La Marcia su Roma (1963) - film review

In 1920, Domenico Rochetti, an unemployed ex-combatant, enlists in the newly formed Fascist party, at the advice of his former captain.  He subsequently meets up with Umberto Gavazza, a fellow comrade in arms, who also agrees to join the Fascists, having grown fed up with the empty promises of the socialists.  During an anti-strike uprising, the two men are arrested and sent to prison.  Recruited by Mussolini’s Black Shirts, Domenico and Umberto join the march to Rome, a demonstration of popular support which the Fascists hope will give them control over their country.

In a similar vein to René Clément’s Quelle joie de vivre (1960), La Marcia su Roma takes an acutely derisive, indeed farcical, look at the early days of Fascism in 1920s Italy.  Through the comical experiences of two good-for-nothing loons (affectionately portrayed by Vittorio Gassman and Ugo Tognazzi), the film shows how widespread disillusionment with left-wing politics and post-war hardship allowed Mussolini’s Fascist movement to take hold of Italy in the aftermath of World War II.  The film is both an historically accurate depiction of a world-changing event (Il Duce’s rise to power) and also a thoughtful satire on the danger and absurdity of all political ideology.

© James Travers 2007

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