A series of violent and untraceable crimes has taken place on the Rimini coast. The gang responsible for these seemingly random crimes is dubbed “The White Uno Gang” by police desperately trying to find the identity of the assailants. About the only thing known about them is the very thing that got them their name: in all the crimes committed, the getaway car has always been a white Fiat Uno (different ones, naturally). Also making motive difficult to determine is the pattern to the crimes. Sometimes they will hold up banks for millions of Lira and no one will be hurt, yet other times they will hold up a gas station for minimal cash and murder anyone who gives them the slightest difficulty. Word around the precinct is that they are terrorists, possibly of foreign nationality. The problem with this, as gets pointed out, is that no organization ever takes responsibility for the crimes. There are no leads; none whatsoever.

Two detectives decide to take on the case; Valerio Maldesi (Kim Rossi Stuart) and Rocco (Dino Abbrescia). Valerio is clearly the most obsessed of the two. Early on in the film, Valerio and his commanding officer, Emilio, attempt to act as bait to lure out the Uno Bianca Gang. Their plan works, but it becomes a bloodbath, with his superior put on his death bed and two other officers in critical condition. When Emilio finally dies, Valerio decides it is time to track down and put an end to the gang that has been terrorizing Italy for over five years.

What follows is a compelling step-by-step “procedural” tale with Valerio and Rocco using everything at their disposal to track down whatever might be able to pinpoint where the gang will strike next. They encounter many roadblocks, but none renders them more useless than the politics of being a police officer. Their desire for justice is mistakenly viewed as lustful ambition for credit. The system seems to be working against them, and their status as low-level local police makes it difficult for any of the actions that they need to be sanctioned. So they do what they have to do and go on their own, with little support. What starts first as an average, by-the-numbers detective story soon turns into full-on paranoia, and it only gets worse when Valerio’s greatest fear proves true. The White Uno Gang is made up of fellow police officers. But which ones?

The events of Uno Bianca take place in the early ‘90s, but the look of the characters is straight out of Miami Vice. Kim Rossi Stuart just might have the best hair in all of Italian cinema, ever. His hair is so magically perfect at every moment, with his pretty boy good looks and permanent quarter-inch stubble, that he Italy’s answer to Crockett. Rocco could arguably be a good Tubbs, but he isn’t as amusing. But still, the main protagonists look too perfect for words and the director certainly got the best screen-presence out of them as possible.

Speaking of the director, Michele Soavi’s eye for detail is one of the most impressive in the industry. That’s not just in Italy, that’s the entire industry. Like the rest of his catalogue, even the most pedestrian script can be turned into a near-masterpiece just in the way he frames the details that he drops. There is a sequence in the first half where the camera is rested firmly on the city map so as to be right there when Valerio removes potential targets off of his list. In the second part, when Valerio is convinced that one of the perps is an officer, several of them are shown wearing the same masks used during the hold-ups. The dizzying camera work only serves to add to the paranoia of the film and it doesn’t let up until the end.

NoShame has been on a roll lately, releasing crime film after crime film like nobody’s business. But, for the most part, these have all been classics from the poliziotteschi genre’s heyday. Uno Bianca represents a different approach for NoShame. For starters, it is a much more recent film, being less than five years old. But also, it wasn’t theatrically released at all; it was a made-for-television product.

It’s great to see them start to release these much more elusive television programs, and what better way to start it off with a bang than release a well-received thriller directed by genre favorite Michele Soavi. Soavi is probably best known in the U.S. for directing the cult horror film Dellamorte Dellamore (a.k.a. Cemetery Man), one of the most original zombie films to come out in years, with a brilliant visual style and a second half that left an unexpectedly massive room for interpretation. It’s a sad state of affairs, but a good portion of Soavi’s work is not yet available in North America. While Uno Bianca certainly is not of the same genre, it is one of the best directed, most engaging police dramas to come along in years. You would be losing out not to check this one out.

Presentation
Uno Bianca is a recent film, so it has no excuse to look less-than perfect. Thankfully, it hit the mark. Being made for television, it is presented in its original, full frame friendly 1.66:1 aspect ratio. The sound, despite being a standard 2.0, comes through perfectly clear without a single bit of hiss. The audio track is Italian, with English being the only subtitles available. This suits me fine, as I had no intention to view it any other way. Due to the length of the film it is split across two discs. I imagine it was exactly how it was broadcast as there are complete credits at the end of both parts. This is a fine way to present it, as it perfectly mimics the mini-series experience.

And The Extras Are?
“How To Get Action Into Truth” – Interview with Writer Luigi Montefiori – (17:21) This is a fairly straightforward interview. In fact, for its length, Luigi seems more interested in talking about Soavi and his career than his own. He seems a bit bitter about his own directorial failures. The interesting part is the first few minutes, which he spends discussing the alterations he made to the original script.

“We Did It Like Cinema” – Interview with Producer Pietro Valsecchi– (3:50)
Pietro is hilarious during this all-too-short interview. He starts of by stating how he was threatened by the Savi brothers (the real life killers) to not make this movie. Then he tells us about his own life of crime. In cinema, that is. Pietro is a wonderful storyteller; I wish he went on for a lot longer. The credits are nearly as long as the actual interview.

“It Was Not Business As Usual” – Interview with Cinematographer Gianni Mammolotti – (8:45) Cinematographers often don’t get the credit they deserve, so it is great to see Gianni get some time in front of the camera. He goes on a great deal about how they used natural lighting whenever possible in order to mimic the realism of the story. He also talked about the camera setups that they used and how it was different from a normal television production. Interesting stuff.

Two Behind the Scenes featurettes – (3:34), (7:11) While there are two featurettes, only the longer one is worth watching as it has all the footage from the shorter one in it as well. While brief, it does offer some interesting insight into the making of the film, and it is the only extra that features interview footage with director Michele Soavi. That alone makes it worth watching.

Still Gallery – (1:47) Twenty-three stills and print ads scroll by. It’s a nice collection of photos if you are into that sort of thing.

The included booklet is always worth reading, but this time it is absolutely vital. The first article, “The True Facts Behind the Uno Bianca,” presents a concise description of the real-life events that were the sad inspiration for Uno Bianca. It seems that the film is much closer to reality than anyone would hope. Additionally, we get bios for director Michele Soavi, actors Kim Rossi, Dino Abbrescia and writer Luigi Montefiori. While the bios are very interesting to read, the “True Facts” is a perfect companion piece for the film, but don’t read it until after you see it, as it contains spoilers.

If there was anything to complain about feature wise, it would be the notable lack of Soavi’s presence. It would have been great to hear him go into detail about why he chose such a project, but sadly, he is mostly absent for the production of this disc. But you DO get a foldable Fiat Uno paper car, and while that is a silly unnecessary feature, I have to admit it’s a neat inclusion.

The Bottom Line
Uno Bianca is an unbelievably awesome film. Extremely well done acting, and filmed by probably the best working Italian director. All this makes for an excellent, tension filled ride that will have you staying up late to watch the whole thing. Fans of American police shows like C.S.I. or 24 will find guaranteed enjoyment in Uno Bianca, and NoShame’s DVD delivers a better package than anyone could hope for.