The Machine That Kills Bad People
1952
In Amalfi, a village on the Italian coast, an old man who seems to have strange powers gives Celestino Esposito, the local photographer, a dangerous ability.
Genres:
My notes
Blind watch based on the title. This is a loving restoration of a lost 1950s Italian comedy. Subtitled comedy is always difficult for me because so much of humor is timing. Still, this one got a few laughs out of me. The film is shot in a surprisingly modern style - the blocking and camera movements don’t feel at all like the 50s. The story is fun, essentially making a black comedy with a rather ‘centrist’ statement on how trying to make large changes corrupts the best of intentions. There’s some extraneous storylines that ought to have been cut which drags the pacing way down, but as a piece of history, it’s still a good watch.