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Vincere

Play trailer Poster for Vincere Released Mar 19, 2010 2h 8m Biography History Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
91% Tomatometer 93 Reviews 68% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
Inspired by the life of Benito Mussolini's first wife, Ida Dalser (Giovanna Mezzogiorno), the film tells the story of tragic love amidst the tides of war. Ida, taken by the young and unemployed Benito (Filippo Timi), marries him and soon has his child. The two are separated at the outbreak of World War I, and Benito remarries. When Ida finds out, she tries to assert her place in his life, but the fascists are less than willing to tarnish the image of the man who is now a dictator.

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Vincere

Vincere

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Critics Consensus

Part political treatise, part melodrama, Marco Bellocchio's Mussolini biopic forsakes historical details in favor of absorbing emotion -- and provides a showcase for a stunning performance from Giovanna Mezzogiorno.

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Critics Reviews

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Anna Smith Metro Newspaper (UK) A tragic, timeless tale about a spirited woman's stubborn devotion to a self-serving man. Rated: 4/5 Aug 23, 2018 Full Review Ed Koch The Atlantic It is good and worth seeing but not great. Jan 13, 2018 Full Review Andrew Sarris Film Comment Magazine Bellocchio encapsulates the long-running mass hysteria of a nation enthralled by the demagogic antics of a now-seeming buffoon. Jun 20, 2013 Full Review Rene Jordan El Nuevo Herald (Miami) Vincere goes farther as an irrepressible howl of rancor to the past. [Full review in Spanish] Jul 15, 2022 Full Review David Walsh World Socialist Web Site The film's dramatic starting-point more or less is Mussolini's act of apostasy, his transformation in 1914 from a fire-eating, left Socialist into an Italian nationalist and patriot. Feb 13, 2021 Full Review Martin Tsai Critic's Notebook While Dalser's story makes for a potent historical parable, at times it seems like little more than a garden-variety drama about an obsessive woman's scorn. Oct 7, 2015 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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isla s This is quite a sobering and bleak watch. Some of what goes on is quite chaotic and keeping track of what happens to who is a bit of a struggle. It's certainly an emotional watch and the cast do an alright job in showing the women's (and childrens) distress at times, having to deal with wars and unkind political movements and situations that cruelly tear things apart. I couldn't help but feel sorry for Ida, who undoubtedly got a rough ride of things. Her desperation is clear to see. Whether you regard her as a victim of herself so to speak, in believing in things that perhaps were never so, well, that's up the viewer. It's certainly a thoughtful and insightful film. I like that it slows down a bit from the fast paced, confrontational scenes near the start, with various newspaper headlines strewn over the screen and seemingly black and white library war footage shown (to put things in context, societally speaking?). I preferred the scenes of Ida in a hospital/asylum, trying her hardest to maintain access to her child, to prove her past, much to others distaste or disbelief. It's the element of state control over someone's identity and the sense of hiding someone out of view, to avoid embarrassment, that saddens me most. It is quite a grim watch I suppose, as I say and so that may put you off and there are some rather bland scenes but for the most part, its a reasonably thoughtful and decent enough film. I'm not sure I'd expressly recommend going out of your way to see this but if it sounds of interest and you can catch it, then you may enjoy it, yes. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review ari v An unusual, blistering piece. Not so much about a particular forrest fire that roared its way across the historical landscape - as about a particularly steadfast flame or two; left, for a time, in its wake. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member The strength of the movie dwells in the interpretative intensity of the main actor and actress. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member The montage of actual historical footage & fictional scenes made the 1st half looking broken & disjointed. The 2nd half is better for being more on the fictional side. Some decent acting though. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member Vincere is one of the finest movies I've seen. I knew about Ida Dalser from my interest in Interwar Italy, but to see their love story in film was something . . . Quite different. The one word I would use to describe this film and its contents--its emotions, intrigue, Mussolini's early betrayal of his wife and son as he broke from the Socialists to join the war and climb onto Italy's national stage, and, of course, Fabrizio Costella's hauntingly accurate portrayal of the young DVX is simply: "Wow". Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member ...mi aspettavo di più, nel complesso un film inferiore al solito Bellocchio, anche se la storia reale offre molti spunti. Non mi è piaciuta Giovanna Mezzogiorno. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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Movie Info

Synopsis Inspired by the life of Benito Mussolini's first wife, Ida Dalser (Giovanna Mezzogiorno), the film tells the story of tragic love amidst the tides of war. Ida, taken by the young and unemployed Benito (Filippo Timi), marries him and soon has his child. The two are separated at the outbreak of World War I, and Benito remarries. When Ida finds out, she tries to assert her place in his life, but the fascists are less than willing to tarnish the image of the man who is now a dictator.
Director
Marco Bellocchio
Producer
Mario Gianani
Screenwriter
Marco Bellocchio, Daniela Ceselli
Distributor
IFC Films
Production Co
Offside, Celluloid Dreams, RAI Cinema
Genre
Biography, History, Drama
Original Language
Italian
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 19, 2010, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 10, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$615.3K
Runtime
2h 8m
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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