M - Son of the Century

Under the shadow of the recent rise of right-wing, populist governments and authoritarian leaders, acclaimed director Joe Wright (Atonement, TIFF ’07; The Darkest Hour, TIFF ’17) has adapted Antonio Scurati’s novel M. Son of the Century into a series of the same name, which, like the original work, draws a clear line between today's political climate and the fascist strongman who started it all — Benito Mussolini.

Wright’s Mussolini, played brilliantly by an unrecognizable Luca Marinelli (Martin Eden, TIFF ’19), narrates his own story, often breaking the fourth wall and speaking directly to the audience. At the end of the First World War, his newspaper Il Popolo d’Italia established, Mussolini is now looking to fuel his political agenda by capitalizing on disillusioned veterans, who expected to come home as heroes, but were instead treated as outsiders. These men, desperate to be heard and understood, turned to Mussolini, together forming the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento, a dangerous group of ultranationalists, which would become the National Fascist Party.

Wright has a track record of bringing influential, polarizing historical leaders, like Winston Churchill to the screen. Those who loved “Il Duce” regarded him as the greatest leader that Italy has ever known, while those who despised him feared his political ties with Hitler, xenophobic ideologies, and general arrogance. Humanizing Mussolini is no easy task, and Wright takes on this significant responsibility knowing that demonizing such a leader is too simple, and the more difficult path is to understand why, in 1919, he and many Italians all wanted to Make Italy Great Again.

GEOFF MACNAUGHTON