The Italian dictator Benito Mussolini is often portrayed as a brutal and ruthless leader, but a new biographical series dares to challenge this image
The Italian dictator Benito Mussolini is often portrayed as a brutal and ruthless leader, but a new biographical series dares to challenge this image by showing him as a charismatic and seductive figure.
The series, M: Son of the Century, is based on the first instalment of Antonio Scurati’s “documentary novel” by the same name, a 2019 winner of the prestigious Premio Strega book award that has sold more than 600,000 copies worldwide but divided critical opinion at home.
The show’s director, Joe Wright, hopes to make viewers feel sympathy for Mussolini, if only to demonstrate his diabolical charm. “What I hoped to do in the show is sometimes allow the audience to be seduced by Mussolini and to get excited by what he’s doing,” he said in an interview with the Guardian.
To achieve this, Wright’s team used a unique approach, combining a techno soundtrack by Tom Rowlands, one half of the Chemical Brothers, with a style that is part Scarface, part Man With a Movie Camera, and part 90s rave culture.
The series will premiere at the Venice film festival on September 5 before being released by Sky next spring. It does not so much analyse fascism’s origins as dunk the viewer straight into the bath of blood, sweat, and male testosterone that gave rise to the cult around the man his followers called Il Duce.
Throughout the series, Mussolini is shown as a morally corrupt individual, but also as a canny political operator who is able to temper his taste for violence for strategic gains. He breaks the fourth wall to speak directly to the audience, inviting them to join his cause: “Follow me, you’ll love me too. I’ll make you a fascist.”
Wright’s approach is designed to make viewers feel a sense of moral responsibility for their actions. “To demonise these characters absolves us of moral responsibility and I think that’s really, really dangerous,” he said.
The series is certain to touch a nerve in Italy, where Mussolini’s legacy continues to be felt. In recent years, the country has elected its most rightwing government since the second world war, led by a prime minister whose party has neofascist origins.
Wright’s decision to show Mussolini’s dialogue in Italian was initially planned, but was changed after the election of Giorgia Meloni as prime minister. “At that point, we decided that I wanted every single Italian to understand every single word,” he said.
Mussolini’s rise to power was marked by violence and intimidation. He built up violent paramilitary gangs and terrorised political opponents, suspended democracy in favour of a dictatorship, and plunged his country into a bloody war.
Scurati’s “documentary novels” – the third instalment of which, M: The Last Days of Europe, was published in 2022 – tries to stop the reader being sucked too deeply into Mussolini’s toxic psychology by juxtaposing fictionalised monologues with archive documents, such as newspaper articles and secret police reports.
The taut moral arc of M: Son of the Century leads from Mussolini’s start as a rabble-rousing underdog in Milan’s tavernas to a pivotal moment in June 1924, when his career came close to being ended over the death of the socialist leader Giacomo Matteotti, who had been kidnapped and murdered by fascist paramilitaries.
Facing an outraged parliament, Mussolini took responsibility for the murder as head of the fascist party and dared his critics to prosecute him. By failing to seize the opportunity, they enabled Italy’s descent into a full dictatorship.
Conclusion
M: Son of the Century is a bold and provocative series that challenges viewers to re-examine their perceptions of Benito Mussolini. By showing him as a charismatic and seductive figure, the series invites viewers to feel a sense of moral responsibility for their actions.
FAQs
Q: Why is Mussolini’s dialogue shown in Italian?
A: The decision to show Mussolini’s dialogue in Italian was changed after the election of Giorgia Meloni as prime minister. The director wanted every single Italian to understand every single word.
Q: What is the style of the series?
A: The series combines a techno soundtrack by Tom Rowlands with a style that is part Scarface, part Man With a Movie Camera, and part 90s rave culture.
Q: What is the goal of the series?
A: The goal of the series is to make viewers feel sympathy for Mussolini, if only to demonstrate his diabolical charm, and to challenge viewers to re-examine their perceptions of him.
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