''Many Wars Ago'' (; ) is a 1970

anti-war film An anti-war film is a sub-genre of war film that is opposed to warfare in its theming or messaging. Characteristics Anti-war films typically argue that war is futile, unjust, a loss for all involved, only serves to benefit few in society (us ...

set on the Alpine Front of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Directed, produced, and co-written by

Francesco Rosi Francesco Rosi (; 15 November 1922 – 10 January 2015) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. His film '' The Mattei Affair'' won the Palme d'Or at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival. Rosi's films, especially those of the 1960s and 1970s, of ...

, the film is based on

Emilio Lussu Emilio Lussu (4 December 1890 – 5 March 1975) was a Sardinian people, Sardinian and Italian writer, anti-fascist intellectual, military officer, Italian resistance movement, partisan, and politician. He is also the author of the novel ''One Yea ...

's memoir ''Un anno sull'altipiano'' ('One year on the plateau'), recounting his experiences at the

Battle of Asiago The Südtirol Offensive, also known as the Battle of Asiago or Battle of the Plateaux (in Italian: Battaglia degli Altipiani), wrongly nicknamed ''Strafexpedition'' "Punitive expedition" (this name has no reference in official Austrian document ...

. The Italian–Yugoslav co-production was filmed in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

and

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

, and stars Mark Frechette,

Gian Maria Volonté Gian Maria Volonté (9 April 1933 – 6 December 1994) was an Italian actor and activist. He is best known for his roles in four Spaghetti Western films: Ramón Rojo in Sergio Leone's ''A Fistful of Dollars'' (1964), El Indio in Leone's ''For a ...

, and

Alain Cuny René Xavier Marie Alain Cuny (12 July 1908 – 16 May 1994) was a French actor of stage and screen. He was closely linked with the works of Paul Claudel and Antonin Artaud, and for his performances for the Théâtre national populaire and ...

. It premiered at the 31st Venice International Film Festival.

Plot

The film is set on the Alpine Front of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, between 1916 and 1917. The conflict has turned into a bloody stalemate. Bogged down in their trenches on a barren highland, the men of an Italian infantry division have been given one objective: retake a commanding height from the

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

forces. Unfortunately, the tactical ingenuity of General Leone, the unpopular division commander, consists of supplementing frontal attacks against machine guns with medieval fighting schemes. His dispirited troops must be prodded with ever-harsher measures into storming the Austrian positions. As casualties mount, indignation spreads among the rank and file. In one attack, a beloved junior officer is killed during an attempted

mutiny Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military or a crew) to oppose, change, or remove superiors or their orders. The term is commonly used for insubordination by members of the military against an officer or superior, ...

, and subsequently every tenth man of his battalion is chosen to be executed by a firing squad of his comrades in compensation for the killed officer. Disturbed by his superiors' decisions, the young Lieutenant Sassu is progressively led to question the purpose of war and reconsider where his real duties lie.

Cast

Production

''Many Wars Ago'' was one of three films that American hippie-turned-actor Mark Frechette appeared in. He had been cast by

Michelangelo Antonioni Michelangelo Antonioni ( ; ; 29 September 1912 – 30 July 2007) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and editor. He is best known for his "trilogy on modernity and its discontents", ''L'Avventura'' (1960), ''La Notte'' (1961), and '' ...

in the lead role of ''Zabriskie Point'', who at the time was living in active member of

Mel Lyman Melvin James Lyman (March 24, 1938 – March 1978) was an American musician and writer, and the founder of the Fort Hill Community, which has been variously described as a family, commune, or cult. Early life Lyman grew up in California and Ore ...

's commune. The film was a commercial failure, but brought 21-year old Frechette to Italian producers. Because he did not speak Italian, he spoke his lines in English, and was redubbed by

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 ...

. He tithed his entire salary from the film to the commune, and died two years later after a failed

armed robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person o ...

. The film was also

Daria Nicolodi Daria Nicolodi (19 June 1950 – 26 November 2020) was an Italian television and film actress and screenwriter, and associated mostly with the films of director Dario Argento. Early life and career Daria Nicolodi was born in Florence on 19 June ...

's debut.

Filming

Principal photography took place in and around

(in modern-day Serbia) and

(in modern-day Croatia). The production was based at Belgrade's Centralni Filmski Studio Kosutnjak.

Reception

The film was screened at the

65th Berlin International Film Festival The 65th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 5 to 15 February 2015, with American film director Darren Aronofsky as the president of the jury. German film director Wim Wenders was presented with the Honorary Golden Bear. The ...

in honor of Francesco Rosi, who had died a few weeks before. Rosi said of the reaction to the film:

I was denounced for insulting the army, but I was acquitted in the preliminary investigation. The film was boycotted, by the explicit admission of those who did it: it was removed from the cinemas where it passed with the excuse that threatening phone calls were arriving. It had the honor of being the subject of General iovanniDe Lorenzo's speeches, abundantly reproduced on Italian television, which at that time certainly had no qualms about advertising a film in this way.

In a retrospective review, Dusty Somers wrote, "''Many Wars Ago'' is a film where the fury of war is viscerally felt in scene after scene of pulsing movement and blasting sound. Rosi doesn’t shy away from launching a series of kinetic assaults on the senses, his close-up framing emphasizing chaos over any distinguishable moving parts."

References

External links

* {{Francesco Rosi, state=expanded 1970 films 1970s war drama films Italian war drama films Yugoslav war drama films 1970s Italian-language films Anti-war films about World War I World War I films set on the Italian Front Films directed by Francesco Rosi Films scored by Piero Piccioni Films set in Italy 1970 drama films Films shot in Belgrade Films shot in Croatia Films about mutinies 1970s Italian films Italian-language war drama films