Florestano Vancini
Il delitto Matteotti

A film to watch again - The Matteotti Affair.

In the film "The Matteotti Affair", directed by Florestano Vancini, there is no mention of the human, individual, and familial drama of the victim; the political and moral collapse of an entire ruling class is scrutinized with care, the tragedy of a state. "The Matteotti Affair" thus tells the story of the reactions to the crime and recognizes in them the last chapter of the end of the monarchical, statutory, and liberal state that abdicates in front of fascism and, above all, Benito Mussolini, plunging Italy into the nightmare of authoritarian rule.

The film begins with music that underscores the approach of the reckoning, the decisive hour for the fate of a nation. Italy's fate is knocking at the door for the last time.

Meanwhile, dates that led to the rise of the fascists are superimposed on the screen…

1918, 1919, 1922. A long list of missed opportunities by Italy is enumerated in a countdown: for lethargy, indecision, divisions, wrong choices, or choices not made. On one side, the monarchy handed itself over to fascism by not signing the state of siege, and the old ruling class did the same by welcoming the thugs as ephemeral restorers of order; on the other side, the socialists first and communists later missed the opportunities to make their revolution when they still had the majority in the countryside and factories…

…in 1924, the new parliament takes its seat, which, a suicidal law for the opposition—yet voted for by many of them—made two-thirds fascist.

In this parliament, Matteotti (Franco Nero), the socialist leader, asks for the floor. He denounces the illegitimacy of the new parliament. He meticulously denounces all the beatings that characterized its election, just as he had recorded the others perpetrated by the fascist squads over the years. He had also been a victim in Polesine in 1921: kidnapped and beaten by a group of fascists.

During and after the speech, tempers are high. Only Mussolini (Mario Adorf) remains unperturbed, but upon leaving the chamber, he asks:

"What is Dumini doing, what is this Ceka doing?! It is inadmissible that after such a speech that man can still circulate! Boja de'n Signur!"

A deluge of characters

The focus isn't solely on Mussolini's reaction. As we said, this film is an ensemble piece: we observe the reaction of oppositions external to fascism, the reactions of opposing souls within fascism, the upright judiciary and the corrupt one, the subservient journalists and the others, the industrialists, the police.

The film has a relentless rhythm and gives the viewer the chance to see on stage those shady figures, those social climbers, those professional thugs they have read so much about (or will read in the future) in books.

We go from the son of the century, thoughtless but a great puppeteer (Mussolini). Among his ranks, on one side there are some violent fascists (Marinelli, Finzi, and Dumini) and on the other fascists of the palace, wheeler-dealers and double-dealers (Filippelli and Rocca).

There are other state forces. The judiciary and journalists are divided between inflexible and collaborators.

There are the industrialists: Olivetti, Agnelli, and others who have entrusted the government with the responsibility to clear the field of the various obstacles that blocked the conduct of their businesses.

Then there is the insecure, weak, and traitorous Vittorio Emanuele III. The scene where he receives the secessionists (excluding Gramsci who was absent) while on holiday is emblematic. He humiliates the opposition, ignoring their claims, to show them his and his family's hunting exploits. The leaders of the opposition are already finished without knowing it. Thus they still appear …in '24 the opposition proposed 21 lists against the fascist list. Even the most aligned positions failed to agree on a single list. Result: many oppositions, no opposition.

Among these politicians overtaken by history, little men, and businessmen, three new and vibrant figures stand out. First, the uncompromising, punctual, and combative Matteotti. Second, the already marginalized Don Sturzo who, hidden in Rome, receives De Gasperi, his successor. With him, Catholics had re-entered Italian politics, and for this reason, he was despised and feared by the former blasphemer from Romagna. Lastly, Piero Gobetti, the intellectual and journalist from Turin who opposes the young fascist force with another youth, the spiritual one.

The writings that appear superimposed at the end of the film are dedicated to them.