L'odore della notte

  • 101'
  • Italy
  • 1998
Inspired by real events in the Rome of the late 1970s, early 1980s which are chronicled in the evocatively-titled book The Clockwork Orange Gang, Scent of the Night marked Caligari's comeback with a bang. His belated and much-awaited follow-up to Toxic Love polarized and baffled critics and audiences alike, who seemingly couldn't cope with his reboot of the poliziottesco (Italo cop movie) from the 1970s. A real shame, because Caligari elevates a fast-moving thriller about the violent street-and-home-robbery career of a former policeman and his gang-mates to a poignant social-political metaphor.
Featuring an iconic performance by Valerio Mastrandrea and interspersed with cinéphile homages ranging from Melville to Bresson, Scent of the Night is the ultimate Italian cult movie of the 1990s. A politically incorrect indictment of a time when the seeds of the vapid hedonism of the Berlusconi age were sown.

  • 101'
  • Italy
  • 1998
Director
Claudio Caligari
Country of production
Italy
Year
1998
Festival Edition
IFFR 1999
Length
101'
Medium
35mm
International title
The Scent of the Night
Language
Italian
Producers
Marco Risi, Maurizio Tedesco
Production Company
Sorpasso Film
Sales
Rai Trade
Screenplay
Claudio Caligari
Cast
Valerio Mastandrea, Valerio Mastandrea
Director
Claudio Caligari
Country of production
Italy
Year
1998
Festival Edition
IFFR 1999
Length
101'
Medium
35mm
International title
The Scent of the Night
Language
Italian
Producers
Marco Risi, Maurizio Tedesco
Production Company
Sorpasso Film
Sales
Rai Trade
Screenplay
Claudio Caligari
Cast
Valerio Mastandrea, Valerio Mastandrea