What a last shot!!

After the Inspector General's line, reiterating his earlier condemnation of mankind -- "All men, Mattei" -- the weary cop walks back up the driveway of the villa and the camera slowly tracks ahead of him.

There's the coloring itself that perfectly captures the lingering dark blues of the sky in the background, seen beyond the bare black limbs of the trees. The blue looks like the absolute last gasp of the day, before it finally gives in to the night. In the foreground are the grays of Mattei's three-piece suit and the pink and pallid hues of his raw skin.

There's also the quiet that befalls the aftermath of violence, as the gunshots and shouts have given way to the footsteps of the cops on the gravel and the wind in the trees.

And there's the somber look on Mattei's face, as he perhaps recalls the men who just died and the senselessness of it all, and how the outcome can't help but again confirm the smug Inspector General's blanket indictment. World-weariness sets in.

Then, there's the added sadness I felt later on, after I turned off the film and looked up who played Mattei, because I had never seen him before and thought he was damn good. It hurt to learn this was Bourvil's last role, as he died from a disease a few months after the film was released.

Did he know he was dying in that last shot?