His outward look, his indolence at the time of killing or
his evil plotting against others made Gian Maria Volontè credible with just his
gestures.
Elojocritico.net
March 26, 2006
Sergio Leone, creator and maximum exponent of the
Spaguetti Western, always gave special importance to the wicked of his films.
He endowed them with a very particular personality that he used to outline
every detail. They are more than ruthless beings, they are, in reality,
sociopaths who do not hesitate to perform the most cruel acts that someone can
commit: killing an equal. Moreover, not only do they not think about it when it
comes to pulling the trigger, but they seem to find some pleasure in unloading
their revolver without a trace of compassion. Says Willy Munny, the character
of Clint Eastwood in “Unfogiven”: “Killing a man is something despicable. You
take away everything he has, and everything he’s going to have. For this type
of outlaw, usually in a state of unconsciousness of alcohol, drugs or their own
sick mind, this does not seem to count. They kill without blinking.
The phrase of
‘El Indio’: “It’s better for those two to face them than on their backs, and
better still cold. Completely cold
Returning to Leone, he created two of his most charismatic
evils in “Fistful of Dollars” (Per qualche dollare in più), with El Indio
embodied by Gian Maria Volontè, and in “Once Upon a Time in the West” (Hasta
que llegó su hora) with the extraordinary Henry Fonda who scandalized the U.S.
after breaking his stereotype of the everlasting good man. But we'll talk about
Fonda and his character Frank, the child killer, on another occasion.
Gian Maria
Volontè.
I wanted now to pay my modest tribute to this exceptional
Italian actor and his superb interpretation of El Indio. Gian Maria Volontè
(1933, Milan - 1994, Florina, Greece) graduated from the Academy of Dramatic
Arts in 1957 and debuted on TV with the adaptation of the play L’idiota. He
worked for the first time in the cinema in “Under Ten Flags” (Sotto dieci
bandiere, 1960). Then he shot two other films in 1962 and 1963, but international
fame came in two films that, according to Wikipedia, he never considered
serious: “A Fistful of Dollars” (1964) and “For a Few Dollars More” (1965).
Both, by the way, filmed in Almeria to reduce the excessive costs involved in
filming in the typical American Westerns. But his career would continue after
these successes on very different paths. As explained on this RAI website, by
directors such as Francesco Rosi and Giuseppe Ferrara, Volontè became "The
most representative face of a cinema with strong political and civil
connotations" thanks to his interpretations of real characters such as
Aldo Moro in “Il Caso Moro” (1986), the famous Italian prime minister kidnapped
and killed by the Red Brigade in 1978. His last job was shot in Spain, where he
achieved fame, but in a very different record from the 1960's. He interpreted
Tyrant Banderas in the adaptation of this classic “Valle-Inclán” directed by
José Luis García Sánchez, who also wrote the script with Rafael Azcona.
Why do I find his work great as The Indian in Death ...?
As convincing as the perpetual state of hanging in which this murderer and
robbery seems to be. His outward look, his indolence at the time of killing or
the evil when he plots against others makes Volontè credible with each of his
gestures. His physical appearance, with his gray beard and scruffy hair, seems
typical of a tattered disturbance. And his look, most of the time as a way,
make El Indio a most despicable type. He is not even courageous as a leader of
criminals, because his ruined nature leads him to save himself in using his men
to avoid facing his fearsome enemies, the bounty hunters played by Clint
Eastwood (El Manco) and Lee Van Cleef (Colonel Douglas Mortimer). For all these
reasons I find this view of Volontè outstanding, who contributed to make this
Leone classic bigger than life.
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