The Working Class Goes to Heaven
Dir: Elio Petri
Italy, 1971, 125minmins
Cast: Gian Maria Volontè, Mariangela Melato
Petri ventures fearlessly into Kafka territory with this film, which he once described as “propaganda” for the proletariat. Lulu (Volontè) is a highly productive machine operator at a manufacturing plant, where employees sweat under questionable safety conditions, company managers show little regard for their staff, union leaders’ loyalties are often at odds with the workers they represent, and activists denounce the laborers’ slave-like treatment. After Lulu is injured on the job and laid off, he goes through a radical political awakening. More somber than Petri’s other films, the film delivers caustic observations on workers’ rights, corporate greed and the triviality of consumerism.
1972 Cannes Film Festival, Palme d’Or
Screening:
In-theatre Screening
2016-09-17 (Sat)
14:302016-10-20 (Thu)
19:30
Remarks
- On-the-day Ticket Purchase Arrangement : Tickets are available at URBTIX outlets until one hour before the screening, after which tickets are available at URBTIX website and mobile app. On-the-day tickets will also be available at the Self-service Ticketing Kiosk of the respective venue, subject to availability.
- Unless otherwise stated, all films (except English-speaking films) are subtitled in English.
- While it is the HKIFFS’s policy to secure the best possible print of the original version for all its screenings, the HKIFFS appreciates its patrons’ understanding on occasions when less than perfect screening copies are screened.
