L'EREDITA FERRAMONTI

Italy, 1976, 118 minutes, Colour.
Anthony Quinn, Fabio Testi, Dominique Sanda.
Directed by Mauro Bolognini.

L' Eredita Ferramonti (The Inheritance) is one of many fascinating films made by writer-director Mauro Bolognini, especially during the 1970s. Other films from that period include Metello and Down the Antique Staircase.

This is a film about an Italian family and its internal struggles. The setting is the 1880s. Anthony Quinn plays the patriarch of the family, intending to close down his bakery and telling his children, two sons and a daughter, that they will have to work for themselves. Dominique Sanda (who won the Best Actress award at the Venice film festival) is one of his daughters-in-law. While beautiful, and using her wiles, she is extremely cunning and manipulative, determining to get the inheritance for herself.

The film is interesting in watching the moves that the daughter-in-law makes, trying to anticipate people’s reactions, manoeuvring them into positions. It is interesting also to see Anthony Quinn as the old and bitter patriarch, trying to ward off the dangers to the inheritance.

The film is well written, looks sumptuous, is continually interesting in its portrayal of characters and their interactions.

There is a good supporting cast including Fabio Testi as the son Mario. Testi was very popular at this time and had appeared in The Garden of the Vinci Contini, ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore, Claude Chabrol’s Nada. Adriana Asti, who won awards for her performance, portrays the daughter of the family.

There is a twist at the end of this portrait of a 19th century Italian family and Italian society.

1. The meaning of the title, its reference to money, family heritage, the heritage of family relationships especially hatred? How did the title and the film use the notion of inheritance in its broadest sense and the consequences of wills and inheritance?

2. The pre-credit sequence and the revelation of Ferramonti Senior and his attitudes, his career, finishing with the bakery and the making of money? His attitude towards his children and contempt for them? The reasons for this? The introduction to the main characters, the filling in of the background, the delineation of their attitudes? How skilfully was this revealed in this one sequence in terms of an episode. Situation, character interaction? Setting the tons and the meaning before the credits?

3. The audience being immersed in the world of Rome in 1880? The significance of the date, Italian politics and the unification of Italy, Rome becoming the new capitol, the hostility of the Romans? The director immersing us in the colour of Rome, the acts, costumes? 19th century musical style? The significance of so much rain? The fine weather by contrast? A sad atmosphere for the playing out of this drama of hatred and greed?

4. The importance of the political setting and background: the relationship of Rome to unified Italy. the clashes of the Romans and their sense of pride, Rome being taken over from the Vatican and the Pope? The new government and the rise of the new Italian politicians, political intrigue, corruption and money, contracts, the new petty bourgeoisie and aristocracy? How important for the background, for the themes, for the understanding of this family and its rise to wealth and power? The critique of this background of modern Rome?

5. The focus of attention on the father: his bakery in forty years, His making money and his hold on it, his retirement and what it meant to him, his attitude towards his children, cutting off Mario, giving a small amount to Pippo. being taken to court for her dowry by Teta? His wandering the streets and looking at his children's success? His Home, isolation, the maid? His wrapping himself in hatred and scorn? His becoming an old man? The importance of the change that Irene wrought in him, self-respect, warmth, dressing better etc.? His infatuation with her, changing to love? The importance of changing his will and the plausibility of this? The threat of the letter and his believing Irene? The pathos of his death in bed with her? How well delineated an a credible character, Anthony Quinn’s style? Insight into this kind of man?

6. The main focus of the film on Irene: the introduction to her in the background of her family, her sweetness and kindness, her ability within her own family, her helping Pippo, for the two weeks? The poverty of her background and her influence? Her desire to be rich? Her calculations and her relentless carrying of these out? The decision to marry Pippo, his calling on her, the marriage? Her not talking about money and yet it being her main preoccupation? The inner intensity of her ambitions? The contrast with her behaviour on the marriage night? Her sensuality as revealed and later to be exploited with Mario? The various stops she took for reconciliation with Teta and her husband, the encounter with Flaviana at the races, at dinners? The contrived meeting with Mario and the rest of the family? Her calculation about contracts, the shop, about moving in the new society? Her encounter with Mario and leading him on, the kiss and. his return and the consummation of their love? The sensuality and sexuality? The gradual revelation of her lies, playing off one member of the family against the other? Her wanting things to go wrong to provide her with a challenge? Her contribution to Pippo and his decline and yet her keeping up appearances? Her leading Mario on and relying on him sexually and yet throwing him off? The sociability with Teta and treating her as a sister, her husband for the contracts and then ignoring them? The clash with Flaviana and Flaviana's knowing that she was present with Mario? The plan that she conceived for visiting her father-in-law, ingratiating herself into the house, into his affection, into his will? The credibility of her sweetness and her calculation? The Lady Macbeth relentlessness of her evil? The comparison with a saint single-mindedly pursuing a goal? Insight into a complex character? A woman of the 19th century, of the 20th? Her desire to gain power, money a style of life and control? Her real contempt of everybody else? Even her contempt of her father-in-law while pandering to him and even letting him consummate his love sexually? The important sequence of his death and her going to the site? The unforeseen death of Mario and its blasting of her intentions? The significance of her final commentary on the court case, the loss of everything? Was she in any way worse than the other members of the family, of the new politicians?

7. How well was the character of Pippo portrayed: an a weak and younger son, his hatred of his father, his buying of the shop, inability to make it work, reliance on Irene, the marriage and the possibility of happiness, his being a victim of her betrayal, his place in society and his pro-Roman comments, his being out of place, his final decline when she neglected him, his drinking, seeing Mario with her? The irony of his finishing up in an asylum calling for her? A man out of place in this kind of world? What heritage did he receive from his father?

8. Mario as the typical good looking ne'er-.do-well: his charm with women, gambling, political connections and quick making of money, the sensuality with Irene, his return to her, their affair, his waiting outside his father's house? The confrontation and rejection of Flaviana? His being able to ace through her and not give her up? What did he receive from his father? The melodrama of his death and His destroying Irene?

9. Teta and her husband as the ordinary couple, contempt for their father, society and appearances, calculation, the husband as the new politician scheming as much as Irene and yet condemning her? The ordinary mediocre people who win?

10. The attention to detail and the revelation of character and themes in such sequences as the meals, the races, Flaviana’s visit to Mario, the importance of the carnival celebrations and the masked ball, the various stop by stop details of Irene's plan?

11. The mood of the sequences between Irene and the old Ferramonti? The changes of mood, the challenge to her sincerity, her ability to persuade and cajole?

12. The film's focus on Irene visually and thematically, her presence, Her beauty, her being in the background, her final dominance in the dress that she wore to the carnival, knowledge of the will and despising everybody at the ball?

13. The irony of her not succeeding? Society backing the ordinary mediocre planner rather than the individualist?

14. The impact of the film for an Italian audience, Roman? Non-Italian? audience?