Now On Blu-ray: NO, THE CASE IS HAPPILY RESOLVED From Camera Obscura
German cult home video heroes Camera Obscura are at it again, rescuing an Italian gem from the dustbin of history. This time around it is director VIttorio Salerno's No, the Case is Happily Resolved from 1973, and it is a doozy that combines some of the best elements of the contemporary film scene in Italy at the time. As far as I can tell, this film has never had an English friendly release on home video, but this is definitely one to check out for fans of European thrillers of this era.
Fabia Santamaria is going about his own business one day on a casual fishing trip to a local lake when he inadvertantly stumbles upon the brutal murder of a prostitute. As he's walking back to his car, the perpetrator of the murder, unaware that he'd been spotted, catches Fabia's eye and the two become inextricably linked in a web of deceit and lies. It turns out that the murderer is a local college professor, a well-respected man with excellent, strong ties to the community who is not going down without a fight.
Doing what any decent man would in such a situation, Fabia takes his story to the police, only to find that the professor got their first and when they point their fingers at each other, the cops believe the professore. Suddenly Fabia's innocent fishing trip has become his final act as a free man as he spends the rest of the film trying to find any evidence to free him from the noose that's tightening around his neck with every passing day. He goes from a carefree family man, to a hunted villain, all at the whim of a murderer who, it turns out, just wanted to see if he could get away with it.
No, the Case is Happily Resolved is a criminally underseen gem of '70s Italian crime films. Before Camera Obscura's release I'd never even heard of this film, and neither had most of my Italian film fan associates. Thankfully, it has been revived from obscurity and it's a wonderful addition to the canon. More than simply a crime film, No, the Case is Happily Resolved is a story about the deeply entrenched power structure and just how easy it is for the most powerful among us to do as they plase and pass the buck along to those less fortunate, a lesson that we're still learning today.
The Disc:
Yet again, Camera Obscura have gone above and beyond with a stellar presentation of this film that you never knew you needed in your life. The new HD transfer is gorgeous, with no siginificant damage or color issues, and plenty of crisp fine detail. The audio track is also clean as a whistle and beautifully shows off some great orchestration from the legendary Riz Ortolani (Mondo Cane, Cannibal Holocaust). Overall I have no complaints about the A/V presentation on the film.
There are two significant bonus features on this disc, but one really shines as worthy of the film. We get an hour long extended interview with director VIttorio Salerno who discusses his career, his family ties in the Italian film industry, and the general anger that lead him to make this film. It's a great interview with an articulate man that is well-worth watching.
The other siginifcant extra is an audio commentary from Marcus Stiglegger and Kai Naumann. Normally I really enjoy these commentaries, which have become compulsory on Camera Obscura releases, however this one was a bit lacking. Even though the two gentlemen clearly have a good rapport, it becomes clear pretty early on that they have next to no specific knowledge about the film or the players. Sure, they are great to listen to, even though the commentary is in German it is subbed in English, but I don't think that's enough to warrant an entire commentary.
Wrap it all up with another great booklet essay from Christian Kessler and we have yet another Camera Obscura recommendation. Definitely worth checking out.
No, the Case is Happily Resolved is now available on Region B Blu-ray from Camera Obscura.
