Confessions of a Police Captain

Director Damiano Damiani has built a career on corruption. Not the obvious, everyday swindlers, but the insidious variety that seeps into government institutions and can’t be removed without killing the host. In 1971’s Confessions of a Police Captain, he reunites with Franco Nero and Martin Balsam in a dissection of the Italian justice system, staging a chess match in which the rules were fixed before the game began.

Captain Bonavia (Balsam) is the experienced cop who understands there is more than one way to get your man. District Attorney Traini (Nero) is his naïve counterpart, shocked at the suggestion of city officials working with mafiosos to line both their pockets. They approach the same case from different angles as the pressure to take down a dirty land developer ruffles feathers in the underworld and the judicial bench.

The chess match metaphor is particularly relevant to Bonavia and Traini’s relationship. In a rare leading role, Balsam excels as the jaded mentor who has a counter for every move, educating Nero’s hot-headed DA on the scope of the corruption he’s facing. It’s a comforting, commanding performance with all the fatalistic drama of a Greek tragedy. That sense of resignation is baked into every scene. Even the violence feels like pawns taken in some sort of internecine scheme.

And, like most of Damiani’s work, Confessions of a Police Captain never provides catharsis. There’s some personal satisfaction, but no righteous purge. Perhaps because the film isn’t really about taking down a corrupt system, but calling attention to the fact that the system was designed this way from the start. Damiani even cuts down on his visual flourishes, shooting much of the film like one long interrogation. Peddling paranoia and cynicism with a gut punch of an ending, Confessions is peak cinema even if it doesn’t leave you in the mood to celebrate.

Radiance’s limited-edition Blu-ray comes with a new 2K restoration and it really shows! Extras include new interviews with actors Franco Nero and Michele Gammino along with editor Antonio Siciliano and film score expert Lovely Jon. The set is packaged with liner notes and a reversible sleeve. If you shelled out for the previous Damiani set, this is an essential add-on.