Love and Anarchy

When his friend is killed by fascists, Tunin, a peasant, goes to Rome intending to assassinate Mussolini. He stays in a brothel, and as the wait stretches out it is not the plan that changes but the man: he falls in love with a woman there and starts not wanting to die. Lina Wertmüller presents political action not as heroism but as a weight a man caught between fear and desire cannot carry. Giancarlo Giannini took best actor at Cannes for it, and his freckled face and perpetually fleeing eyes are the image the film leaves behind. The brothel scenes are full of colour and crowds; outside is empty and hard. The ending leaves no consolation at all. Who it is for: viewers who like seventies Italian political cinema and Wertmüller. Who it is not for: anyone wanting restraint, since the film talks loudly throughout.