SYNOPSIS
Prominent writer-director Marco Bellocchio continues his ferocious critique of Italian institutions — the family, church and political system – with the plaintive, mournful sadness of a mature master. Offering an usual perspective on the life of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, Vincere follows the tragic story of Ida Dalser, who bore Mussolini a son and whose desperate efforts to be acknowledged ensured her doom. He mirrors Ida’s descent with sentimental genre of melodrama that became popular in the 30s, and makes her suffering emblematic of the nation’s ordeal under the fascists. In the central roles, Giovanna Mezzogiorno and Filippo Timi are mesmerizing, as is Carlo Crivelli’s superlative musical score and the intelligent and persuasive use of archive footage.
