San Babila Ore 20 doesn't quite fit into the Eurocrime genre box the way a lot of other Camera Obscura films do. Its focus is turned away from the police and procedural politics and instead focuses on the criminals and their inward machinations. In this case however, the criminals aren't gangsters or gun runners, they are a right-wing youth gang who desperately want to crush Italy's growing populist counterculture.
Italy is portrayed as a kind of political rubber band, not unlike many of the former Axis powers, as a society who reacted to the defeat and reeducation following World War II by going the complete opposite direction from their infamous former leaders. However, in most of these countries there was a growing subculture of youth born after the wars had ended, who blamed their predecessors for ruining their country's greatness by losing the war. The only logical reaction, in the minds of these right-wingers, was to crush the growing Communist and otherwise left-wing movements with the force of violence. San Babila Ore 20 follows just one of these groups who were right at the center of it, at a famous plaza in Milan that these young men had claimed as their own.
This film is remarkable not only in its attention to detail, but also in its bravery as the Piazza San Babila was an actual hang out for these men, and the film shot on location. Lizzani's fearlessness extended beyond the staging of the film right down to the characterizations of the men involved; young men from wealthy families who saw the growing liberalism as a threat to their own and their families' political and social power. While not all of the characters are given full backstories, the ones who are are quite well-rounded, and their emotions are on full display as the world around them changes and they hang on for dear life. The mix of adolescent emotions, hormonal changes, and the burning desire to move from boys to men muddles their thinking and emboldens their camaraderie. While it'd be silly to call the film a character study, it certainly does more with the characters than many popular films of the time, and for that it is worthy of note.
Lizzani's film is incredibly well made, largely well-acted, and manages to be rompy and substantive at the same time. San Babila Ore 20 is a treat that deserves your attention.
The Disc:
As is their custom, Camera Obscura have created a very solid package to go along with San Babila Ore 20, and if any of the stuff I babbled about above is confusing, the resources they provide do a wonderful job of clearing it all up. The image is sparkling, the rare speck aside, the audio is crisp and clear, and the presentation of the film itself is quite good. The extras, however, take this release to the next level.
Camera Obscura are the rare label who definitely see their business as international, rather than grounded in their own territory. The films they release are usually only available from them, and as such they do their best to make their discs worth the expenditure, which can be on the high side. Their inclusion of an expert commentary from Marcus Stiglegger and Kai Naumann is invaluable, and the fact that it's subtitled is even more impressive. However, it is the extended interview with asistant director Gilberto Squizzato that really sealed the deal for me. This interview is exhaustive in its exploration of this film, Squizzato's relationship with Lizzani, and the importance of the political angle at the time. It's long, but definitely worthwhile. I also found the location tour and comparison very interesting, it's cool to see how Milan has changed/stayed the same over the last 40 years.
I really enjoyed this film, and it makes for a wonderful double with Camera Obscura's previous release of Come Cani Arrabiati in the "youth gone wild" subgenre.
San Babila Ore 20: Un Delitto Inutile is locked to Region B, which means that North American viewers will need special hardware to view it.