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PORTSIDE CULTURE

TORONTO FILM FESTIVAL GOES AROUND THE WORLD  
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Bill Meyer
November 16, 2024
Hollywood Progressive
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_ A favorite film at the Toronto International Film Festival this
year was by far M - Son of the Century directed by the talented UK
filmmaker Joe Wright. It’s actually an Italian TV mini-series about
the founder of fascism himself, Benito Mussolini. _

M-Son of the Century, SKY Original

 

My favorite film at the Toronto International Film Festival this year
was by far M - SON OF THE CENTURY
[[link removed]], creatively directed by
the talented UK filmmaker Joe Wright. It’s actually an Italian TV
mini-series about the founder of fascism himself, Prime MINISTER
BENITO MUSSOLINI. It stars Luca Marinelli, the charismatic lead
in MARTIN EDEN [[link removed]], as the
narcissistic, violent megalomaniac that changed the course of history.
It’s also reminiscent of another powerful and insightful Italian
Mussolini drama that premiered at TIFF in 2009, entitled VINCERE
[[link removed]] by Marco Bellocchio,
that I also highly recommend.

The story is based on Antonio Scurati’s book
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covers the years 1917-1924 in Italy, when the new emerging socialist
state of the USSR began to challenge the decimated powers of Europe.
Benito Mussolini was first a socialist and wrote for Avanti, the party
newspaper. He was expelled from the party for changing his position to
support Italy’s involvement in the Great War. The returning Italian
soldiers who survived the war came home to a disillusioned country
that essentially ignored them – except for Il Duce, who saw an
opportunity to utilize their anger and frustration by creating a group
of violent agitators to support his political ambitions. He developed
a new anti-communist political philosophy, fascism, that gave power to
corporations backed by his brutal gang of disenchanted workers and
soldiers. He started a provocative newspaper, _Il Populi _that he
used to help take power in government. Although fascists didn’t
originally want to be part of Parliament, he talked them into it by
first taking power through the legal system. “Democracy is a good
thing to gain power, then give it up.” At first he lost elections
along with his influence and power, but as an opportunist kept
proclaiming “I’m an animal, and the future is mine.” It
eventually was, for a short time.

M - SON OF THE CENTURY [[link removed]]

This historical drama, which has some parallels to current history, is
dynamic and visually stunning, with excessively violent scenes that
are hard to watch, accompanied by a persistent powerful pounding music
score. Red and black are the thematic bold colors. In-your-face
close-ups happen often. The series is an important and powerful tool
that shows the history of fascism, how it started, and how we can
apply the study to present times. Don’t miss it!

On to a fascist of another kind – the Minister President of Norway
in the 1940s, Vidkun Quisling, who collaborated with Nazi Germany
during its occupation of the country. The story of his traitorous
actions focusing on his eventual imprisonment is told in the moving
historical drama, QUISLING - THE FINAL DAYS
[[link removed]]. After the Soviets won
the war against the Nazis and saved the world from fascism, the
recalcitrant Quisling was arrested for embezzlement, murder and high
treason, and a priest was assigned to talk with him in prison to try
to understand his complex actions. He simply explained that he was
“anti-Bolshevik, just trying to fight communism. What’s wrong with
that?” And I ask, what about anti-communism today? Is it still
considered a crime? Because of his criminal actions, his name Quisling
eventually became a word to define a ‘traitor’ or
‘collaborator.’

The tragic effects of seemingly endless war are given the magical
realism treatment in the hypnotic drama HORIZONTE
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country that knows extreme pain. Two ghosts, a mother and son travel
throughout a war torn land that has suffered from decades of violence,
now trying to return to a level of understanding. Memories of the son
being captured by the national army to fight and kill rebels, the
mother dealing with the crimes of her own son against the rebels,
become philosophical musings - where are we going? What is the true
meaning of life? How do you deal with the pain of knowing someone who
came from you did horrible things? Can you forgive for those actions?
How do we relate to one another after this massive abuse of life? This
has been the challenge in so many countries, many that have fallen
victim to wars caused by US imperialism and colonialism. Director,
César Augusto Acevedo, knows that “although we live in a cynical
world, we have time and opportunity to seek out those moments to make
change.” “Hay futuro si hay verdad” (there is a future if there
is truth) reads the motto of the Final Report by the Colombian Truth
Commission issued in 2022. The movie provides the accompaniment for
recovery and survival

And finally, a film about people joining forces to take action against
social injustice – and it comes from Lagos, Nigeria, the most
populous city in the African continent. THE LEGEND OF THE VAGABOND
QUEEN OF LAGOS [[link removed]] is an
exciting project put together by a young film collective, The Agbajowo
Collective made up of slum dwellers who are constantly threatened with
evictions. They are part of Media4Change
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organization, using film to make change. They are committed to telling
the true stories from their communities, that the main media ignores
or misrepresents, to change the narrative. These slum dwellers
didn’t go to film school, but received strong guidance from
professionals who helped in the process. They are youth not waiting
for elders to make change to help fight off the many criminals and
gangs in the communities. Most of them living on less than $1 a day,
are fighting to secure shelter for everyone. This highly entertaining
and motivational film shows how they work together to fight off the
police who often join forces with gangsters to remove them from their
shelters. The city is rampant with shelters, and during the closing
credits it reveals the exhaustive list of forced evictions from over
100 locations, totaling millions of people being removed from their
shelters.

 
_BILL MEYER is a musician, writer and producer of progressive
multimedia events. He travels worldwide performing jazz with several
groups. A longtime political activist and aficionado of progressive
cinema, Meyer usually writes on the culture pages of the People's
World and other journals, and primarily reports on film festivals._

 

 

 

* Film
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* Film Review
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* Toronto Film Festival
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* 'M-Son of the Century'
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* 'Quisling: the Final Days'
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* 'The Legend of the Vagabond Queen of Lagos'
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* Mussolini
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* Quisling
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