Mondo Cane

Mondo Cane (1962)

Runtime: An overlong 107 minutes

Directed by: Paolo Cavara/Gualtiero Jacopetti/Franco Prosperi

Starring: This is a documentary, although that is seemingly a usual loose definition

From: Cineriz

In late 2017, this movie definitely has lost the power it once held 55 years ago. Read all about this influential (but still not so good) movie below: 

Here is another movie I've known of for years, so I decided I should go and check it out. Thanks to Amazon Prime I was able to do so. My reaction to it with 2017 eyes is “meh” but as I'll explain later, it did spawn its own genre.

This is a documentary (although some moments are obviously staged and phony, despite what they claimed at the beginning) which has “shocking” moments, at least by early 60's standards. Various unusual practices are shown... everything from a California pet cemetery and acts of self-flagellation to the eating of unusual animals and various island tribes shown doing bizarre things. There's plenty more but I had to mention as a word of warning not only do you see plenty of animals get killed-usually in brutal ways-but there's no short of racism and racial stereotypes either. I don't know how the narration was in its native Italy or in other languages, but the English narration is quite condescending when it is not being racist.

I'd give this a higher rating as I can understand how this was mind-blowing in the early 60's (where seeing sights from around the world was rare, especially the more exotic stuff) but aside from the staged moments and how I don't trust that a lot of what I am told about the footage is actually accurate, the racism, the graphic animal killings... there are long stretches where things grind to a halt and the movie is downright sleep-inducing. There is no reason why this is 107 minutes long, believe me.

The biggest asset is the score from Riz Ortolani and Nino Oliviero; it's too good for a movie like this. That lead to the amazing fact that this got an Oscar nomination, for Best Original Song. It did not win but once English lyrics were attached to the pleasant orchestral song, it was covered by a wide variety of familiar names: Sinatra, Andy Williams, Duke Ellington, Judy Garland, Doris Day, Diana Ross & The Supremes, Roy Orbison, Glen Campbell, etc. The tune is better than Mondo Cane itself.

This started the Mondo genre, which presented similar documentaries, often with fake footage. Most have been forgotten today but the category includes the Faces of Death/Traces of Death movies and arguably something like Cannibal Holocaust. The Internet has made those movies seem quaint by comparison when you can see something “daring” after about a minute of searching but I suppose people will always have an interest in shocking/sexy/exotic/wild clips as a way to add some excitement to their mundane, humdrum lives.