This movie is a re-enactment of the inner workings of the revolutionary cell of the group responsible for the kidnaping and murder of Aldo Moro, the Red Brigades. Aldo Moro was an Italian politician, more or less forgotten outside of Italy, but, as the raft of Italian movies testify, not forgotten in Italy at all. The Aldo Moro kidnaping and murder is and will remain a compelling story, due not only to Moro's popularity -- he had the popularity and charisma of a Kennedy -- and to the brazenness of the deed, but because of the official response to his abduction, which has been charitably described as "haphazard," "incompetent," or "inept," perhaps purposely so. The film treats the official response as a constant subtext as the story progresses, and arrives at its own conclusion in its own very subdued manner.
You do not have to know Thing One about the Aldo Moro affair to enjoy this movie. This is as much due to the increased frequency of hostage situations in our daily life, a somewhat infrequent occurrence in the late 70s when the Moro kidnaping took place, as to the individual strengths of the film. This a character study of the revolutionary personality and how hostage-taking affects both the prisoner and the guard.
There are three elements which make this film directed by Marco Bellocchio an unforgettable movie experience. The first element is the main character played by the remarkable Maya Sansa. She is the embodiment of young angst and alienation translated to Revolutionary fervor. The expression she embodies are in her incredibly expressive eyes, but is played out by every fiber of her being.
The second element is Bellocchio's sense of art direction. He makes effective use of natural light and shadow to communicate seemingly ordinarily scenes, such as when the young revolutionaries first move into the apartment where they hold Moro hostage. He most effective use of light and shadow is used to convey the increasingly dour mood of the revolutionaries, becoming darker as the movie progresses, and to display the gloom that hovers over the apartment when they are desperately trying to decide what to do with Moro. Bellocchio frequently lapses into black and white, especially when the Maya Sansa character, veers off in her own world of imagination. This element of Bellocchio's art direction alone makes this movie one of great aesthetic beauty.
The third element is Bellocchio's most effective. Bellocchio's use of music, primarily the music of Pink Floyd, is inspired and a stroke of genius. Portions of "Wish You Were Here" are interspersed throughout the film which adds the tension and dread experienced by the revolutionary cell. Pink Floyd's "The Great Gig in the Sky" from Dark Side of the Moon brilliantly portrays the inner conflict experienced by Maya Sansa after she inadvertently reads one of Aldo Moro's letters. From that point she questions the goals and the motive of her revolutionary friends, and the real drama begins.
These elements combine to produce a haunting psychological drama, where the Maya Sansa character battles her own demons, and battles with the other members of Red Brigade, which is battling Moro and Italian society. The constant screening of archival, contemporary newscasts and station breaks from the actual kidnaping remind the viewer that this is a story based on real events. However, the line between reality and fantasy are so frequently crossed in this movie that while we know the find outcome of the Aldo Moro kidnaping, we want to believe what we are seeing in the ending and ultimately left wondering what the final outcome really was -- or could have been.
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Top reviews from other countries
Louise Picard
Excellent film. DVD en bon état. Merci
Reviewed in Canada on December 7, 2019KG
Haunting, quietly powerful re-imagining of real events
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 17, 2012
Jono
one that had passed me by and I was very happy with the
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 22, 2017