Hello Fellow Film Lovers,
We're ready to start a new season of Italian Film in Hamilton with the presentation of "Vincere". The powerful new film from acclaimed auteur Marco Bellocchio, Vincere is a compelling drama based on the little known story of Benito Mussolini's first wife. Ida Dalsar (Giovanno Mezzogiorno) and Mussolini (Filippo Timi) beginning with their liaison in 1914; she is a well-to-do beauty salon owner and he is an impoverished young Socialist and union activist. When Ida sells all her possessions to fund her lover's new newspaper, the rise of Fascism is set into play. An official selection of the Cannes, Toronto and Telluride Film Festivals, Vincere is a gripping film that combines drama, archive footage, and music creating a highly cinematic oratorio of enormous emotional force.
For more on the film: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1156173/
To see the trailer on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeaRJxJcp7E
Here are the details:
Date: Monday, September 13th, 2010
Time: 7:00 pm
Location: The Pearl Company, 16 Steven Street, http://thepearlcompany.ca/
Cost: $10 at the door. Includes refreshment. We'd appreciate an email letting us know if you're coming.
Professor Franco Gallippi will be presenting the film and leading the Q & A session afterwards.
The wine is generously being provided by Dr. Valeria Pini. She recently opened a beautiful new dental office called Stoneridge Dental at the corner of Garth and Twenty Road on the west mountain. The atmosphere is very relaxing. Thanks to Valeria and her husband who have been great supporters of Cinema Insieme since day one. See more info at http://www.stoneridgedental.ca/
This is a joint presentation with Festitalia.
Please note that we are also co-presenting with the Art Gallery of Hamilton “Pranzo Di Ferraggosto” on September 25 and “Io Sono L’Amore” on September 30 – for details, time and locations please visit the AGH World Film Festival Website - http://www.aghfilmfest.com/films-trailers.php
CINEMA INSIEME: September 13, 2010
ReplyDeleteVincere (Win, 2009) by Marco Bellocchio
Last night after the film several of our viewers approached me with the following questions and comments: Was the sexuality absolutely necessary? What is the point of a film on a chapter in Italian history that the Italians have put behind them? Is the story of this secret wife of Mussolini actually true? Is the director indirectly talking about events that are occurring today in Berlusconi’s Italy? Ida Dalser was not a very responsible mother.
I will start with the sexuality and then include the rest. Some were made uncomfortable with the two love scenes that, although not visually explicit and shot in a kind of chiaroscuro style, were enhanced and made overtly explicit by length and sound effects, which clearly showed our viewers the height of sexual pleasure of both protagonists; in the first scene Ida reaches that height and in the second it is Mussolini and Ida together. It is as though the director insists on showing not only an intellectual connection between these two lovers but also a sexual one: mind and body seem to connect with Ida and Mussolini.
Bellocchio seems to be suggesting that with Ida, Mussolini had a more complete relationship whether he was aware of it or not. In the film we never see Mussolini talk of politics with Rachele Guidi (his wife, who bore him five children), who seems to be the order, the conventionality, and the normality in his life. In the end, after all his revolutionary ideas, Mussolini comes off as being very conservative and later represses any manifestation that seems to be out of the “normal” or Fascist ideal of family and nation.
In terms of the history, I am not so sure if Italy has closed the Fascist era chapter. Bellocchio, along with other directors like Paolo Sorrentino (Il divo, 2008) and Matteo Garrone (Gomorra, 2008), may be interested in providing a more correct or responsible reading of history so that history does not repeat itself and we don’t blindly walk into another “Fascism.” Today, the newsreels of Mussolini’s speeches and Fascist propaganda may seem ridiculous and we may find it hard to believe that he was the premier and “Duce” of Italy. However, there is a tendency today in Italy that promotes Mussolini and the Fascist era as being not all that bad and points out the good things that were done for the country. The image of a good and altruistic Mussolini has been circulating and some Italians (like Bellocchio) may find this worrisome.
According to the sources I quoted in my introduction to the film, the story of Ida Dalser and her son Benito Albino Mussolini is true (See the documentary Il segreto di Mussolini (2005) by Fabrizio Laurenti e Gianfranco Norelli; Alfredo Peroni’s book Il figlio segreto del Duce: la storia di Benito Albino Mussolini e di sua madre Ida Dalser. Milano: Garzanti, 2006; and Marco Zeni’s book La moglie di Mussolini. Trento: Effe e Erre, 2005).
In conclusion, I would add and underline the fact that Ida Dalser falls in love with Mussolini at a time in his life when he is not yet “Duce” of Italy and he is essentially a “nobody” with very little money at his disposal. Ida seems to have fallen in love with the man and not the fame or glory. This especially attracted Bellocchio to the story. Ida sacrifices all her material wealth for Mussolini and when she is put aside her resistance may be seen as exaggerated, but there are qualities in Ida that Bellocchio may be searching for in the Italy of today. In the end, one of the first antifascist sentiments, if not the first, seems to have come from a woman: Ida Dalser. Her position also brings to the demise of her son, the innocent victim in the story, and in so doing Ida completely and tragically challenges the ideal image of the Fascist women who bears children, takes no interest in politics, and puts up stoically with her husband’s infidelities.
Franco Gallippi
Thanks for sharing the paper on "Vincere". However, Mike and I have one more question: why is it entitled "vincere"? Who won? It seems that everyone lost. Is it an ironic title? There is definitely a power struggle, but no one wins: Mussolini is executed by his own people, Ida dies having lost her son and having never been acknowledged by the apparent love of her life, and their son dies a tragic death. Vincere? I don't think so!!!
ReplyDeleteArlene
Ciao Arlene,
ReplyDeleteYour question was on the list of questions to debate after the film. Let me try answering. You are right in saying that apparently no one wins in this story. The main characters find a tragic end. The title "Vincere" may ironically imply that very point. Mussolini used the verb "vincere" often in his speeches to incite Italy to go off to war, and most of the time Italy was not prepared to do so or it was not worth the effort and winning was not really winning. Some reviewers say that Ida Dalser is the winner in this story because today we are here talking about her, she has not been forgotten. This lady inspired journalists to dedicate their time and effort to telling the true story of her tragedy. There are books published on her story. And now there is also a film. So, in a sense, one could say that Ida wins because the film "Vincere" was inspired really because of her courage and "madness." The qualities that Bellocchio found in this woman, although bordering on insanity, are winning features he seems to suggest. And even if you don't agree that Ida wins, on could agree that the film wins because it tells her story in such a powerful way by combining music and images that are sometimes breathtaking, I think.
Va bene Arlene, that is what I would have said the evening of the film if you had had the chance to ask the question. If anything else comes to mind I will let you know.
A presto,
Franco Gallippi