Operation: March On Rome (52')
OPERATION: MARCH ON ROME (52')
INFORMATION
FR / 2022 / 52’ / HD / French, English
Mediatika / Histoire TV / France Télévisions / RTBF / Directed by Valentino N. Misino
Worldwide rights available
TAGS
Far right, Ernesto Alvino, Ines Donati, democracy
SYNOPSIS
In October 1922 the National Fascist Party militiamen marched on Rome to put pressure on the ruling class, which resulted in ascending Mussolini to power and marking the beginning of 20 years of totalitarian rule. The story of two marchers takes us back to the heart of these events.
The date of October 28, 1922 is reportedly the date of the march on Rome. Some sources describe twenty-six thousand armed fascists, stationed in the Roman countryside, ready to burst into the capital. Others limit the number of blackshirts to only fourteen, fifteen or sixteen thousand. Regardless of how many they were, what matters is the symbolic value of the action of marching on Rome: the militiamen of the National Fascist Party aimed at putting pressure on the ruling class. A revolutionary coup? A coup in the name of the “real” Italian Nation?
To commemorate the 100th birthday of the march on Rome, this film brings a new light on the symbolic birth certificate of the Italian fascist nation. The first time that the fascist hierarchy of Mussolini and the duce raised the possibility of a march on Rome was in August 1922, following the violent repression of the general strike promoted by unions and the left wing. To understand the inclusive nature of fascism, which the march on Rome brilliantly embodied, the story of this film is centered around two characters who took part in the events of 1922, Ines Donati and Ernesto Alvino. Articulated on a countdown from August to October 28 and its immediate consequences, this documentary recounts the march on Rome: drive to reform or dark scheme to grab power?