The Inheritor

Canal D has been showing some Belmondo films from the Seventies lately; this one is typical of his middle period, before Depardieu took over his mantle. Here we have a businessman who is battling rivals for control of a media empire created by his father. Into the mix is thrown Jewish deportations during World War II, contemporary Italian right-wing politics, muckraking journalists... It's really too much for the frail structure of a commercial thriller. The talented cast isn't given much to do, and suspension of disbelief goes too far (how could Cordell and the writer have survived that attack by two hitmen with rifles shooting directly down on them?).