Italian cinema

MUSSOLINI: THE GREAT DICTATOR, THE GREAT ACTOR.

When the film industry was born, one of man’s most antique dreams was finally achieved; to be able to reproducereality. The machine that allows us to observe a story projected in a screen shook the world from its very beginning. Shortly after, a new phenomenon was born;“the star system”. Now, actors had the power to become stars. They became public figures, earning the audience’s admiration and respect, and sometimes even making thembelieve that the heroic part played by their character, was actually real.
But what about those characters who are real life “heroic” figures? I’m talking abouthistoric characters that have moved the world in one way or the other. Are they relatable to the big screen performers? Absolutely yes! In fact, most of thehistoric figures are an explosive combination of both, movie actors and real life characters, sharing qualities such as the passionate and persuasive way of speaking andacting, and a powerful presence that stands out from any crowd.
Such is the case of dictator Mussolini. And the best way to describe him, before dictator, andbefore fascist leader is “public performer”. This is because from the moment he stepped out to make and appearance, his overreacted movements and melodramatic wordsmade him look like in a stage act. Put some symphony in the background and suddenly is a musical. Put it on a screen and is a movie. Yes, he negatively influencedItaly into dictation and fear, but boy, did he knew how! And at the end, he did earn the crow’s admiration and respect, just like an actor to his audience.