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Machine to Kill Bad People
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7.2
/10
648 Ratings

MACHINE TO KILL BAD PEOPLE

La macchina ammazzacattivi

Directed by Roberto Rossellini
Italy, 1952
Comedy
  • 8585 minutes

Synopsis

In a small fishing village on the Amalfi Coast, a stranger claiming to be Saint Andrea bestows a photographer’s camera with the power to kill “evil-doers” simply by photographing an existing picture of them. Soon he becomes addicted to his power, and begins to smite down everyone indiscriminately.

Synopsis

In a small fishing village on the Amalfi Coast, a stranger claiming to be Saint Andrea bestows a photographer’s camera with the power to kill “evil-doers” simply by photographing an existing picture of them. Soon he becomes addicted to his power, and begins to smite down everyone indiscriminately.

Our take

A pivot towards caustic surrealism for Rossellini, this fantastical morality tale–his only overtly comical film–would seem a likely influence on the Coen Brothers. Deriving hilarity from desperation and moral obliviousness, the film’s satirizing of cronyism and exploitation is as relevant as ever.