Merchants of Death (film)

The main character comic

The Milan salesman Pietro Kyokka traded water pumps. But once he accidentally sold a batch of machine guns, earned twice as much and switched to the arms trade. He sells small arms to African countries. Buyers are corrupt dictatorial regimes.

Kyokki's activity has an element of fraud. He gives his goods as modern and high-quality, while in reality his weapons are outdated and unreliable, sometimes raised from the seabed decades later. The dialogue between Kyokki and a German mercenary is typical (we are talking about machine guns and machine guns, which the company sells to the government of one of the states of Francafrica ): “You must know these weapons. - Of course. With that we lost in forty-fifth . "

The arms dealer community in the commercial world is isolated and despised as "death traders." An accidentally met salesman engaged in the sale of metal equipment for civilian purposes does not give Kyokka a hand: “What kind of colleague am I to you ?! Get out! ”But Kyokka is a man of easy natured character. He does not take offense at anyone, and never thinks about the social meaning of his activity. He often has to commit extremely immoral acts - to deceive the elderly African president, to bribe villains-ministers who are cracking down on his people, “substitute” competitors, and finally betray the master. He refers to all this with captivating naivety - “how could it be otherwise?” - and he makes it seem like a walk. Moreover, as a businessman, he is undoubtedly a high-level professional.

Kyokka has a large family - a wife, three children, a mother-in-law, an uncle. Everything that he does is aimed at family well-being, and any meanness is justified for him. But his sincere love for his relatives seems to be unrequited: his wife, Silvia, prefers secular evenings instead of meeting her husband, the children who lead the life of a youthful bohemia generally ignore their father. Attitude to Pietro is purely consumer, it sees only a source of financing. Needs are constantly growing.

Sylvia wants to change a comfortable apartment in Milan to a luxurious country villa. Pietro has no such money. Scandal is brewing. And then Pietro commits a commercial scam at an auction, actually steals the owner of the company and goes to work in a larger company for much higher earnings. Now it is selling out not obsolete small arms, but modern heavy weapons.

Action Development

The Portuguese administration, waging a colonial war in Africa , becomes the buyer of combat aircraft (the country is not named, but for a number of signs - Mozambique or Guinea-Bissau ). There is a bargain, it turns out to be difficult to agree with General Gutierres on the sale price. Kyokka tries to use the usual methods of commercial bribery, but finds himself in a tougher situation. He has to participate in a sortie, the plane is bombing the jungle. Kyoku is horrified by the cruelty of the Portuguese pilot Rabal , who drops bombs on people to test weapons. Kyokka even gives Rabal a golden thing to stop the experiment and not participate in the murderer. All this inflicts a serious psychological blow on him, forcing him to think for the first time.

Journalist Corriere della Sera Zini comes in contact with Kyokka. He adheres to left-wing political views, sympathizes with the anti-colonial rebel movement. He offers Kyokke to sell weapons to the rebels. Kyokka is indifferent to the nature of the war and to both its sides, but is interested in a commercial offer. Together with Zini, he goes to a rebel camp. On the way, they start a conversation in which the cynicism of the "death trader" is once again exposed.

Kyokka and Zini try to keep a conspiracy, but this fails. The prostitute Dada , assigned for surveillance, installs the equipment and immediately informs about the departure of the client. The route and the final goal are known to General Gutierrech.

Zini brings Kyokka to the partisan detachment and leaves. Kyokka offers Zini a commission, but the journalist scornfully refuses.

Kjokki's short stay with African rebels is an important part of the film. An unprincipled businessman, preoccupied solely with monetary gain, is confronted with people of completely different life values ​​("Move to Italy, you will work as a maid for a lot of money. - No, I need you here"). Kyokka sees a seriously wounded partisan (“The plane dropped bombs during a training flight. One of those planes that General Gutierrez bought”). He feels a vague sympathy, incomprehensible to himself, and dissatisfaction with himself.

The rebel commander, who is also a doctor, having performed an operation on a wounded man, invites Kyokka to talk. Kyokka thinks that the political topics raised by the interlocutor are aimed at bringing down prices. However, the conversation does not drag out - the Portuguese aviation begins the bombing. For the first time, Kyokka sees fire, blood and death with his own eyes.

The Psychological Drama of the

The depressed Pietro returns home to the villa. His neighbors defiantly shy away, the family does not meet. Everyone gathered in the lobby. Sylvia silently points to the number of Corriere della Sera with the article “Cobra among its victims. Meeting with the Death Trader. ” It turns out that Kyokki's wife and children are being severely boycotted. The housekeepers blame Pietro for everything, only his uncle takes the side of his nephew: "They burst into tears in a luxurious villa! .. Yes, they will forget about this newspaper in a week!"

Wife, children, mother-in-law ultimately demand that Kyokka change his job, stop trading in death. This scene is the culmination of the film. The game of Alberto Sordi makes a strong impression: his character is turning from a comic into a tragic one in front of his eyes. The manner of speech is changing, the expression on the face takes on traits of drama. Pietro Kyokka himself denounces his accusers: “Well, I will again sell water pumps. The product is peaceful and useful to society. But remember: you will no longer have the life you are used to. Villas, diamonds, other crap are expensive. ” At the end, he says: if you want me to sell pumps again, do not wake me. If you want to live as before - wake up at half past three.

A maid enters the bedroom and wakes Pietro. "What time is it? “A quarter to four.” Kyokka sees Sylvia in a familiar environment, having fun with friends of children ... Last shot: the plane flies to Africa.

• Alberto Sordi - Pietro Kyokka , salesman, arms dealer.
• Sylvia Monti - Sylvia , wife of Kyokka.
• Mauro Firmani is Dickey , the eldest son of Kyokka.
• Fernando Daviddy - Giovannone , the youngest son of Kyokka.
• Eliana di Santis - Glad , daughter of Kyokka.
• Alessandro Cutolo - Uncle Kyokki.
• Matilda Costa Jiuffrida - Kyokki 's mother-in-law .
• Sergio Puppo - Balthazar , Spanish salesman, competitor to Kyokki.
• Sami Bahari - Zini , leftist journalist.
• Edoardo Fayeta - General Gutierrez , commander of the Portuguese troops.
• Jacques Moreau - Fritz , German hired instructor.
• Jean Louis Francois Magnani - Helmut , German hired instructor.
• Roy Basier - Rabal , a Portuguese military pilot.

In the USSR, the film was shown in the second half of the 1970s under the name "Merchants of Death . " Sordi's left-oriented concept was presented in an even more ideological version:

The original Italian name was notable for its caustic irony, more in line with the film genre Alberto Sordi, who acted as a co-author of the script, director and performer of the main role, but the Soviet rolling version of The Merchants of Death clearly branded shame, summarizing the tragicomic situation in an openly political sense ^[1] .

Criticism noted the excessive moralization of the picture, as well as the absence of an adequate level for Alberto Sordi's partner.

• Death Traders