Vincere (2009)

The story of Mussolini's secret lover, Ida Dalser, and their son Albino.

Director:

Marco Bellocchio

Writers:

Marco Bellocchio (story), Marco Bellocchio (screenplay)

Stars:

Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Filippo Timi, Fausto Russo Alesi

47 wins & 38 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Giovanna Mezzogiorno	...	Ida Dalser
Filippo Timi	...	Benito Mussolini / Benito Albino adulto
Fausto Russo Alesi	...	Riccardo Paicher
Michela Cescon	...	Rachele Mussolini
Pier Giorgio Bellocchio	...	Pietro Fedele
Corrado Invernizzi	...	Dottor Cappelletti
Paolo Pierobon	...	Giulio Bernardi
Bruno Cariello	...	Giudice
Francesca Picozza	...	Adelina Dalser
Simona Nobili	...	Madre Superiora
Vanessa Scalera	...	Suora Misericordiosa
Giovanna Mori	...	Tedesca
Patrizia Bettini	...	Cantante
Silvia Ferretti	...	Scarpette rosse
Corinne Castelli	...	Lacrime

Storyline

The story of Ida Dalser, who fell in love with the future Italian Fascist leader, Benito Mussolini, supported him while he was unemployed in the early 1910s, and married him, presumably around 1914. She bore Mussolini a son, Benito Albino, before the outbreak of World War I. The two lost touch during the war years and, upon discovering him again in a hospital during the war, she also discovered Rachele Guidi, who had married Mussolini in 1915, and a daughter born in 1910 when Guidi and Mussolini were living together. Historically, following his political ascendancy, Mussolini suppressed the information about his first marriage and he (through the Fascist party) persecuted both his first wife and oldest son and committed them forcibly to asylums.

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Plot Keywords:

female full frontal nudity | mussolini | 1910s | asylum | marriage | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan] Official site [United States]

Country:

Italy France

Language:

Italian German

Release Date:

20 May 2009 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Vincere

Filming Locations:

Trento, Trentino, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

€9,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$18,096, 21 March 2010, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$615,278, 13 June 2010

Company Credits

Production Co:

Offside,Rai Cinema,Celluloid Dreams

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min 118 min (cut) 118 min (cut) 118 min (cut) 121 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Black and White (inserts only)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In Italian, "vincere" means "to win". This was a favorite word in Il Duce's public speeches.

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Quotes

Benito Mussolini: With the guts of the last pope, we'll strangle the last king!

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Connections

Features The Kid (1921)

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Soundtracks

Inno di Garibaldi (Va' fuori d'Italia, va' fuori stranier)
(uncredited)
Performed by Pier Giorgio Bellocchio and Filippo Timi

User Reviews

Marco Bellocchio's Dark View of Mussolini's Private Life

Marco Bellocchio directed and wrote (with Daniela Ceselli) this very dark version of the private life of Benito Mussolini, a portion of his life that centered on his mistress and the mother of his son, one Ida Dalser. Though the film never really reveals whether Ida Dasler and Mussolini were married (Mussolini already had a wife and child when he me the devastatingly beautiful and erotic Ida) but that simply doesn't seem to matter while watching this artistic triumph of a film. What the director does manage to portray is the life and times of Italy before, during, and after WW I, a time during which Mussolini began his influence as a socialist and ultimately founded Italian Fascism, becoming the Fascist dictator of Italy. The many permutations of the concepts of monarchism and socialism and eventually Fascism are delineated by the film, if at times as shadowy in their explanation as is the director's love of dark in lighting the screen during almost all of the action. Bellocchio uses black and white film clips throughout his film giving it a somewhat documentary flair, but the performances by the actors make this film very much a visceral drama and not a dry rehash of history.

Filippo Timi gives a gripping performance as both Mussolini the ardent and handsome lover and politician whose life is always controlled by the term 'Vincere' ('Win'). Aptly, when the bulky monster Mussolini rises out of the socialism into fascism and the war the part of Mussolini is 'played' by the film clips of the real person. But as the film draws toward the end of his life, Timi once again enters the film in the role of his son Benito Albino Mussolini, a lad stricken with insanity and confined to a sanitarium. As Mussolini's mistress (aka 'wife' by her accounts) Ida Dalser, Giovanna Mezzogiorno offers one of the strongest cinematic portrayals of an important woman of history. She is simply riveting - erotic when the romance begins, faithful even when she discovers Mussolini has a wife, and uncontrollably fierce as she is confined by the government (with Mussolini's approval) to an insane asylum. This is one of those performances that will live in memory long after this film is seen and hopefully will garner awards when the Oscar season comes round.

In all this is a beautifully wrought, intelligent, beautifully acted, occasionally confusing melodrama that sheds light on the man Mussolini, his rise to power, and the women who came under his influence. Recommended.

Grady Harp