It's such a shame that Wertmuller no longer commands the interest of producers. She gave us such powerful films, and at her peak, she and Giannini could do no wrong. European directors have given us films that excoriate Fascists. There is Bertoluci's "1900" and "The Conformist"; Costa Gravas's "Missing", there is "Schindler's List","The Pianist", "Two Women" are just a few of a long list. What does Wertmuller show us? Simple people get caught up in every single war, WW 2 was no exception. There were probably all kinds of attempts to kill Mussolini before he was finally caught and hung up like a piece of meat. This movie takes place early in the rise of El Duce. To openly show displeasure with his black shirted thugs would guarantee a short and brutal outcome. The same held true for those brave and furious souls in Spain and Germany who tried (in vain) to stand up against Fascism. The main story in this drama is the almost mad plans of a simple country bumpkin who seeks to avenge the murder of an "anarchist" who planned to kill Mussolini but got carried away and told everyone in the town of his plans. Next thing we see is him murdered. Giannini's character shows up in Rome and seeks refuge in a brothel (all pre-arranged), after having gone to France for training in shooting a gun. Much has been made of the mayhem inside the brothel but to me this is color adding to the texture, it is subtext. The main body of this drama evolves with Tunin and his trembling approach to the plot. That he becomes embroiled in an unexpected love for a prostitute is but one twist in the plot. There are several wonderful scenes where he has ample opportunity to kill a vile fascist thug who is a regular at the brothel but he refuses to get sidetracked. Even after having fallen in love he still refuses to divert from his presumed destiny. He fully expects to either fail or even if successful to get caught and killed for his efforts. "Tunin" tries to make sense of his confused feelings and at the end has to abandon clarity for duty. He is confused, frightened and compelled to honor his fallen comrade. The surprise twist (I won't spoil it) at the end of the film pushes him over the edge into an irrational, spontaneous and self destructive spree. His fate once met is anti=climactic, he having already intuited the end.
The film is funny, tense and upsetting. I simply cannot believe how fast Mariangela Melato speaks, she sounds like the fast rattle of a machine gun. The cast is totally wonderful, the direction tight, with evocative single frame shots of Tunin in a pose, creating a "snapshot" feel, supporting his introspection as he plans. (An aside: what is up with Giannini's face? He looks like his face was covered in splotches ...like freckles; he looked sickly and scary and did not look like this in "Swept Away") Anyway, a really powerful drama, the likes of which we just don't see today.
The film is funny, tense and upsetting. I simply cannot believe how fast Mariangela Melato speaks, she sounds like the fast rattle of a machine gun. The cast is totally wonderful, the direction tight, with evocative single frame shots of Tunin in a pose, creating a "snapshot" feel, supporting his introspection as he plans. (An aside: what is up with Giannini's face? He looks like his face was covered in splotches ...like freckles; he looked sickly and scary and did not look like this in "Swept Away") Anyway, a really powerful drama, the likes of which we just don't see today.