He was definitely a junior partner in his relationship with Adolf Hitler, but Benito Mussolini was a major player in the rise of fascism and the history of the time between the wars that defined the first half of the 20th century. "Vincere," (to win) shines some light on the dictator's earlier years.
Some excellent use of newsreel and documentary film footage helps provide background and a sense of the period, and director Marco Bellochio, who wrote the screenplay in collaboration with Daniela Ceselli, weaves it in very effectively.
Mussolini was a young radical looking for a cause, publishing a newspaper and backing labor in its continuous battle with management. Later, things turned sharply to the right as Il Duce, as he was known, gained increasing strength, using the Army and the police against the very workers who had brought him to power.
But the story is primarily about Ida Dalser, who fell in love with him, supported him, backed him financially and in other ways, and bore him a child, also named Benito. Mussolini (Filippo Timi) walked out on the family, and Ida (Giovanna Mezzogiorno) fought for her own position, but even harder to see her son in his rightful place. With the power of the state against her, and tyrants' long-time use of hospitals and asylums to keep their enemies quiet and away from supporters, she ended up as a broken woman. Mezzogiorno is excellent as the constantly-battling woman, and Timi shines not only as Mussolini, but also as his grown-up son.
Daniela Cipri, director of photography, and Francesca Calvelli, the editor, did remarkable work integrating the old and new film, blending digital images with aged celluloid. An interesting take on then 20th century.
Opens today at the Tivoli.
–Joe