Friday, April 2, 2010
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Friday, April 2, 2010
MOVIE REVIEW
Vincere
Marriage, Madness And
Mussolini: A True Story
Marco Bellicchio's "Vincere" features an amazing performance by Giovanna
Mezzogiorno.
IFC Films
By
Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com
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Friday, April 2, 2010
"Vincere" is a powerful look at the true story of a woman who has been written
out of history: the second wife of Benito Mussolini (and mother of his
first-born son), disowned by a country and scandalized by the rubric of madness.
Or is she? Marco Bellocchio directs this brooding drama of Ida Dalser, a
character excellently rendered by Giovanna Mezzogiorno, who realizes that Il
Duce, the Italian fascist dictator, has married not just her but at least one
other.
The film works brilliantly when Ms. Mezzogiorno is onscreen. Her work as
the tortured and anguished Dalser is amazing. The actress' performance is
a complex psychological portrait crafted under the most demanding physical
circumstances, and should be remembered at Oscar time next January. "Vincere"
falters however, under the weight of its pastiche of documentary footage and
other imagery that is both objective to the story and subjective to Dalser.
The material disrupts the film's flow, which is unfortunate, because at times "Vincere"
is riveting, compelling viewing. Ms. Mezzogiorno is electrifying.
I'm not sure if the various footage, comprised of actual newsreels from World
War I and II, and speeches from Mussolini, is assembled as free-associational
imagery to represent confusion for Dalser or accentuate the history that the
film chronicles. It's an interesting and risky choice. Regrettably,
Mr. Bellochio seems not to trust his great actors to completely command the
screen by supplementing their often stellar work with the black-and-white
imagery. By relentlessly throwing repetitive images at us at the end or in
the middle of notable scenes there's a sign the director may have been in two
minds about the style of "Vincere". But maybe that's the point.
The film combines a biography of Mussolini (great work by Fillippo Timi) as he
becomes a megalomaniac newspaper publisher in Italy in the early 20th century.
Mussolini's rise to political power as the leader in Italy is also chronicled.
Mr. Timi also plays the older edition of Mussolini's son Benito Albino, bringing
an uncommon power to both roles. There's a primal incarnation to his work
that's unsettling, such is its intensity.
With its gorgeous and important cinematography (by Daniele Ciprì), haunting
score and stunning acting, "Vincere" is an eye-opening and fascinating story,
but the frequently irritating archival footage compromises a great film, making
it an enthralling one.
With: Corrado Invernizzi, Fausto Russo Alesi, Michela Coscon, Pier Giorgio
Bellocchio, Paolo Pierobon, Bruno Cariello, Francesca Picozza, Simona Nobli,
Giovanna Mori, Silvia Ferretti, Corinne Castelli, Patrizia Bellini, Fabrizio
Costella.
"Vincere" is not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America.
The film contains strong sexual content, violence, language, thematic material.
The film is in the Italian language with English subtitles. In color and
black and white. The film's
running time is two hours and two minutes.
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Read more movie reviews and stories from Omar
here.
Read Omar's "Far-Flung Correspondent" reports for America's pre-eminent Film
Critic Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times -
here
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