Lo Straniero

The great unknown in Visconti's oeuvre, dismissed by the master himself in retrospect as not cool and distanced enough in relation to the existentialist model. Arthur spends his days in French-occupied Algeria in 1935 inconspicuous and listless, nothing touches him, nothing moves him. Not even when he gets caught up in his neighbour's criminal activities and is sentenced to death after a shoot-out: The story of an estrangement ... Visconti originally wanted Alain Delon for the leading role, but his salary demands were too high for producer Dino de Laurentiis. So it was Mastroianni's turn, whom the director partly blamed for the (alleged) failure of his film because his southern temperament lacked the required emotional coldness. (Florian Widegger)