The Mattei Affair

On 27 October 1962, 56-year-old Enrico Mattei, the president of Italy's state-run oil company ENI was killed in a mysterious plane crash in northern Italy. An inquiry gave cause for criticism and suspicions of sabotage were voiced. Rosi's film focuses on the case and also reconstructs in fragmentary form the life and work of Enrico Mattei. "Rosi and Gian Maria Volonté are to be held in the highest esteem for having created a very intelligent film that is brilliantly constructed, one that provides both a fascinating portrait of an unusual personality as well as a razor sharp examination of social realities." (Kurt Horlacher, Medium, September 1973) (Berlinale)