Mussolini’s Daughter is the English title of a historical and biographical drama which premiered in the US in 2015. This version is dubbed into English!
The original Italian version premiered in Italy in 2005. This version is not dubbed. In the original version, all characters speak the appropriate language: mostly Italian but on occasion German. The original title is Edda, which is the name of Mussolini’s (first) daughter.
Here is some basic information about this drama:
** Director: Giorgio Capitani
** Writers: Maura Nuccetelli and Anna Samueli
** Run time: part one = almost 100 minutes
** Run time: part two = more than 100 minutes
** Total run time: ca. 200 minutes
The cast includes the following:
** Alessandra Martines as Edda Ciano (1910-1995) – Mussolini’s oldest daughter
** Massimo Ghini as Count Ciano Galeazzo (1903-1944) – Edda’s husband
** Claude Brasseur as Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) – Edda’s father
** Ludovica Modugno as Rachele Guidi (1890-1979) – Edda’s mother
** Carlo Cartier as Alessandro Pavolini (1903-1945) – an Italian politician – a member of the Fascist government
** Lorenzo Majnoni as Italo Balbo (1896-1940) – an Italian politician – a member of the Fascist government
** Julienne Liberto as a young Edda Mussolini (age 10) (around 1920)
** Udo Schenk as Adolf Hitler (1889-1945)
** Sydne Rome as Carolina Ciano – mother of Galeazzo
** Attilio Fabiano as Emilio Pucci (1914-1992) – an Italian fashion designer
THE PLOT
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, altered or excluded for practical reasons or dramatic purposes. But the basic story is true.
Since this drama is based on a true story, the basic facts are part of the public record. They are not a secret. I could offer many details about what happens in this drama, but I am not going to do that. I do not wish to spoil the viewing for anyone. I will merely tell you a few basic facts, so you know when and where the story begins.
Edda (the main character of this drama) was born in 1910. As a child and a young woman, her name was Edda Mussolini. In 1930, she married Count Galeazzo Ciano and now her name was Edda Ciano. Edda and her husband had three children. She died in 1995.
Edda’s father began his career as a school teacher. But before long he became a political activist and then a politician.
In 1922, following the March on Rome, he became the prime minister of Italy. He was the leader of the Fascist Party. He was the leader of Fascist Italy 1922-1943. He was the nominal leader of the Italian Social Republic 1943-1945.
For more than 20 years, Edda was a member of the most famous family in Italy. For more than 10 years, Edda and her husband were members of the inner circle.
In this drama, we follow Edda and the people around her. Edda is the main character, but the drama does not cover her whole life from the beginning in 1910 to the end in 1995. The story begins in 1910 and ends in 1945.
The focus is not on the political ideology or the political system of Fascist Italy. The focus is on Edda and the people around her.
RATINGS AND REVIEWS
What do reviewers say about this historical and biographical drama?
On IMDb it has a rating of 66 percent, which corresponds to 3.3 stars on Amazon.
There are two user reviews on IMDb. Here are the headlines and the ratings:
** 100 = Excellent work
** 80 = Excellent drama
As you can see, the ratings offered here are much higher than the average rating on the website.
On Amazon there are at the moment seven global ratings and seven global reviews. The average rating is 2.6 stars, which corresponds to a rating of 52 percent.
Here are the details:
5 stars = 21 percent
4 stars = no reviews
3 stars = 21 percent
2 stars = 38 percent
1 star = 20 percent
Here are the headlines and the ratings of the seven reviews:
** Don’t listen to the bad reviews = 5 stars
** Not enough detail = 3 stars
** Good story idea poorly executed = 2 stars
** Dubbing ruined it all = 2 stars
** Dubbed = 2 stars
** Dubbed = 1 star
** Another dubbed mess = 1 star
As you can see, the rating on Amazon is lower than the rating on IMDb. While the user reviews on IMDb are very positive, most reviews on Amazon are very negative.
What is going on here? I think I can explain. The original Italian version is not so bad. It is actually quite good, while the American dubbed version is just terrible.
Four of seven reviews on Amazon complain about the dubbing. All characters in the drama speak English, whether they are Italian or German.
This is totally unrealistic. This is a gross violation of historical truth. And this is the reason why the average rating on Amazon is so low.
Having said this, I must point out that the original Italian version is not perfect. Leaving aside the dubbing issue, this drama has at least two serious flaws.
Let me explain:
# 1. Benito Mussolini and Rachele Guidi had five children. Edda is the oldest. But where are the others? Where is her sister? Where are her three brothers? They are hardly seen! They are hardly mentioned!
I know the drama is about Edda, but I think it is wrong to focus so much on the main character that her sister and her three brothers are virtually ignored and excluded from the story.
# 2. Rachele Guidi was not Mussolini’s first wife. Edda was not Mussolini’s first child.
Ida Dalser (1880-1937) was Mussolini’s first wife. Benito Albino Mussolini (1915-1942) was Mussolini’s first child. But they are never seen! They are not even mentioned!
CONCLUSION
What does this mean? What do I think about this drama? My answer has to come in two parts:
** If we are talking about the original Italian version, I want to offer three or four stars, because it is actually quite good.
** If we are talking about the dubbed American version, I cannot offer more than one or two stars, because it is just terrible.
PS # 1. Benito Mussolini and Rachele Guidi had five children. Here are the names:
** Edda, 1910-1995
** Vittorio, 1916-1997
** Bruno, 1918-1941
** Romano, 1927-2006
** Anna Maria, 1929-1968
PS # 2. Edda and her husband had three children. Here are the names:
** Fabrizio Ciano, 1931-2008
** Raimonda Ciano, 1933-1998
** Marzio Ciano, 1937-1974
PS # 3. Mussolini tried to erase all traces of his first wife and his first child from history. His efforts seemed to be successful. For many years, nobody knew anything about them. But he was not totally successful.
Not all items were erased. A few survived. In 2005, the story of Ida Dalser and her son Benito Albino emerged from the darkness. In 2009, the story of their difficult and tragic lives was told in the historical and biographical drama Vincere.
REFERENCES
** The Ciano Diaries 1939-1943: The Complete Unabridged Diaries of Count Galeazzo Ciano, Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs, 1936-1943 edited by Hugh Gibson (1946)
** Mussolini: An Intimate Biography by Rachele Guidi (with Albert Zarca) (1974)
** My Truth by Edda Mussolini Ciano (with Albert Zarca) (1977)
** Mussolini’s Shadow: The Double Life of Count Galeazzo Ciano by Ray Moseley (2000) (2014)
** Scoop: How the Ciano Diary was smuggled from Rome to Chicago where it made worldwide news by James H. Walters (2006)
** My Fault: Mussolini as I Knew Him by Margherita Sarfatti (2015)
** Galeazzo Ciano: The Fascist Pretender by Tobias Hof (2021)
** Edda Mussolini: The Most Dangerous Woman in Europe by Caroline Moorehead (forthcoming, October 2022)
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Edda Mussolini Ciano (1910-1995)
Married to Count Galeazzo Ciano 1930-1944
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Edda's husband
Count Galeazzo Ciano (1903-1944)
Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs 1936-1943
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Edda's father
Benito Mussolini (1883-1945)
Prime Minister of Italy 1922-1943
Nominal leader of the Italian Social Republic 1943-1945
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An official photo of
Mussolini and his wife Rachele Guidi
and their five children
(the photo is from ca. 1930)
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On this blog:
(Posted in December 2021)
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