''Benito'' () is an Italian TV miniseries regarding the story of

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

's early rise to power in the

Socialist International The Socialist International (SI) is a political international or worldwide organisation of political parties which seek to establish democratic socialism, consisting mostly of Social democracy, social democratic political parties and Labour mov ...

and his relationship with Angelica Balabanoff. It was made in 1993 by

RTVE The Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española (; ), known as Radiotelevisión Española (''Spanish Radio and Television'', RTVE), is the Spanish national public Broadcasting, television and radio broadcaster. It is a state-owned enterprise f ...

of Spain,

Rai Due Rai 2 is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's second television channel, and is known for broadcasting '' TG2'' news bulletins, ta ...

of Italy, Microfilm, and the Kirch Company. It stars

Antonio Banderas José Antonio Domínguez Bandera (born 10 August 1960), known professionally as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish actor. Known for his work in films of several genres, he has received numerous accolades, including a Cannes Film Festival Award ...

as Mussolini.

Synopsis

Mussolini arrives in a small town in 1901 and gets a job as a school teacher; he is subsequently fired for having sex with the headmaster's daughter. This would be a common theme throughout the movie. After giving up on teaching, he works as a builder on the new

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public university, public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by French theologian John Calvin as a Theology, theological seminary. It rema ...

campus building, and where a lover persuades him to become a student. This is also where he organizes his first protest after the death of a worker he knew. For this, he is nearly deported but is saved by Angelica's intervention. After getting run out of then-Austro-Hungarian

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

, he goes back to his hometown of

Forlì Forlì ( ; ; ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is, together with Cesena, the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena.The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the east of the Montone river, ...

, where he marries Rachele. Soon he is at the forefront of the

Socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

movement when he becomes the editor-in-chief of ''

Avanti! ''Avanti!'' (; Italian interjection – 'come in!') is a 1972 comedy film produced and directed by Billy Wilder, and starring Jack Lemmon and Juliet Mills. The screenplay by Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond is based on Samuel A. Taylor's pla ...

''. At this point Mussolini unites the "reds," the Socialists, with the "yellows," the

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

in an

anti-war An anti-war movement is a social movement in opposition to one or more nations' decision to start or carry on an armed conflict. The term ''anti-war'' can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conf ...

movement. This marks the peak of his power, with the Italian left-wing politics under his control. However, he gradually loses his anti-war fervor and splits from the Socialist party altogether, turning all his allies into enemies.

Cast

Toni Bertorelli Toni Bertorelli (18 March 1948 – 26 May 2017) was an Italian actor. He performed in over sixty films. Biography Bertorelli was born in Barge, Piedmont, Italy. Bertorelli began his acting career in 1969 working with his friend Carlo Cecchi. H ...

as Primo * Valentina Lainati as Giulia Ferrari *

Ivano Marescotti Ivano Marescotti (4 February 1946 – 26 March 2023) was an Italian actor and theatre director. Life and career Born in Villanova di Bagnacavallo, province of Ravenna, Marescotti worked as a clerk in the urban sector of the Councillorship of ...

Giacinto Menotti Serrati Giacinto Menotti Serrati (; 25 November 1872 – 10 May 1926) was an Italian communist politician and newspaper editor. Biography He was born in Spotorno. He was a central leader of the Italian Socialist Party (PSI), editor of the paper ''Avant ...

* Franco Mescolini as Ferrari *

Anna Geislerová Anna Geislerová is a Czech actress. The recipient of five Czech Lion awards, three for Best Leading Actress and a further two for Best Supporting Actress, Geislerová is best known for her role of Eliška in the Academy Award-nominated movie ...

as Eleonora *

Claudia Koll Claudia Koll (born Claudia Maria Rosaria Colacione; 17 May 1965) is an Italian actress. Biography Claudia Koll was born in Rome of Italian and Romanian parentage. Koll made her debut as a cinema actress in 1989, but achieved fame for her part ...

as Rachele Guidi *

Susanne Lothar Susanne Lothar (15 November 1960 – 21 July 2012) was a German film, television and stage actress. Her work included collaborations with Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke. She was married to fellow actor Ulrich Mühe, with whom she frequently ...

as Angelica Balabanoff *

Luca Zingaretti Luca Zingaretti (; born 11 November 1961) is an Italian actor and film director, known for playing Salvo Montalbano in the '' Inspector Montalbano'' mystery series based on the character and novels created by Andrea Camilleri. Zingaretti is a ...

Pietro Nenni Pietro Sandro Nenni (; 9 February 1891 – 1 January 1980) was an Italian socialist politician and statesman, the national secretary of the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) and senator for life since 1970. He was a recipient of the Lenin Peace Priz ...

References

External links

* Italian television films Italian television miniseries 1993 television films 1993 films Films about Benito Mussolini Films directed by Gianluigi Calderone 1990s Italian films {{Italy-tv-prog-stub