In 1909 Ida Dalser met Mussolini during his stay in Trento. Having fallen in love with him, she met him again in Milan, where Mussolini was the editor of Avanti. She financed her lover’s newspaper, gave him a son, then the war separated them. In the life of the future Duce there would be no more room for Ida or for little Benito Albino. Bellocchio linked the themes dearest to his cinema (the constraint of madness, power, men of History, Catholicism, revolutionary ideas) and put together a great melodrama with a historical background. Thanks to the impeccable editing by Francesca Calvelli, the extraordinarily plastic photography by Daniele Ciprì and the perfect soundtrack by Carlo Crivelli, the tragedy full of passion and feeling staged by Bellocchio convinces and enchants. Starting from the very wise use of archive materials, reinvented and remodeled in a seductive game of interlocking fiction and reality. A lesson in style and intelligence.
Born and raised in Bobbio, Marco Bellocchio attended the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome at a young age. His first film, I pugni in tasca (1965), is one of the most mature and bold debuts in the history of Italian cinema. After La Cina è vicina (1967), a slogan film about the Italian bourgeoisie, he directed, among others, Sbatti il mostro in prima pagina (1972), a bitter reflection on journalism. One of the most politically committed directors, he denounced the abuses of institutions (Nel nome del padre, 1972, Matti da slegare, 1975, Marcia trionfale, 1976) alternating documentary with fiction cinema. With the psychoanalyst Massimo Fagioli, he directed Il diavolo in corpo (1986), inaugurating a prolonged cinematic journey along the routes of the unconscious. In 1997 he brought to the screen a text by Heinrich von Kleist, The Prince of Homburg, which achieved great success among critics and audiences, confirming himself as a lucid, rigorous and passionate director. Having confirmed his success with a film adaptation of Pirandello's novel (La balia, 1999), he turned his attention to the dilemmas of the present and recent history (L’ora di religione, 2002, Buongiorno, notte, 2003, Il regista di matrimoni, 2006). The only Italian in competition, in 2009 he participated in the Cannes Film Festival with Vincere, obtaining great acclaim from international critics. At the last Venice Film Festival he presented Sorelle mai, a film in six episodes set in a family setting.