“Dillinger is Dead” is a 1969 Italian-French film directed by Marco Ferreri. This avant-garde and highly symbolic film is a dark and surreal exploration of alienation, consumerism, and existentialism. The film’s title references the notorious American gangster John Dillinger but is a stark departure from any traditional crime drama.
The film centers around Glauco, played by Michel Piccoli, a middle-aged industrial designer living in a modern, sterile apartment in Rome with his beautiful and unresponsive wife, Ida, portrayed by Anita Pallenberg. Their life appears to be one of affluence and comfort, yet it is fraught with emotional distance and an overarching sense of emptiness.
The narrative unfolds throughout a single evening when Glauco comes home from work. His wife is unresponsive, lying in bed with a fever, and his interactions with her are sterile and mechanical. Seeking to fill the void in his life, Glauco becomes obsessed with a bizarre project: he decides to cook himself a lavish meal. This mundane act of preparing and enjoying dinner becomes the film’s central focus, taking on an almost surreal and ritualistic quality.
As he prepares the meal, Glauco encounters a series of objects and situations that reflect his growing detachment from reality. He discovers an old silent film reel featuring a gangster character that, in some ways, resembles Dillinger. He experiments with various ingredients, and cooking becomes increasingly obsessive and absurd. He even resorts to mixing up a potent concoction that involves drugs and poisons. Throughout the process, he becomes more unhinged and disconnected from his surroundings and identity.
The film is marked by its striking visual style and surreal sequences, including dream-like flashbacks and hallucinations. The enigmatic presence of a gas mask and the recurring theme of consumerism add to the film’s sense of unease and disconnection. Glauco’s descent into madness is depicted in a disjointed and surreal manner, with the line between reality and fantasy becoming increasingly blurred.
“Dillinger is Dead” is a profound meditation on the alienation and dehumanization of modern life, as seen through the eyes of an isolated and troubled protagonist. It offers elements of black comedy, social commentary, and surrealism.
The Other Cinema 