Vincere (Italy/Germany 2009)
Director: Marco Bellocchio
With: Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Filippo Timi
We all knew Benito Mussolini was a bad guy, but how many of us knew how badly he treated his first wife and son? Told from Ida Dalser Mussolini’s (Mezzogiorno) point of view, she falls for the young Mussolini (Timi), a fiery Socialist. In the first scene, Mussolini stands before local leaders in Milan and dares god to strike him dead. After 5 minutes, he declares that there is no god. Dalser, in the crowd, is captivated.
They hook up as Mussolini becomes a rising star in the Socialist Party. When World War I begins, he breaks with the party and supports the war, driven by visions of a resurgent Italy as the new Rome. After fighting in the war, he abandons the socialists and invents fascism. In the process, he dumps Dalser and their son, named for him.
The rest of the film depicts Dalser’s fight to be recognized as Mussolini’s lawful wife, and to acknowledge their son. Mussolini has moved on and married another woman, denying that any prior wedding had occurred. When Dalser makes too much noise, he has her committed to a mental institution and takes custody of the boy who is relegated to a convent school and kept incognito.
Of course, the more Dalser protests, the crazier she seems. To tell more would give away too much.
Historically, Dalser was in fact considered Mussolini’s wife, as she was given a war pension by the Italian government and informed of his injury by the Carabinieri. She always claimed to have a marriage certificate, and in the film she is reluctant to produce it for fear it would disappear into Mussolini’s terror apparatus, along with her son.
Partly impressionistic, punctuated with real grainy newsfilm of people and events and emotionally absorbing, the film is worth seeing for many reasons, most for Mezzogiorno’s passionate performance. It is an Italian film, and occasionally lapses into the operatic, but that is a small quibble.
A-