Woodyanders Review of The Wind's Fierce

The Wind's Fierce (1970)

An interesting and incisive Italian political Western

[8/10 · 8 January 2009]

Tight-lipped and blithely indifferent gunslinger Marco (a fine and intense Terence Hill in a refreshing change-of-pace serious role) gets hired by evil land baron Don Antonio (the always excellent Fernando Ray) to assassinate a man who's planning to start a revolution amongst the local oppressed and impoverished peasants. After finishing his assignment, Marco realizes the error of his ways and sides with the peasants to overthrow Antonio's cruel reign. Director Mario Camus, who also co-wrote the thoughtful and literate script, eschews the expected shoot 'em up formula in favor of something more lofty and ambitious: a thinking man's oater that deals with the weighty Marxist theme of how the strong and wealthy upper class make their living exploiting and degrading the poor and powerless lower class. While it sounds heavy-handed and the pace periodically drags in spots, this movie nonetheless manages to be a gripping and satisfying viewing experience thanks to the well-drawn central characters, the right-on leftist politics, and occasional outbursts of exciting and well-staged action. Kudos are also in order for the sturdy acting from a capable cast: Hill in particular excels in a meaty non-comedic lead role, plus there are praiseworthy contributions from Rey, Mario Pardo as Marco's loyal, easygoing brother and partner Jacobo, Maximo Valverde as the mean Ramon, Angel Lombarte as the hot-headed, but decent and charismatic worker's union leader Jose, Maria Grazia Buccella as feisty hotel proprietor Soledad, and William Layton as the humane Don Lucas. Roberto Geraldi's bright, picturesque cinematography does the trick. Augusto Martelli's twangy score likewise hits the harmonic spot. A pleasant surprise.