St. Michael Had a Rooster

In this story set in turbulent 19th-century Italy, Giulio Manieri, an ice-cream vendor and self-proclaimed anarchist, is arrested after an uprising and sentenced to life in prison. Much of the film, almost half, is devoted to Giulio's prison-cell monologues with a constant spotlight on his bone-deep socio-political conscience. (The puzzling title comes from an Italian children's rhyme that Giulio recites in order to keep himself from going mad.) After a decade contemplating his actions and strengthening his convictions, Giulio is released only to discover a changed world in which young revolutionaries embrace new causes--a shock, which leaves Giulio feeling wasted and sends the film spiraling to a dramatic end. Giulio Brogi gives a powerful performance in the starring role, but this earlier effort from Paolo and Vittorio Taviani is bogged down with idea-heavy and often dead-end dialogues. Optional. (A. Glover)[DVD Review--July 12, 2005--Wellspring, 87 min., in Italian w/English subtitles, not rated, $19.98--Making its first appearance on DVD, 1972's St. Michael Had a Rooster sports a nice transfer with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound. The DVD extras include a director's filmography, weblinks, and trailers. Bottom line: a small extras package for this Taviani brothers film, which completists will want to pick up.]