A 1972 film investigation that blurred the lines between cinema and cold-blooded reality
In short: Francesco Rosi’s The Mattei Affair is more than a drama; it is a cinematic investigation into the mysterious death of Italian oil tycoon Enrico Mattei. By blending documentary techniques with fiction, Rosi exposes the dangerous intersection of global energy politics, the Sicilian Mafia, and the disappearance of his own lead researcher.
Released in 1972, The Mattei Affair stands as a landmark of Francesco Rosi’s cine-inchieste, or film investigation. The narrative centers on Enrico Mattei, a post-World War II businessman who defied directives to liquidate the state-owned oil company AGIP. Instead, he transformed it into Eni, a powerhouse that challenged the Anglo-American oil trusts known as the Seven Sisters. By securing deals in Northern Africa and the Middle East, and even brokering oil agreements with the Soviet Union in 1960, Mattei became a formidable, if controversial, global player.
The film’s structure is a complex, non-linear exploration of Mattei's life and his 1962 death in a plane crash near Bascapè, Pavia. Alongside pilot Irnerio Bertuzzi and journalist William McHale, Mattei perished under circumstances that remain officially unresolved. Rosi utilizes a flashback technique reminiscent of Citizen Kane, weaving together historical reenactments with his own 1970 investigation into the tragedy. This meta-narrative takes a dark turn when Mauro De Mauro, a journalist researching the film, vanishes. It is widely understood that De Mauro was killed by the Sicilian Mafia, yet the case, like Mattei's, remains a haunting, unsolved void in Italian history.
Rosi’s commitment to neo-realist principles—using on-location shooting and non-professional actors—grounds the film’s political thriller elements in a gritty, tangible reality. Through interviews with experts, the film probes theories of Mafia sabotage and foreign intelligence interference, painting a portrait of a man whose ambition threatened the established global order. Recognized in 2008 by the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage as one of the 100 films that fundamentally altered the country’s collective memory, The Mattei Affair remains a chilling testament to the lethal consequences of challenging the world’s most powerful monopolies.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: The Mattei Affair
- Also: Wikidata — The Mattei Affair · CC0
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