At the centre of Marco Bellocchio's Vincere is what the veteran Italian filmmaker describes as 'a regime based on images', led by an ambitious leader bringing about 'a change in the world of politics that was to last forever': it's the story of a politician who has almost complete control of the Italian mass media, and does everything he can to suppress anyone putting his reputation - and thus his grip on power - at risk.
Vincere, however, is not about media mogul-turned-prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. Instead, the film is set in the 1920s and 30s, and its protagonist is Benito Mussolini, the self-proclaimed Il Duce and 'the first person in the world to manipulate his image in order to impose himself on his country through cinema, radio or photography', says Bellocchio.
'When we planned this film, we did not draw comparisons with Berlusconi - they merely come about now,' the director says, referring to the scandalous tales about the Italian prime minister's extra-marital trysts that have come to light during the past two years.
'It's true that Berlusconi nearly controls the communication media and has taken great advantages of it, but the differences between [Mussolini's time and Italy today] is clear. Even with Berlusconi now, there's still an opposition and democracy; during the days of fascism, people who were against the regime were killed or locked up in mental hospitals.'
Indeed, while Berlusconi's young friends were free to sell and tell tales of his misadventures, those people who threatened to blot Mussolini's reputation suffered immensely.
Vincere is the story of one such individual, Ida Dalser (played by Giovanna Mezzogiorno). A young upper-class woman who fell in love with Mussolini (Filippo Timi) when he was a destitute radical socialist, Dalser sold everything to finance his Il Popolo d'Italia newspaper and gave birth to his son. Then Mussolini married Rachele Guidi, thus casting her into the pale and rendering her son illegitimate.
As Mussolini ascended to power, Dalser's existence - and her pleas for Mussolini to acknowledge her and their son, who was also named Benito - quickly became a major inconvenience for the politician, especially since Mussolini, who was an atheist in his younger days, needed endorsement from the Catholic Church.
