Chronicle of a Death Foretold

Rosi’s adaptation of Gabriel García Márquez's celebrated novel is a tale of machismo, misplaced honour and murder set in a steamy Colombian town. A wealthy stranger (Rupert Everett) marries a local girl (Ornella Muti), only to abandon her on their wedding night because she is not a virgin. In response, the would-be bride’s twin brothers, boasting loudly of their intentions, set out to exact deadly revenge against the man they hold responsible for deflowering her. Twenty years later, a doctor (Gian Maria Volonté) returns to the town to investigate the case. The film is structured as an enigmatic, flashback-laden inquest à la Citizen Kane or Rashomon. The stellar international cast includes Irene Papas, Lucia Bosè, and Alain Cuny. The magnificent cinematography, by Rosi regular Pasqualino De Santis, was achieved using a newly-developed Super Techniscope camera. “An absorbing and unusual murder mystery . . . The omnipresent Catholicism, the empty macho stances of the men, the strains of violence underlying strong familial bonds: these propel the action, giving the film an almost mystical aura" (Elaine Paterson, Time Out). Colour, 35mm, in Italian with English subtitles. 110 mins.