1994
60' – Video – Color – Italy, Israel, UK
In the Name of the Duce
A cartography of the Italian political landscape during the 1993 municipal and presidential campaigns. The leading contenders in Naples are Mussolini’s granddaughter Alessandra and her left-wing rival Antonio Bassolino.
By the absence of any commentary as well as by its commitment, In the Name of the Duce resembles a documentary. Nonetheless, its fragmentary composition, its distance, its outside approach to the subject and, apart from the denunciation of corruption, the absence of political stands, give it a particular singularity. Alessandra Mussolini, whose campaign is at the heart of the film, and at its source, is presented in a minimal way: hardly a sixth of the film, under ten minutes. Alessandra is a decoy, a dummy-candidate. She herself is not the subject of the film – not to say that she does not have a real political stance – but it is rather her name, that of her grandfather. Hence, the entire film addresses the question: “What face should we give to this name, and what are the politics of this face?”
Yann Lardeau, Les Films d’Amos Gitai, unpublished
FESTIVALS
• Locarno: Festival internazionale del film 1994
• Festival do Rio de Janeiro 1994
• Taormina FilmFest 1994
A cartography of the Italian political landscape during the 1993 municipal and presidential campaigns. The leading contenders in Naples are Mussolini’s granddaughter Alessandra and her left-wing rival Antonio Bassolino.
By the absence of any commentary as well as by its commitment, In the Name of the Duce resembles a documentary. Nonetheless, its fragmentary composition, its distance, its outside approach to the subject and, apart from the denunciation of corruption, the absence of political stands, give it a particular singularity. Alessandra Mussolini, whose campaign is at the heart of the film, and at its source, is presented in a minimal way: hardly a sixth of the film, under ten minutes. Alessandra is a decoy, a dummy-candidate. She herself is not the subject of the film – not to say that she does not have a real political stance – but it is rather her name, that of her grandfather. Hence, the entire film addresses the question: “What face should we give to this name, and what are the politics of this face?”
Yann Lardeau, Les Films d’Amos Gitai, unpublished
FESTIVALS
• Locarno: Festival internazionale del film 1994
• Festival do Rio de Janeiro 1994
• Taormina FilmFest 1994
SALES / DISTRIBUTION
AGAV FILMS
6, cour Berard. 75004 Paris – France
+33 (0)1 42 40 48 45
agav@amosgitai.com
SALES / DISTRIBUTION
AGAV FILMS
6, cour Berard. 75004 Paris – France
+33 (0)1 42 40 48 45
agav@amosgitai.com
