Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man (1981) review

On his birthday, factory owner Primo Spaggiari (Ugo Tognazzi) watches his son Giovanni (Ricky Tognazzi) get kidnapped in the broad daylight and then receives a ransom note demanding a billion lire for his safe return, so while Primo's wife Barbara (Anouk Aimée) contemplates selling all of their possessions, Primo himself hangs around Giovanni's girlfriend Laura (Laura Morante) and "worker-priest" Adelfo (Victor Cavallo) to try to figure out if it's a huge con.  Tognazzi is responsible for carrying the entire movie himself and he does solid work - his character provides his thoughts via voice over - except he's undermined by the vague story, and although it offers hints at the nature of tumultuous father-son relationships and capitalist greed, Bertolucci ends up being too coy, and the finale is disappointing ("Don't ask").  Maybe it's just me, but playing tricks on your family - regardless of ideological differences - seems needlessly cruel, and if the endgame was to start a co-op, there might have been alternative strategies worth considering (especially ones that don't involve the Carabinieri).