Vincere (2009)

Vincere is an Italian historical and biographical drama (based on a true story) which premiered in 2009.

It is about the private lives of three persons: the Italian politician Benito Mussolini, his first wife Ida Dalser, and their son Benito Albino Mussolini.

Benito and Ida are married in 1914. Their son Albino is born in 1915. But Mussolini does not stay with them. He leaves his wife and refuses to acknowledge his son.

In 1915, he marries a woman he has known for several years: Rachele Guidi, with whom he already has a daughter. Edda was born in 1910, five years before her parents are married. Eventually, Benito and Rachele will have four more children (one daughter and three sons).

After the Fascist revolution of 1922, when Mussolini is a powerful dictator, he orders government agents to find and destroy any evidence about his first marriage: any connection between him and Ida and Albino must disappear.

He was almost completely successful. For many years, information about his first wife and his first son was not known by the Italian people or the world. The secret remained buried until 2005, when the Italian journalist Marco Zeni discovered some evidence and made a documentary film about the case.

The movie Vincere which premiered in 2009 is a dramatized version of this case - based on information which appeared in or since 2005.

In this movie we find out what happens to Ida Dalser when she claims Mussolini is her husband, and we find out what happens to her son Benito Albino Mussolini when he claims Il Duce is his father.

Here is some basic information about this drama:

** English title: Win!

** Director: Marco Bellocchio

** Writers: Marco Bellocchio and Daniela Ceselli

** Language: Italian

** Run time: 124 minutes

The cast includes the following:

** Giovanna Mezzogiorno as Ida Dalser (1880-1937) – Mussolini’s first wife – mother of Albino

** Filippo Timi plays two roles here:

# 1. In the first part of the movie, he is the father Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) (a young man)

# 2. In the second part of the movie, he is the son Benito Albino Mussolini (1915-1942) (a young man)

** Fabrizio Costella as Benito Albino Mussolini (ca. 10 years old)

** Michela Ceson as Rachele Guidi (1890-1979) – Mussolini’s second wife – mother of five children

** Francesca Picozza as Adelina Dalser – Ida’s sister

** Fausto Russo Alesi as Riccardo Paicher – Adelina’s husband

** Corrado Invernizzi as Dr Capelletti – a psychiatrist in a mental hospital

** Nataliya Kozhennua as a nurse in a mental hospital

** Paolo Pierobon as Giulio Bernardi – a Fascist police officer

Since this drama is based on a true story, the basic facts are part of the historical record. They are not a secret. Therefore, I feel free to mention some of them in this review.

While this drama is based on a true story, it is not a documentary film. It is a dramatized version of events. Not everything happened exactly as shown here.

Some details may have been added, changed or excluded for dramatic purposes or practical reasons. But the basic story is true.

THE PLOT

As a young man, Benito Mussolini is a socialist, an active member of the Socialist Party. He is against the Catholic Church and the monarchy; he wants a republic. He is against capitalism; he wants socialism.

The Socialist Party organizes public demonstrations against the government. But the government does not like to see such demonstrations. They send out the police. They order the police to disrupt the demonstrations and to arrest as many agitators as possible,

Benito and Ida meet each other for the first time during a violent confrontation between police and demonstrators. He is running as fast as he can, trying to avoid the police. She is an innocent bystander who just happens to be there. Together they hide behind a pillar.

It is only a brief moment, but apparently it makes a big impression on both of them. An on-screen message tells us that this episode happens in Trento - a town in the northern part of Italy - in 1907.

Seven years later, in 1914, they meet again and this time they stay together for a while. By now he is the editor of the socialist newspaper Avanti.

She is not really interested in politics. She has a beauty salon. But she is fascinated by his personality, his activism, his passion for what he believes.

The year 1914 is a turning point in European history. World War One begins. When the war begins, Italy is neutral. The Socialist Party supports neutrality.

The socialist argument runs like this:

“Why should workers of one country go to war against and kill workers of another country who have never harmed them? This war is about money and markets. It is caused by the capitalist system which we do not like.”

But in 1914, Mussolini does not follow the party line. He wants Italy to go to war. He wants Italy to join the war on the side of the Entente (France, the UK, and Russia).

Mussolini is inspired by Futurism, an Italian movement which was founded in 1909. Members and supporters of this movement are fascinated by power, speed and modern technology. They love trains, boats, automobiles and airplanes.

They are also fascinated by war. They say those who are weak and slow will be eliminated, while those who are strong and fast will survive. The future belongs to those who are strong and fast.

This movie does not say much about futurism, but there is a scene where Mussolini comes to visit an exhibition about this movement.

Since Mussolini goes against party policy on a most significant point, he is expelled from the party.

He does not care. He tells Ida that he is going to start his own newspaper - Il Popolo d’Italia - where he will write what he wants without interference from others. The only problem is that he does not have any money to start a newspaper.

Ida is devoted and loyal to him. She decides to sell her beauty salon and everything in it. She gives him all the money, so he can start his own newspaper. He takes the money and then he leaves her!

Now she is alone with their son Albino. Mussolini does not help them in any way. In fact, he no longer knows them. She cannot understand what is wrong. Then she discovers the truth: he already has a partner in life, Rachele Guidi. He even has a child with her: a daughter Edda who is five years old in 1915.

Ida is pushed aside, but she refuses to give up. She is his wife and she believes in him, even when it is clear that he does not care about her.

In 1915, Mussolini marries Rachele in a civilian ceremony and joins the army. The Italian government has decided to join the war on the side of the Entente. The Italian government has done just what Mussolini wanted.

The fact that Mussolini wants to join the war is a clear sign that he is no longer a socialist, who has an international point of view. He is now a nationalist, who puts his own nation first.

Ida and her son Albino need a place to stay. They can stay with Ida’s sister Adelina and her husband Riccardo.

But this arrangement does not last very long: Albino is removed from Ida. First, he is sent to a boarding school. Later, he is adopted by a Fascist police officer (Giulio Bernardi).

Ida is not allowed to live in peace. She is sent to a mental hospital. She claims Mussolini is her husband, but everybody knows that Mussolini is married to Rachele, so she must be mad. This is obvious.

As stated above, Filippo Timi has two roles here:

** In the first part of the movie, he plays Mussolini senior (the father).

** In the second part of the movie, he plays Mussolini junior (the son).

In the second part of the movie, Mussolini senior is only seen in archive footage; in news reels recorded while he is the Fascist dictator of Italy (1922-1943).

Ida is sad and desperate. A psychiatrist in the mental hospital where she is placed tries to tell her that she only makes things worse for herself by insisting that Mussolini is her husband.

“Let it go,” he says. “Maybe they will let you out of here, if you give up this claim.”

But Ida cannot let it go. She cannot pretend what is not true. Her life is sad. Nobody believes her. Nobody understands her. She dies in a mental hospital in 1937. Perhaps she is killed to shut her up?

Albino grows up and becomes a young man. In the movie, we see how his friends ask him to imitate Mussolini. They think it is funny. But for Albino this is not funny.

The only time he can see his father is when he goes to a movie theatre where they show newsreels with current information before the movie which is the main attraction.

Albino outlives his mother with a few years. His life is also sad. He dies in a hospital in 1942. Perhaps he is killed to shut him up?

WHY IS THE MOVIE CALLED VINCERE?

The title of the movie is a reference to a popular Italian Fascist song. The chorus of the song includes the following words:

Win! Win! Win!

And we will win

On land, in the sky, and on the sea!

At any cost! No one can stop us!

Our hearts are happy

They are ready to obey

They are ready to swear:

Win or die!

RATINGS AND REVIEWS

What do reviewers say about this historical and biographical drama?

Here are the results of three review aggregators:

69 percent = IMDb

85 percent = Meta

92 percent = Rotten tomatoes (the critics)

68 percent = Rotten tomatoes (the audience)

On Amazon there are at the moment 63 global ratings and 43 global reviews. The average rating is 4 stars, which corresponds to a rating of 80 percent.

As you can see, the ratings are quite good. When you look at Rotten Tomatoes, you can see that there is a clear difference between the professional critics and the general audience.

In my opinion, most of these ratings are far too high. The rating on IMDb (69 percent) and the rating offered by the audience on Rotten Tomatoes (68 percent) are more appropriate, but even they are too high for me.

Why do I say so? What is wrong? In my opinion, this movie has at least three flaws. Let me explain:

# 1. In the beginning of the movie, an on-screen message tells us that we are in Trento and the year is 1907. This is good. This is helpful, because we can understand where we are in time and place.

But on-screen messages are not used in a systematic way throughout the movie. This means the viewer is often lost. Where are we now? What is the year? No information is given. I blame the director for this flaw.

# 2. The three main characters in this movie are easily identified: Mussolini the father, Mussolini the son, and Ida. But what about the people around them? They are almost never identified in any way. Examples:

** When Mussolini is arguing about the war with some members of the Socialist Party, we can see them and hear them, but we do not know who they are. Why are they not identified?

** When Mussolini joins the army, he is wounded and he ends up in a church which is used as a temporary field hospital. A small delegation comes to visit the wounded soldiers. The members are not identified. Why not?

Who are they? Even though it is never explained, I think I can guess who is there.

We can see a tall person and a short person with a cap. I guess the short person with the cap is Victor Emmanuel III who is the king of Italy from 1900 to 1946.

This king is only 1.53 meters. He is known as “the little one” (il piccolo) by the Italian people.

When Mussolini sees the king, he does not say:

“Down with the monarchy!”

He is in a church, but he does not say:

“God does not exist!”

Instead, he is polite and shows respect. He is no longer a socialist; he is a nationalist; he is no longer against the monarchy; he is no longer against the church.

** When Ida is in the mental hospital, there is a scene where she faces a panel of five persons. The members of the panel want to find out if she is still mad or if she is fit to be released. Who are they? No member of the panel is identified. Why not? I blame the director for this flaw.

# 3. As stated above, Filippo Timi plays two roles in this movie: the father and the son.

It is OK that he plays the son. I have no objection to this. But it is not OK that he plays the father. I have to object to this. Why? Because Filippo Timi does not look like Mussolini.

It is a common problem for historical movies about famous persons whose faces are familiar to the public. There are many movies about Winston Churchill, but it is very difficult to find an actor who looks like Churchill. It is not good enough to pick a fat old man!

Thanks to contemporary newsreels, the remarkable face of Il Duce and his special body language are well-known not only to Italians but to people all over the world. Filippo Timo has absolutely no likeness with the Fascist leader!

We know he is supposed to portray Benito Mussolini, but his looks and his performance as the Fascist leader are not really convincing.

CONCLUSION

The story of Ida Dalser and her son Albino is interesting and deserves to be told, but this movie is not quite successful.

As you can see, there are some flaws, which cannot be ignored; which cannot be overlooked. I have to remove two stars because of these flaws. Therefore, I think it deserves a rating of three stars (60 percent).

PS # 1. Mussolini and Rachele Guidi were married in 1915. Did he ever divorce Ida? Apparently, he just left her. If this is true, it means he was a bigamist when he married Rachele. If this is true, his second marriage was illegal and invalid.

PS # 2. In 1925, the marriage ceremony of Mussolini and Rachele was repeated in a Catholic church. At the time there was a long-running conflict between state and church in Italy. The conflict began in 1870 when Italian forces entered the Vatican State and took control of Rome.

Having his marriage ceremony repeated in a Catholic Church, is a clear sign that Mussolini was ready to end the conflict between church and state. The Lateran Treaty which was signed four years later (1929) marked an end to the long conflict between church and state.

PS # 3. Mussolini and Rachele had five children (two daughters and three sons). Here are the names:

1910-1995 = Edda

1916-1997 = Vittorio

1918-1941 = Bruno

1927-2006 = Romano

1929-1968 = Anna Maria

PS # 4. A version of the popular Fascist song about Italian victory is available on YouTube. Here is a link:

Vincere!

REFERENCES

# 1. Articles available online

** Richard Owen, “Power-mad Mussolini sacrificed wife and son,” The Times, 13 January 2005

** Manohla Dargis, “Il Duce as Young Lover: The Making of a Dictator,” New York Times, 18 March 2010 (a review of the movie Vincere)

** Ian Thomson, “Il Duce and his women by Roberto Olla – Review,” The Guardian, 13 January 2012

** Ben Downing, “In Bed With Il Duce,” Wall Street Journal, 24 March 2017 (this is a review of the book Claretta)

# 2. Books

** How Fascism Ruled Women: Italy 1922-1945 by Victoria De Grazia (1992) (1993)

** Perry Wilson, “Women in Mussolini’s Italy, 1922-1945” – a chapter in The Oxford Handbook of Fascism edited by Richard James Boon Bosworth (2009) (2010)

** Il Duce and His Women by Roberto Olla (2011) (2013)

** Claretta: Mussolini’s Last Lover by Richard James Boon Bosworth (2017) (2021)

*****