Culture Society, Identity and Belonging
A new eight-part series on Mussolini’s rise to power is airing in the UK, it deals as much with the fragility of today’s democracies as it does with the history of fascism
A new eight-part series on Mussolini’s rise to power is airing in the UK tomorrow. M. Son of the Century is an 8-hour film that just happens to air on TV, and it deals as much with the fragility of today’s democracies as it does with the history of fascism.
“You loved me madly. For twenty years you adored me and feared me, as a God. Then you madly hated me, because you still loved me.” The series opens with Mussolini – brilliantly played by Luca Marinelli – speaking straight to the audience over archive footage of cheering crowds at fascist rallies.
“But what was the point? Look around, we’re still here.” Mirroring Antonio Scurati’s historical novel, the viewer is let into Mussolini's imaginary thoughts and feelings, and is held to account from beginning to end.
The dictator is humanised in director Joe Wright’s grotesque portrait as a fallible person – a directorial choice criticised by some, but ultimately effective.
The series shows the banality of evil; as Wright said at a London cinema screening, “demonisation and othering only absolves us from responsibility”. It also generates enough empathy for viewers to suddenly realise who they’re empathising with and to reckon with the volatility of human judgement.
The story starts on the day Mussolini founded the organization that later became the National Fascist Party (23 March 1919). It ends with the beginning of his authoritarian regime on 3 January 1925, when he claimed responsibility for the murder of the Socialist parliamentary member Giacomo Matteotti – publicly owning up for the first time to violence as head of government – and faced no opposition.
In between, there's a good deal of violence. Blackshirt massacres are soundtracked by fast-paced electronic mixes that evoke the horror but also the sheer excitement of militant fascism at the time.
About fascism. It was founded on contradicting values that were adapted based on who was most convenient to side with – once the farmers, the next moment the landowners. Its leader – a man with no ideals of his own – believed only in his right to power.
“History gets made by starting from the marginalised: you excite their anger, give them bombs, revolvers, and then pencils for voting,” says Mussolini’s character.
About democracies. We’re reminded how fickle they are. “This is an issue that concerns Europe, the United States and populisms everywhere,” the screenwriter Stefano Bises has said. Twelve days into Donald Trump’s second term, Bises’ references are clear:
- control of the media – whether controlling the newspaper Il Popolo d’Italia or keeping today's social media giants close by;
- eroding the system from within “to then introduce yourself as the solution”;
- hailing “governability” over seeking compromise that slows down the country.
This is among other things a story about masculinity and the fragile egos of powerful men, blinded by the urge to defeat their opponents at all costs: Mussolini vs Matteotti finds uncomfortable echoes in 2025.
M. Son of the Century is available on Sky and Now TV from 4 February
