The Five Days (1973) ***
The Five Days (1973) is a strange film. Strange because it's the only comedy/drama that Dario Argento has directed thus far but also because no matter who directed it, it would still feel a bit "off." This can be attributed to the tone of the film which—while very reminiscent of Sergio Leone (whom Dario shared story credit for Once Upon A Time In The West (1968) (review) prior to directing his debut), in particular Duck, You Sucker (1971)—not-so-seamlessly ping pongs between comedy and drama.
TFD blends the revisionist western and sexy comedy genres together to tell a fictional account of the revolutionary Five Days of Milan. The resulting film is, as mentioned above…bizarre. Which is cool, I like bizarre films. There are definitely some laughs to be had from some of the more slapstick material, and a few of the more serious moments manage to be affecting. It's just the way that the film transitions between the tones and its handling of politics that doesn't always work.
In any case, I'm glad to have finally watched (and now own on 4K UHD) Argento's least-seen film. I wouldn't say TFD is any kind of unseen masterpiece but it's definitely required viewing for Argento completists or anyone with a healthy interest in Italian genre cinema. Two years later, Dario would release his masterpiece, Deep Red (review). If this detour from his giallo wheelhouse helped him to accomplish that, I can't complain.
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