SLAP THE MONSTER ON PAGE ON (Sbatti il Mostro in Prima Pagina) (1972) - ♦♦♦♦♦

Directed by - Marco Bellocchio

Written by - Sergio Donati, Goffredo Fofi

Starring - Gian Maria Volonté

"Made in the midst of a particularly intense political times in Italy, SLAP THE MONSTER ON PAGE ONE feels just as relevant to these days as it did when it was first made. The film chronicles the machinations of a right-winged populist paper, and its sensationalisation of the tragic and brutal murder of a young girl to facilitate the shifting of the consensus towards the fascist right winged party it supports in the upcoming elections. 

SLAP THE MONSTER ON PAGE ONE lacks a strong indignant voice in its narrative, and as such, feels very provocative, as it invites the viewers to nurture a sense of outrage. It does so with an intense and intricate storyline that never skips a beat, and by featuring a troubling lead character in the form of a chief editor played masterfully by GIAN MARIA VOLONTE. The editor is not at all the obsessive and evil mastermind one would expect. He is charming, despite his questionable morality, and what makes him so admirable is his ability to know exactly how to use language to shape the viewpoint of his paper's readers in the way he wants it. 

This works wonders in the observations presented in the film of the media's power in shaping general consensus to a blatant propagandist extent, and the instrumentalisation of the human aspect of everyday tragedy for exploitative means in a wider and worrying power play. 

SLAP THE MOSTER ON PAGE ONE is unflinching, and therefore is more thrilling than melodramatic. A times, it may feel cold and wordy, lacking warmth and emotion. This is part of MARCO BELLOCCHIO's approach, who seems to employ a documentarian approach to the film in order to make statements with seriousness and add a feeling of frightening legitimacy to his themes."

Drama, Italy/France