I think that I have a pretty good idea of why this film is so beloved in art house circles. Marco Ferreri's film Dillinger is Dead is an examination of that old favorite topic of European cinematic iconoclasts: upper class ennui. Glauco is an industrial designer who lives an empty life. So, one night, he goes home, cooks himself a fancy dinner, watches some home movies, and shoots his wife in the head with a pistol. I have literally just described the entire plot of the film for you. And, yes, I can imagine that Glauco's emptiness would be a selling point for the European film bourgeois. After all, he DOES spend just as much time murdering his wife as he does painting the gun he uses red with white polka dots. So, for those who want to try and discover some intense, ironic inner meaning to this film, they probably won't be disappointed. The casual viewer will be repelled by this film, finding it obtuse, opaque, and deliberately boring. I have a certain patience with this type of film that has been developed through countless hours of watching such films. And yet, I have to say, at the end of the day, watching Dillinger is Dead isn't going to make my life any richer.
3/10 (Ranking for the average viewer)
8/10 (Ranking for the art house crowd)
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