General Della Rovere, written by Sergio Amidei, Diego Fabbri, Indro Montanelli, based on a story by the latter - 10 out of 10

General Della Rovere, written by Sergio Amidei, Diego Fabbri, Indro Montanelli, based on a story by the latter

10 out of 10

This sublime motion picture has been included on The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made list - https://www.listchallenges.com/new-york-times-best-1000-movies-ever-made/list/9 - and it is an absolute magnum opus, benefiting from the direction of Roberto Rossellini, with glorious Vittorio De Sica in the leading role – he is also acclaimed as one of the greatest directors ever, being at the helm of such films as Marriage Italian Style - http://realini.blogspot.com/2020/03/marriage-italian-style-based-on-play-by.html - included on the same prestigious New York Times list…

Vittorio De Sica aka Bardone aka Grimaldi has as difficult and complex a role as one can imagine for he might have to rise from the depth of moral depravity, the nadir of human ethics to the level of the role models, angles and superheroes, in the time it takes to see such a resplendent movie, which starts with the antihero – this is what he is at the beginning – congregating with the Nazis, selling devious services, gambling the money desperate relatives offer him to intervene and save sons, husbands from the hands of the fascists – though we would hear the pathetic impersonator in a plea, when he mentions the first impulse he had had, to help a poor, suffering woman, then learning of the futility of his efforts and settling on getting money to ‘sooth’ and lie to those who must not know the terrible fate awaiting their beloved ones, taken by the Germans in trucks where they can only stand, since they are so many and being executed, sent to fight on the Russian front or facing other catastrophes…

Grimaldi, who pretends to be a colonel here, an engineer in another corner, lives with a much younger woman, but contrary to what generally happens under such circumstances, where the girl is usually in dire straits and depends on the ‘sugar daddy’ for financial support, here it is the villainous con artist who talks to the girl about getting money, 50,000 lira, from her, given that he had gambled the money from a lawyer, who had given him 100 thousand in order to save his son from being sent to a certain death, and he would take some of her jewelry to pawn, but she is furious and adversarial, mocking him by saying ‘take this magnificent ring you gave me, with that Oriental stone, the ruby’ or whatever he had claimed it to be…she knows it is false and throws it in his face…that would not prevent the Trump-like character to try and cheat others with it, in an effort to collect the 50,000 thousand he needs…

He has an arrangement with a Nazi sergeant or corporal and he was supposed to bring along the 50 keeping the other 50 thousand for himself, in order to secure the fate of the son of the ‘avocato’ but since he has no resources after the game of cards – a vile habit of his – he tries to convince the German to accept this ‘unique opportunity’, the ring which is much more valuable than the 50 owed, but which the owner has had to give away because of hardship…the fascist does not take the bait, but there is another chance in his office, where many have to come to plead for one loved one or another to be saved, freed and where the ‘colonel’ sees a wife with her mother in law trying to appeal for the husband that is in serious danger, only to be ejected by the angered Nazi who can do nothing about it…

Grimaldi sees an opportunity for one of his schemes, follows the ladies, invites them to a nearby bar where they have a café and he mentions that he would like to help and gets the contact from the grieving women, consoling them, offering words of hope and expectations and then he would follow up, looking for his usual profit from the suffering of others, only to be caught in a trap, for the next time he meets with the young one, she states that her husband had already been freed…he had been executed yesterday and this was just a setup organized to catch the likes of him…he would now face S.S. Colonel Mueller, a Nazi he had met before, when his car had had a flat and the collaborationist Grimaldi, then an engineer, explained where the garage is and exchanged amiabilities with the enemy, about Genoa, the fact that Italians hate war in general and the colonel expressed disappointment at the hate that the former allies have now in store for the fascists, fought against by partisans and others…

Faced with the evidence of his illegal activities, the concubine testifies as to the many people that called him, the parcels they kept sending – always containing salami, which is a jocular element, for the fraudster kept complaining – salami again! – and his lover showed the skin disease contracted from this permanent element of payment in product for services not rendered but promised – and the con artist himself admits that he had done all he is accused of, because he had been animated by generous impulses at the start and then he descended into this game of fake, good news and getting paid only soothing, lying words…

The S.S. colonel has some alternatives to present to the ‘engineer’, some of which involve jail and retribution, but one option would just ensure he gets liberation and when he hesitates after finding some details, a huge sum is promised – one million lira – and safe passage into Switzerland, which was neutral then – as always, though it is perhaps not so noble to stay out of a conflict that involves a side that is Evil Incarnate – if only he would help the fascist get to know the man who leads the Resistance, by claiming that the scoundrel is…General Della Rovere, an important figurehead, a symbol of the fight, that had just been killed by the Germans, but only they know that this had happened..

The real general has been known by very few and thus it is unlikely that a substitute would be recognized, if proper measures are taken, and they plan to have the surrogate imprisoned, isolated, but in some contact with the other inmates, who, in reverence for his activity and legendary status, a hero of the noble fight, would give him the precious information that the enemy so desperately wants and for which they would offer the villain what he has always wanted, a huge sum of money and the escape outside besides…

However, it would not be as easy as that – this cinephile is proud to have guessed some of the transformation, the redemption that might be hanging there for the Ultimate Villain, who could fly from the swamp to the very gates of Heaven, if an ethical paradise at that, I do not believe in the religious paradise promised by religions…

General Della Rovere is a divine film, educational, transcendent, with glorious acting and film making at its best!