Vincere (Italian for "Win", a popular Fascist song) is the story of the future Italian Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini's relationship with Ida Dalser, a woman who may or may not have been his first wife. They had a son together but once Mussolini returned from the battlefields of the First World War he married someone else, cut himself off from Ida and set about erasing both her and their son (also called Benito) from history.
We first meet Mussolini, played by the excellent Filippo Timi, as a moustached Marxist on the up challenging God to strike him down. When God fails to oblige he declares that God does not exist. In the aftermath of a rally he meets shop-owner Ida, played by Giovanna Mezzogiorno, who soon in the throes of amour fou sells both her business and home to fund his newspaper venture. We sense immediately that this will end badly. Once WWI comes along young Benito is swept up by nationalistic fervour into joining the fight and loses touch with Ida. On his return the former socialist has become a committed fascist, soon to become Il Duce. Though the emotional world of the characters, mainly Ida, is easy to follow the same cannot be said for the political and historical background which is often either muddled or simplified with too much jumping around in time at the start of the film. And why exactly does Mussolini change from the left to the far-right - was it simply political opportunism? Alas we never find out here.
The two main actors are excellent but the direction frustrates their efforts with unnecessary stylistic tics such as the "March of Time" style newspaper headlines which flash up on screen accompanied by newsreel footage of rallies, marching goosestepping Fascists and most curious of all, a line of breastfeeding lady Fascists. The disappearance of Timi halfway through the film is only explained when Timi returns towards the end sans moustache playing Benito Junior for a few scenes. Once he becomes Il Duce, Mussolini is only represented in the film through marble busts, paintings and newsreel footage, his chin jutting out arrogantly, arms tightly-folded like Les Dawson, delivering his Fascistic slogans.
The acting is never boring but it's a film more to be admired than enjoyed.
If you want to see a film about Fascist Italy I'd recommend you watch Bertolucci's masterpiece The Conformist instead.
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