'' and Rosi's '' Salvatore Giuliano'' (1962). Rosi remains faithful to his neo-realist roots with on-location shooting and non-professional actors. The film is interspersed with footage of the director trying to find his friend, the investigative journalist

Mauro De Mauro Mauro De Mauro (; 6 September 1921 – disappeared 16 September 1970) was an Italian investigative journalist. Originally a supporter of Benito Mussolini's Fascist regime, De Mauro eventually became a journalist with the left-leaning newspap ...

, who disappeared while doing research for the film. He was killed by the Sicilian Mafia, but like the death of Mattei, De Mauro's case was never solved.Bayman, Louis (ed.) (2011). ''Directory of World Cinema: Italy'', Intellect Books
p. 241
/ref>

Cast

* Gian Maria Volonté - Enrico Mattei * Luigi Squarzina - Journalist * Furio Colombo - assistant * Gianfranco Ombuen - Ing. Ferrari *

Edda Ferronao Edda Ferronao is an Italian former stage, film and television actress.Bayman p. 241 Selected filmography * ''March's Child'' (1957) * '' Toto, Peppino and the Fanatics'' (1958) * ''The Conqueror of the Orient'' (1960) * ''Fountain of Trevi' ...

- Mrs. Mattei * Accursio Di Leo - Sicilian important man #1 * Giuseppe Lo Presti - Sicilian important man #2 * Aldo Barberito - Journalist

Dario Michaelis Dario is a masculine given name, etymologically related to Darius. Given name *Dario Allevi (born 1965), Italian politician *Dario Argento (born 1940), Italian film director * Dario Badinelli (born 1946), Italian triple jumper *Dario Bellezza (1 ...

- Carabinieri official * Peter Baldwin - McHale (journalist) * Franco Graziosi - Minister * Elio Jotta - Head of commission * Luciano Colitti - Bertuzzi * Terenzio Cordova - Police official *

Camillo Milli Camillo Migliori, best known as Camillo Milli (1 August 1929 – 20 January 2022) was an Italian stage, film and television actor. Life and career Born in Milan, Milli formed under Giorgio Strehler at the Piccolo Teatro di Milano, where he deb ...

- Change teller * Jean Rougeul - American official *

- himself

References

External links

*
Cannes profile
1972 films 1970s business films Films about the Sicilian Mafia Films directed by Francesco Rosi Films set in 1962 Films set in the 1950s Italian drama films 1970s Italian-language films Palme d'Or winners Films with screenplays by Tonino Guerra Films scored by Piero Piccioni 1970s Italian films {{1970s-Italy-film-stub