This melodramatic biopic focuses on the life of Ida Dalser (Giovanna Mezzogiorno from “Love in the Time of Cholera”). Dalser first met this union representative and Socialist Party member when he grabbed her in a dark alley while eluding police on horseback. He kissed her passionately before running away. Their paths crossed again in Milan when she spotted him at the head of a line of demonstrators. She passes him a note and he shows up at her door late at night.

An erotic wordless scene of thrusts and moans turns Dalser into Mussolini’s devoted mistress. She sells everything to finance his start-up newspaper. He treats it as a loan and signs an IOU. She gets pregnant and bears him his first son, Benito Albino. He drops her like a hot potato, changes his political affiliation from socialism to fascism and marries Rachel Guidi, who is portrayed as the model housewife and mother.

The abandoned Dalser and her son face poverty and are forced to move in with her sister and brother-in-law. They are put under strict surveillance. Feeling spurned and rejected, Dalser writes letters to authority figures, including the Pope, claiming that she was secretly married to Il Duce. She is beaten to a pulp and thrown into an insane asylum.

Mussolini does ultimately recognize his bastard son, who also ends up in a mental institution.

Italian filmmaker Marco Bellocchio brings to the screen this powerful story that was suppressed during fascist rule and remained unknown for years afterward. The screenplay is roughly based on two books, “Mussolini’s Marriage” and “Mussolini’s Secret Child” and the documentary film “Mussolini’s Secret.” The title is Italian for “Win.”

Black and white inserts of archival footage are scattered throughout the movie to give it historical context. The movie shows that Mussolini’s treatment of this woman and her child was a precursor to the ultimate shaft given to his country.

The movie mirrors an opera with its full range of human emotions. The movie is somewhat confusing because it doesn’t follow a linear structure. It flashes back and takes things out of chronological order.

Since a marriage certificate was never produced, it is up to the viewer to decide if the double ring ceremony was real or imagined by Dalser.

The movie drags and becomes repetitive after Dalser is locked up in a mental institution. The main reason to see this movie is the terrific acting of Mezzogiorno. Her facial expressions and body language convey far more than mere words can express. Timi uses his penetrating, intense eyes in the dual roles of the brash young Mussolini and the grown son who goes crazy living in the shadow of his powerful dad.

Bellocchio’s love of cinema comes through with several scenes of Dalser sitting and watching silent films or newsreels with piano accompaniment. The visually stunning cinematography makes effective use of darkness and shadows. A dynamic and bombastic original musical score is another recommended strong point.

This gripping film was an official selection of the Cannes, Toronto and Telluride film festivals. Surprisingly, it was not Italy’s official submission for best foreign language film at the Academy Awards. This movie is strictly for adults due to its mature themes, explicit sex and full frontal female nudity. The dialogue is in Italian with English subtitles. It is now playing exclusively at the Glenwood Arts.

Review By:
Keith Cohen "The Movie Guy"