***Short Film Clips From The Class Struggle- Bertolluci’s “1900”

Film Clip

1900, starring Robert DeNiro, Gerald Depardieu

This film is an interesting and visually very vivid attempt to come to grips with the agrarian question in early 20^th century Italy through the device of intertwining the lives of a couple of generations of a landowner family and rural workers through the sons. The film takes one through the First War and its aftermath when there were real struggles by the Italian peasants (in conjunction with the working class in the cities) to fight for a socialist solution to the land question. The failure to win that fight was one of the conditions that led to the rise and success of fascism in the early 1920’s.

The highlight the film is the fight during World War II by the next generation of rural workers against fascism led by Communist partisans and the overthrow of Mussolini with the promise that again the socialist solution would finally occur. The most poignant moment is when at the behest of the local Communist leader (played by Gerald Depardieu one of the central characters of the piece) who had real authority in the struggle cajoled his fellows to put down their arms. At that point you know no socialist solution will occur, and none did. A very powerful and well-thought out movie.