The Organizer

Marcello Mastroianni, best known for his self-effacing elegance and poise while playing romantic leads, tackles a different kind of character in Mario Monicelli's 1963 drama of worker solidarity in the late 19th century. The story of a labor strike within a socially tight but politically disorganized community of textile workers in a mill outside Turin, The Organizer is neither a political statement nor a social protest film. Instead, the narrative is a lively, funny, chaotic, and appreciative account of the foibles and failures of the group, which has little confidence in its ability to effect change. Mastroianni's threadbare intellectual/activist, Professor Sinigaglia, is an outsider idealist with a practical side, whether he's rousing the deflated collective or scrounging for a meal. Monicelli creates a memorable community through dynamic characters and resonant physical details, from the chilly, overcrowded homes (morning begins with chipping ice from the pitcher holding their washing water) to the thrum of clattering looms in a suffocating, steam-powered factory. But the seriousness of the story is buoyed by a wonderful comic streak running underneath—not satire but the simple human comedy inherent in a tough world. Bowing on DVD and Blu-ray in a handsome Criterion Collection release, extras include a 2006 video introduction by Monicelli, and a booklet with an essay by film critic J. Hoberman. A powerful classic of Italian cinema, this is highly recommended. (S. Axmaker)