Vincere (Marco Bellocchio, 2009): Italy/France

Reviewed by Nicole Muhlethaler. Viewed at the Santa Barbara Film Festival.

The highly stylized and beautifully done Italian period piece Vincere, transports its audience to 1914 Milan, as the little-known story of Benito Mussolini (Filippo Timi) and his secret lover, Ida Dalsar (Giovanno Mezzogiorno), is just beginning. Mussolini, a poor young Socialist and outspoken activist, stands before a crowded room full of mostly rowdy men, Dalsar seated quietly on a bench, her eyes twinkling. She is enchanted with what she sees. Mussolini, a stopwatch in hand, announces that he is giving God five minutes to strike him dead. He stares at the stopwatch fearlessly, a determined smile on his face, as the crowd goes wild. Finally, when the time is up, his point is made: God does not exist. The room goes up in chaos.

We never see Mussolini treat Dalsar well during their brief romance. We see long, intimate sex scenes, where Mussolini, eyes wide and intense, does not appear to look at her, while she calls out passionately that he is her love. He never returns the complement. Dalsar sells all of her possessions to help fund Mussolini’s dreams and start up his newspaper, fueling his entire political career and future. However, shortly after this, she comes to find that unbeknownst to her, Mussolini is not only already married, but he has a child. She is swiftly taken away, out of sight, and Mussolini coldly erases her out of his life, denying they ever had a romantic connection. Meanwhile, Dalsar becomes pregnant with his son, and her obsession with Mussolini — stalking him, confronting him, even trying to lock him in a room and seduce him, leads to her initial house arrest and eventual life in a barred madhouse, her son thrown into an orphanage and raised by nuns.

The film is full of old, stock footage, grainy and dark, and the sets and costumes match the old footage perfectly. This is a remarkably beautifully made film. The score is dark and dramatic, with dark piano pieces and haunting choir music filling in the background perfectly. A mood is set that doesn’t let up the entire film. We are submerged in Italy’s romance with Mussolini, in dark times of war and Fascism. The acting is also superb. Giovanno Mezzogiorno plays the part of Ida Dalsar perfectly — her passion, heartbreak, and all-encompassing obsession with Mussolini is emotional, full of energy, and entirely convincing. However, despite the perfection in art direction, this film slowly loses direction throughout its duration.

Towards the end of Vincere, one is reminded of Clint Eastwood’s recent film Changeling, in which Angelina Jolie, playing the part of a mother with a lost son, is given a boy by the LAPD who is not her son. The LAPD attempts to force her into believing the boy is her son, so as to save their name. Changeling, too, is a period piece with a compelling first act, yet the story unfolds aimlessly — she is eventually locked inside a madhouse, a woman obsessed with the truth. There are only so many times an audience can hear “he is not my son!” followed by heartbroken, rage-filled, tears, without whincing. The same can be said of Vincere. Only so many times can we hear “Mussolini is my husband!” followed by Mezzogiorno’s tears, before we are left checking our watches and wondering when the story will start up again. Unfortunately for us, and for Ida Dalsor, the story is over by the end of act one. What started as an emotional explosion slowly sizzles and leaves us with a slight sense of disappointment. Still, as an art piece, this film was masterfully made – the stock footage, seamless editing, cinematography, and music combine to make a visual masterpiece.