''The Mattei Affair'' () is a 1972 Italian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Francesco Rosi Francesco Rosi (; 15 November 1922 – 10 January 2015) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. 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, of ...

. 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 Fascist Italy. Instead, Ma ...

, an Italian businessman who in the aftermath of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

managed to avoid the sale of the nascent Italian oil and hydrocarbon industry to US companies and developed them in the

Eni Eni is an Italian oil and gas corporation. Eni or ENI may refer to: Businesses and organisations * Escuela Nacional de Inteligencia, the Argentine intelligence academy * Groupe des écoles nationales d’ingénieurs (Groupe ENI), a French engi ...

, 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'' with '' The Working Class Goes to Heaven'' at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival. Italian star Gian Maria Volonté was the leading actor in both films. The film is an innovative hybrid of documentary and fiction, representing Francesco Rosi's concept of cine-inchieste (film investigation).John Patterso
"Made in Italy"
''The Guardian'', 14 February 2009 The flashback structure shows the influence of ''

Citizen Kane ''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American Drama (film and television), drama film directed by, produced by and starring Orson Welles and co-written by Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz. It was Welles's List of directorial debuts, first feature film. ...

'' and Rosi's '' Salvatore Giuliano'' (1962). Rosi remains faithful to his neo-realist roots with on-location shooting and non-professional actors. The main plot is interwoven with a fictionalized account of the director's own investigation into the death of his friend, the journalist Mauro De Mauro, who disappeared while doing research for the film.Carlo Lucarelli, novelist, makes use of Italy's unsolved crimes
, The New York Times, 23 October 2007 He was killed by the

Sicilian Mafia The Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra (, ; "our thing"), also referred to as simply Mafia, is a secret society, criminal society and criminal organization originating on the island of Sicily and dates back to the mid-19th century. Emerging as a form of ...

, but like the death of Mattei, De Mauro's case was never solved. In 2008, the film was included among the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage’s 100 Italian films to be saved, a list of 100 films that "have changed the collective memory of the country between 1942 and 1978."

Synopsis

The film begins in 1962 with the recovery of the remains of Enrico Mattei, pilot Irnerio Bertuzzi, and American journalist William McHale, who crashed in Mattei's private plane in

Bascapè Bascapè is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located about southeast of Milan and about northeast of Pavia. Bascapè borders the following municipalities: Carpiano, Casaletto Lodigiano, Casell ...

, near

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

, under unclear circumstances after a trip to

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

. A flashback to 1945 reveals Mattei's appointment as commissioner of

AGIP Agip S.p.A., acronym for Azienda generale italiana petroli, was an Italian automotive gasoline, Diesel fuel, diesel, Liquefied petroleum gas, LPG, lubricants, fuel oil, and bitumen retailer established in 1926 and Subsidiary company, subsidiary ...

, tasked with selling it, but he defies orders and strengthens the company, making it a major European player. In 1970, filmmaker Francesco Rosi investigates Mattei's life, exploring political protection and a meeting with a U.S. oil magnate. In 1960, Mattei, cunning yet brilliant, brokers a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

oil deal, challenging the dominance of Anglo-American oil trusts. He aims to offer better terms to Arab and African oil-producing nations, straining relations with the "seven sisters." The film then returns to 1970, when journalist Mauro De Mauro disappears. Authorities dismiss the Mattei connection, and the film recounts Mattei's final days in Sicily, including a crucial dinner and speech. In 1970, a suspect was arrested for De Mauro's disappearance, but journalists uncover a cover-up. Rosi interviews experts suggesting Mafia sabotage or foreign intelligence involvement in Mattei's plane crash. Witnesses remain silent. The film concludes by revisiting the 1962 plane crash, connecting to the film's opening. Mattei's voice echoes his determination to challenge the oil monopoly worldwide.

Cast

* Gian Maria Volonté - Enrico Mattei * Luigi Squarzina - Journalist * Furio Colombo - assistant * Gianfranco Ombuen - Ing. Ferrari * Edda Ferronao - Mrs. Mattei * Accursio Di Leo - Sicilian important man #1 * Giuseppe Lo Presti - Sicilian important man #2 * Aldo Barberito - Journalist Mauro De Mauro * Dario Michaelis - 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 d ...

- Change teller * Jean Rougeul - American official *

- himself

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mattei Affair, The 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