Cinema
The Organizer
I compagni
Mario Monicelli · 1963
Synopsis
Turin, at the end of the nineteenth century. In a textile mill, the workers put in fourteen hours a day and accidents multiply. After the one that injures an exhausted worker, they ask for the working day to be brought down to thirteen hours; management turns a deaf ear. Professor Sinigaglia then arrives, a socialist intellectual wanted by the police, who persuades them to organise and go on strike.
Context
The screenplay is by the director with Age and Scarpelli, and the film was produced by Franco Cristaldi, as a co-production between Italy, France and Yugoslavia. Marcello Mastroianni plays the professor, alongside Renato Salvatori, Annie Girardot and Bernard Blier. Rejected by the Venice Film Festival, it had little success in Italy, but was well received in France, where it was released in 1966, and in the United States.
Who it is for
An ensemble film of over two hours, in black and white, between comedy and social chronicle.
Prizes and reception
Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay; best film at the Mar del Plata festival; Silver Ribbon for best supporting actor for Folco Lulli.