''Love and Anarchy'' () is a 1973

political Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

film written and directed by

Lina Wertmüller Arcangela Felice Assunta "Lina" Wertmüller (; 14 August 1928 – 9 December 2021) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. She is best known for her 1970s art film, art house films ''Seven Beauties'',' ''The Seduction of Mimi'', ''Lov ...

and starring

Giancarlo Giannini Giancarlo Giannini (; born 1 August 1942) is an Italian actor and voice actor. He won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor for his performance in '' Love and Anarchy'' (1973) and received an Academy Award nomination for '' Seven Beaut ...

and

Mariangela Melato Mariangela Caterina Melato (; 19 September 1941 – 11 January 2013), sometimes billed as Maria Angela Melato, was an Italian actress. She is most remembered for her roles in films of director Lina Wertmüller, including '' The Seduction of Mimi' ...

. Set in

Fascist Italy Fascist Italy () is a term which is used in historiography to describe the Kingdom of Italy between 1922 and 1943, when Benito Mussolini and the National Fascist Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictatorship. Th ...

in the early 1930s, the film follows Tunin (Giannini), an

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

farmer who stays in a brothel in Rome while preparing to assassinate

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 ...

with assistance from Salomè (Melato), a prostitute and fellow anarchist. However, his mission is complicated when he becomes romantically involved with Tripolina ( Lina Polito), another prostitute at the brothel. The film explores the depths of his emotions concerning love, his hate for fascism, and his fears of being killed while assassinating Mussolini. At the 1973 Cannes Film Festival, ''Love and Anarchy'' was nominated for the

Palme d'Or The (; ) is the highest prize awarded to the director of the Best Feature Film of the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festiv ...

and Giannini was awarded Best Actor.

Plot

In 1932, after witnessing the murder of his

friend at the hands of the Fascist police for plotting to assassinate

, Antonio "Tunin" Soffiantini, a peasant farmer from

northern Italy Northern Italy (, , ) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. The Italian National Institute of Statistics defines the region as encompassing the four Northwest Italy, northwestern Regions of Italy, regions of Piedmo ...

, resolves to carry out his friend's mission. After training in marksmanship in Paris with the anarchist underground, he travels to Rome and settles into Madame Aida's brothel while posing as the cousin of one of the prostitutes, Salomè, who is his secret political contact. Salomè explains to Tunin that she seeks to avenge the lynching of her anarchist lover, Anteo Zamboni, who was framed for an attempt on Mussolini's life in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

. Salomè arranges for her, Tunin and Tripolina, a younger prostitute at the brothel, to spend the day with the head of Mussolini's

secret police image:Putin-Stasi-Ausweis.png, 300px, Vladimir Putin's secret police identity card, issued by the East German Stasi while he was working as a Soviet KGB liaison officer from 1985 to 1989. Both organizations used similar forms of repression. Secre ...

, Giacinto Spatoletti, from whom she has been extracting vital information for the past three months, so they can learn Spatoletti's upcoming security arrangements. The four of them go to the countryside near Rome where the assassination is due to take place in a few days' time. Salomè keeps Spatoletti busy while Tunin surveys the area and devises a plan. After striking up a conversation, Tunin and Tripolina develop feelings for one another and subsequently sleep together. Back in Rome that night, Salomè and Tripolina return to the brothel while Spatoletti takes Tunin to the

Piazza del Campidoglio Piazza del Campidoglio ("Capitoline Square") is a public square (piazza) on the top of the ancient Capitoline Hill, between the Roman Forum and the Campus Martius in Rome, Italy. The square includes three main buildings, the Palazzo Senatorio (Se ...

, where the two men drink as Spatoletti expresses his admiration for Mussolini and his disdain for

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

and anarchists. When Spatoletti makes crude remarks about Tripolina, Tunin admonishes him and runs towards the brothel, yelling Tripolina's name, but the madams throw him out. The next day, Tunin reveals his assassination plot to Tripolina and asks her to spend the next two days with him, as he fears they may be his last, leaving her devastated. When an important client dies suddenly at the brothel, Madame Aida, hoping to avoid a scandal, assigns Tunin to discreetly dump the client's corpse in the

Roman Forum A forum (Latin: ''forum'', "public place outdoors", : ''fora''; English : either ''fora'' or ''forums'') was a public square in a municipium, or any civitas, of Ancient Rome reserved primarily for the vending of goods; i.e., a marketplace, alon ...

, which he does with help from Salomè. In exchange, Madame Aida allows Tripolina to spend the next two days with Tunin. On the morning of the planned assassination, Tripolina refuses to awaken Tunin, fearing he will die, which leads to a heated argument with Salomè, who insists that he execute the plan, but the two eventually agree to protect him. Tunin awakens and, realising he is late, angrily accuses both women of betrayal. When the police conduct a routine patrol at the brothel, an increasingly paranoid Tunin confesses his intention to kill Mussolini and opens fire on the police, killing a few officers. He then tries to shoot himself but has run out of bullets. While attempting to escape, he is apprehended outside the brothel as Salomè, Tripolina and the other prostitutes watch in horror. Tunin is subjected to torture and interrogation by Spatoletti, but refuses to speak. He is subsequently beaten to death by Fascist officers in his jail cell. The police report describes his death as an "unidentified madman's" suicide.

Cast

Production notes

Giancarlo Giannini starred in three other films Wertmuller made during this period: '' The Seduction of Mimi'', '' Swept Away'', and ''

Seven Beauties ''Seven Beauties'' (, "Pasqualino Sevenbeauties") is a 1975 historical black comedy drama Italian film written and directed by Lina Wertmüller and starring Giancarlo Giannini, Fernando Rey, and Shirley Stoler. Written by Wertmüller, the film ...

''.

English version

For the initial American release, editor Fima Noveck created a prologue which featured a montage of photos of Mussolini, along with a crawl explaining his rise to power and the violent activities sanctioned in his name during his reign. Also, in this edit, the full Italian title is not displayed, in favor of the abbreviated English title ''Love and Anarchy''.

References

External links

* *
Love and Anarchy
' at

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