Page 97 - Alternative Europe Eurotrash and Exploitation Cinema Since 1945

FIGURES 13 & 14 Although dominated by gun fights and cat chases, Italian cop films display cultural anxieties of the 1970s: The Violent
Professionals (\97i)

personality as follows: 'Give Giorgio a free hand and he'd kick the hell out of half of humanity. And
put a slug in the rest.' After all, in Caneparo's world, humanity is filled with thieves, anarchists,
prostitutes and corrupt cops under the screws of even more corrupt politicians.
In the film, Milan police chief Johnny Borelli (Rosario Borelli) chastises Caneparo for his use of
extreme violence after taking out a couple of murderous escaped prisoners. The character's criticism
that Caneparo is teetering on a tightrope and Borelli wants to curb the young cop's bloodlust even
though it tends to get the job done is not new (indeed, it is particular to almost every American cop
film produced during this era). Caneparo justifies his actions, but Borelli sees it differently. He is part
of a new police order - a new 'kinder, gentler' approach toward criminals and their behaviour. He
believes that even known murderers must be brought to justice via the court system and not by the
revolver of a revenge-fuelled cop. Caneparo calls Borelli a saint, which of course is akin to the kiss of
death. Naturally, it is not long before the police chief is assassinated in the middle of a crowded street
(director Martino could not resist placing Guido and Maurizio De Angelis' upbeat pop music in the
background during Borelli's savage murder - if not for the sake of twisted irony). And, shortly after
Borelli's funeral, Caneparo is suspended from the force. This leads to Caneparo's vow to Borelli's wife
that he will avenge the police chief's death.
From this point, director Martino leads us into an abyss. He weaves a labyrinth of conspiracy
alluding to Milan's deadwood police force whose hands were tied in the wake of an actual 1969
bombing by possible government-sponsored terrorists attempting to quash anti-state demonstrations
and public meetings that were erupting all over the city at that time. In Milan Trema - la polizia vuole
giustizia, Martino emphasises the dismal performance of the police by showing how the assassination
of Borelli is eventually buried by newspapers that quickly give the event short shrift with smaller, more
insignificant headlines nonchalantly stating the police have no leads. Caneparo knows instinctively
that Borelli's assassination was not the work of a random thug and he openly vocalises that this event
will be made insignificant by the media. Caneparo's suspension propels the cop toward his own
investigation, which quickly points to the incompetence ptevalent within the police force. But the
incompetence may actually be part of a latger network of conspiracy at work.
In fact, Milan Trema (as with other films of this nature) foreshadows the real-life shoddy police
work that occurred immediately after the infamous Aldo Moro murder case of 1978. (This case was
itself ripe for conspiracy theorists around the world.) Such theories in the Moro case involved not only
the Italian government, but also the CIA, Henry Kissinger, Mossad, the K G B and other entities and
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