1900 (film)

1900 (also called Novecento) is a 1976 epic film starring Robert de Niro, Gérard Depardieu, Dominique Sanda, Donald Sutherland, Alida Valli and Burt Lancaster, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. Set in Bertolucci's ancestral region of Emilia, the film chronicles the lives of two men during the political turmoils that took place in Italy in the first half on the 20th century.

Plot summary

Alfredo Berlinghieri (de Niro) and Olmo Dalco (Depardieu) are born on the same day in 1900, but belong to opposite ends of the social spectrum. Alfredo is the son of a rich landowner, while Olmo is a misbegotten peasant son. As Alfredo is somewhat rebellious and despises the falseness of his family, in particular his father, he befriends Olmo, who is brought up as a socialist.

After World War I, their friendship continues, but slowly the rise of the fascists as embodied by the sadistic Attila (Donald Sutherland) separates them. Alfredo chooses the side of Fascism, while Olmo fights for the communists.

A lot of the commentary on the dynamics of fascism and communism can be found in Bertolucci’s illustration of both families’ internal relationships and interactions. In the Dalco household, there is a sense of warmth and solidarity. While proud, they are also warm and loving with Olmo and provide him with positive attention. Meanwhile, Alfredo experiences the opposite environment. He is mistreated and condescended to by his father and grandfather when he is growing up; scolded, chastised and beaten. Alfredo, while experiencing the comforts of affluence, is emotionally and psychologically bankrupt. Olmo is raised in a community, while Alfredo is a product of isolation and alienation because his personal relationships in his well-off childhood were impersonal.

Alfredo also, throughout the story but beginning in childhood, has a poor sense of self, rather he is told who he is and is compliant to authoritarian figures to “put him in his place”. Olmo, on the other hand is instilled with pride from birth, especially from his interactions with his grandfather. A key element in examining Olmo’s childhood is the fact that he is illegitimate and throughout the film, his father’s identity is never proclaimed, as it is relatively unimportant. Olmo is raised by his entire clan, rather than by a single father figure; he is brought up knowing the joys and fruitfulness of living in a communal society. Alfredo on the other hand is determined and bound to the identity of his father and his grandfather as well. Therefore, it is Alfredo who is envious of the proud, content Olmo. Bertolucci clearly uses this relationship (among other things) to dispel the misnomer that money equals happiness. It is Olmo who grows up richer; he is more exposed to the world, more aware of his relationships with others, and more confident in his convictions and actions. The intimacy and lack thereof in their respective relationships with others is highlighted in their love lives.

Alfredo marries a gorgeous, demure woman while Olmo marries Anita, who like him shares in the enthusiasm of the cause of worker’s rights. Alfredo’s wife, Ada, sinks into alcoholism when confronted with the reality of the emptiness of her relationship with Alfredo. Anita, a strong and independent spirit dies tragically an almost martyr’s death; she dies in childbirth, bringing another member into the community. As Olmo takes on his fateful role of leader among the poor farmers and their families, a fascist authority is introduced in the character of Attila. While Alfredo symbolizes the compliance of the weak-willed, Attila is the monstrous fascist, who goes on to marry Alfredo’s cousin Regina and who cruelly reigns over the farmers.

The power however shifts after the war, and the ruling class is at the mercy of the jovial and bitter peasants in the town. Earlier in the film, Alfredo had been unwilling to help Olmo in his time of suffering because he was jealous of him even then, jealous at what he could not take away from him. Now, it is Olmo who oversees the trial of Alfredo, who is put under scrutiny for his fascist alliances during the war. Bertolucci, whose political leanings have been publicly socialist oriented, is putting across a message in this epic movie. While the power of the socialists is not rooted in traditional power factors such as class, they hold power in terms of virtue and honesty during the entire film. It is this power that in the end endures; as the fascists’ power is rooted in the temporal such as money, land ownership, etc.

Sexuality as a Main Theme

Sexuality, which is a prominent subject in a large portion of Bertolucci’s work, is no less important in this story. As in Pasolini’s Salò, Bertolucci depicts the fascist and ruling class members as being sexually dominant over the vulnerable. Both Alfredo’s father and grandfather participate in sexually exploitative acts. The power of the fascists is rooted in maintaining a fear among the farmers. Fear of wage cuts, but also living in a state of fear in terms of safety. By taking away their sense of security, the working class is forced into giving in to the ruling class. Sexuality also arises in the relationship between Alfredo and Olmo as there are apparent sexual tensions in the film. Whether or not its intention is true intimacy, Alfredo lusts after Olmo in more than just the physical, he lusts after his life.

Trivia

• The original director's cut of the film runs 311 minutes. Alberto Grimaldi, the film's producer, would not accept this cut; it was because Alberto Grimaldi was contractually obligated to deliver a 3 hours 15 minutes version to Paramount Pictures. Bertolucci originally wanted to release the film in 2 parts, but Grimaldi refused. Grimaldi then locked Bertolucci out of the editing room, and assembled a 3 hour cut. Bertolucci, horrified at Grimaldi's cut, decided to compromise. He cut the film to 255 minutes, and this was the version that was initially released in America. In 1991 the film was restored to its original length and shown in a limited release. While the original U.S. release received mixed reviews, with many critics commenting on how choppy and difficult to follow it appeared due to many scenes having been excised, critics who saw the restored version consider it a vast improvement. Leonard Maltin classified the original US release as a "glorious mess" while the restored version was labeled "potent but still choppy."
• In one scene, childhood friends Olmo (Gerard Depardieu) and Alfredo (Robert DeNiro) visit a young prostitute. Both actors are seen completely naked as the young woman visibly fondles both their penises.
• When Bertolucci released his 311-minute version to theaters the MPAA re-classified the film with an NC-17 rating; the 245-minute American cut, the other version officially available on video in the U.S., still retained its R rating.
• In 2006, Paramount surrendered the NC-17 rating of the uncut version, then released it on DVD on December 5 2006.
• At 12 minutes 56 seconds in the film, a scene starts in which a man dressed as a court jester, walking on a country path and obviously drunk, shouts "Verdi is dead, Verdi is dead!", referring to Giuseppe Verdi, the celebrated Italian opera composer. Although the two main characters of the film, Olmo and Alfredo, are supposed to be born on the same day in 1900 (an event that occurs a few moments after this scene), it is interesting to note that Giuseppe Verdi died, in fact, on January 27, 1901.

See also

• Pedophilia and child sexual abuse in films

Further reading

Gerard, Fabien S., T. Jefferson Kline, and Bruce Sklarew, eds. Bernardo Bertolucci Interviews. Jackson, MS: University of Mississippi P, 2000.
Tonetti, Claretta M. Bernardo Bertoluci: the Cinema of Ambiguity. London: Twayne, 1995.

Kline, T. Jefferson. Bertolucci's Dream Loom: a Psychoanalytical Study in Cinema. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts P, 1987.

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