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In Prison Awaiting Trial

In Prison Awaiting Trial (Detenuto in attesa di giudizio)

Movie · 1971 · 15 people

Nanni Loy directed Detenuto in attesa di giudizio, released in English as In Prison Awaiting Trial, a 1971 Italian prison film with a screenplay by Sergio Amidei and Emilio Sanna. Sources describe it both as a drama and as part of the commedia all'italiana tradition, the Italian strain that keeps pain and humor side by side. Made in Italy and spoken in Italian, it runs roughly 99 to 102 minutes.

Alberto Sordi stars as the prisoner Giuseppe Di Noi, in what is counted as one of his rare dramatic roles. Elga Andersen plays Ingrid, Lino Banfi the director of the Sagunto prison and Mario Pisu a psychiatrist; Andrea Aureli, Nazzareno Natale, Michele Gammino and Luca Sportelli also appear.

The film was widely praised for its criticism of the Italian judicial system. Entered in the 22nd Berlin International Film Festival, it brought Sordi the Silver Bear for Best Actor, and the same performance earned him a David di Donatello. Gianni Hecht Lucari produced the film and Carlo Rustichelli composed the music.

DirectorNanni Loy

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Cast

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Alberto Sordi Alberto Sordi Film actor · died at 82 Luca Sportelli Luca Sportelli Actor · died at 72 Lino Banfi Elga Andersen Andrea Aureli Nazzareno Natale Michele Gammino Silvio Spaccesi Tano Cimarosa Antonio Casagrande Gianni Bonagura Mario Pisu Giuseppe Anatrelli Mario Brega Nello Appodia

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Through different eyes

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

The great strength of commedia all'italiana is using laughter as a defence that makes the pain beneath it more visible, and Nanni Loy's film is one of the examples that leans towards the tradition's darker end. Alberto Sordi's prisoner Giuseppe Di Noi, remembered as one of his few dramatic roles, is the performance that won him the Silver Bear in Berlin; the comic actor's sense of timing is put to work to sharpen the helplessness. Sergio Amidei and Emilio Sanna's script makes its critique of the justice system concrete by narrowing it to one man's ordeal. Sources file it under both drama and comedy for good reason, and that duality can also be a weakness: for anyone expecting comedy the tone is heavy at times, and for anyone expecting drama the comic beats can distract.

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

The phrase 'awaiting trial' in the title sums up the film's real subject: the time a person whose guilt has not been proven spends behind bars. Detention turning from a precaution into a de facto punishment is one of the law's most sensitive points, and the film was praised for carrying that critique to a wide audience. Institutional figures such as the prison governor and the psychiatrist stand as links in a chain that shows how the system grinds an individual down. The issue is hardly unique to Italy; long pre-trial detention still features in legal debates in many countries. In that sense the film stays relevant beyond being a document of its time.

Family Viewer Asks whether the whole household can watch it; cares about humour and heart.

Alberto Sordi stars and the film is linked to the comedy tradition, but don't mistake it for a family comedy. It follows a man awaiting trial through what he goes through in prison, and it criticises the justice system. The subject is heavy and not for young children. With high-school-age teenagers, though, it could be a good starting point for a talk about injustice and fairness.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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