tomgillespie2002 When beauty-salon owner Ida Dalser (Giovanna Mezzorgiorno) has a chance encounter with the young Benito Mussolini (Filippo Timi), she becomes enamoured by him. They cross paths a number of times - one at a political rally where Mussolini challenges God to strike him down if he truly exists; the other she sees him pass her store leading a mob of political activists; and again as he is escaping the authorities, when they share their first kiss. Attracted to his enormous power and political ideals, she sells everything she owns in order to fund his new political magazine. They get married, and he gives her a son. But when he returns from World War I, he marries another women, and his political status vastly grows. Mussolini denies knowing her and puts her under surveillance. When Ida refuses to deny their marriage, she is committed to a mental hospital and all documentation of their marriage is destroyed.Only unearthed in 2005 by Italian journalist Marco Zeni, this is a fascinating story that was, for years, suppressed by the fascist regime. Both the story and the film is a terrifying portrayal of a country under a ruthless dictator in a turbulent time in Europe. It is not actually known if the story is even true, as all evidence was destroyed by Mussolini's agents. But as well as Ida's stubborn refusal to deny it, their grown son, Benito Albino Mussolini, always spoke out how he was the 'bastard' son of the dictator, and was also placed in a mental asylum. He spoke out until his tragic death at the age of 26. He is portrayed in the film (also played by Timi) at first imitating Mussolini at the insistence of his friends, and then later manically quoting lines from his speeches as he wanders open-robed around the hospital.The film is a great story that is magnificently acted, beautifully filmed, and unconventionally directed by Marco Bellocchio. Words fly out of the screen shouting 'war!', strange women gaze into the camera whose identity we don't find out until much later in the film, and the film sometimes jumps forward years while only hinting at the events that have taken place in between. It's a brave and worthwhile decision, and although it does slide into a more conventional genre picture near to the end, it remains frequently gripping and anger-inducing. Mezzogiorno in the lead role is outstanding, and in the scene where she breaks apart as she enters her second asylum, she is both heart-breaking and strangely inspiring. Timi is a force of nature as Mussolini, nailing his mannerisms and ruling over his people with a steely disposition.Vincere was tipped for the Palme d'Or at Cannes, but was overshadowed by the admittedly better films The White Ribbon and A Prophet. But this is a fantastic film in its own right - insightful, powerful, and disturbing, and Bellocchio, a veteran at 71, is definitely a director to keep an eye on.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

Eternality In competition for 2009's Palme d'Or, Vincere is a new film by Marco Bellocchio. It is set in the early 20th century in Italy, during a dangerous time of oppression and political revolution, which cumulated in the evil that was Fascism. The story is not about the horrors of Fascism per se or how it rose to become an ideology matched in its ghastliness only by Nazism, but of its dictator Benito Mussolini and his private life.Vincere tells the true story of Mussolini (Filippo Timi) and Ida Dalser (Giovana Mezzogiorno), his secret lover whom he had a passionate but somewhat sordid affair with. In the film, Dalser gives birth to a son who is taken away from her. She is also sent to a mental institution for claiming that she is the "rightful wife" of Mussolini; the latter is married and denies the affair with Dalser.Much of Vincere revolves around Dalser, whom is portrayed as a sympathetic figure, a person who loved and trusted Mussolini with all her heart, but ended up suffering the ignominy of being a "prisoner of a vile dictator". Mezzogiorno's performance is noteworthy. She switches effortlessly from a seductive woman who oozes sexual allure (she appears completely nude in a number of shots) to a frustrated person devoid of the freedom to pursue personal justice.Timi also plays Mussolini with a fierce affection. But he fizzles out in the second half of the picture after Bellocchio rightly gives more screen time to Mezzogiorno. Even though the core of Vincere rests upon the relationship (or lack of) between Mussolini and Dalser, the political themes of the film remain in the consciousness of the viewer throughout.Bellocchio inserts old black-and-white footages of history into the film, drawing our attention to the fervent and violent political and nationalistic attitudes of that era. The shouts of "Italia! Italia!" and the real Mussolini giving a powerful speech about war are, at the very least, disquieting. Matched with a loud, rousing score with lots of brass and choir, the film is quite strong in creating a mood of paranoia.Vincere somewhat ends too quickly. Even for a film that is slightly longer than two hours, it seems like more exposition is warranted and would have been greeted more positively than not. Thus, the film feels incomplete but it is still a well-made film with its cinematography, in particular, an aspect to appreciate.It may seem ironic but in Vincere's most emotional sequence, Bellocchio uses clips from Chaplin's The Kid (1921). In The Kid, Chaplin's character is devastated when his young son is taken away from him by the state. Dalser, who watches the film in an open-air screening, draws strength from it in the hope that she will one day see her son again.Bellocchio's Vincere is a decent entry into the Palme d'Or selection, but it is by no means a stunning piece of cinema. The private story of Mussolini (or rather Dalser's) is compelling enough to last the two hours, though it would have been better received with a more complete approach.SCORE: 7.5/10 (www.filmnomenon.blogspot.com) All rights reserved!

Lee Eisenberg Much has been told of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, but Marco Bellocchio's "Vincere" tells of another period during the Fascist's life. Or rather, not his life, but the existence of his first wife Ida Dalser. Played to a tee by Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Ida met Benito (Filippo Timi) back when he was the editor of socialist newspaper Avanti. It was right before WWI when the future Il Duce broke away from the socialists and established the newspaper Il Popolo d'Italia. Not only that, having gotten injured in the war, Mussolini dumped Ida and Benito Jr. for his more famous wife Rachele (Michela Cescon).It this point, the movie shifts entirely to Ida and Benito Jr., while Mussolini is seen only in newsreels. It's as if Ida represents the common person in Italy. Whereas Mussolini used to be a common person, he suddenly becomes the distant, bombastic authority figure. Ida, meanwhile, is thrown into a mental institution. As her sanity deteriorates further and further, accompanied by the frigid weather, one gets a sense of what would soon happen to Italy.I had never known about this whole part of history, but it's good that the movie is recounting it. Without a doubt, this story serves to show what a megalomaniac Il Duce was - to say the least. But above all, it's important that we learn about the past so as not to repeat the mistakes.

Tim Shechmeister You have to be kidding me, anyone who liked this.The story ends at minute 10: Mussolini won't acknowledge her or the kid. Boom. There's the movie. She tries no new strategy to get what she wants, just insists over and over. Until she dies. After two hours of boring the hell out of me.Movies need to go somewhere. Even Godard movies go somewhere. This just spins its wheels.But, some pretty good performances. Not incredible, but good.Also, for God's sake, they go to the movies like 1000 times in this. It was the turn of the century, they didn't even have that many. Terrible.