The Context

Roman police inspector Rogas heads the inquiry into the assassination of State Attorney Varga who was shot dead on a street. When other high-ranking judicial officers are murdered Rogas uncovers a plot of gigantic proportions. "As he searches for the 'illustrious corpses' of a fatally ill society, Rosi makes use of the same method that has distinguished all his best films: patient, methodical, careful scrutiny; a plethora of uncovered, painstakingly ordered facts, suppositions and fictions, from which he creates a complex fresco. Bit by bit, one piece of evidence after another helps him feel his way to the heart of the conspiracy, without discovering the whole truth, and without ever purporting to draw a complete picture." (Hans C. Blumenberg, Die Zeit, 18.6.1976) (Berlinale)