San Michele had a Rooster (San Michele aveva un gallo)

5 months ago

A very interesting film by the Taviani brothers from 1972, which presents the ideological conflicts between anarchists and Marxist revolutionaries in 19th-century Italy.

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Giulio (Giulio Brogi) is a former anarchist revolutionary (a defector from an aristocratic family) who has been arrested for his activities and sentenced to life imprisonment. In his stifling cell, he struggles tooth and nail to keep his mind alive and his spirit upright, he talks out loud to himself, stages hypothetical dialogues with his former comrades, takes imaginary walks through the bustling streets of his city, solves geometric puzzles, and imagines consuming luxurious meals. Above all, he tries not to succumb to despair, as facing himself is not the easiest task (the scene is wonderful).

When he is transferred to another prison, he appears steeled from this struggle. Learning that there are anti-regime prisoners on the other boat, he hastens to speak to them. However, they do not show him the respect he would have expected; after all, they (as Marxists) have significant ideological differences from him: they believe that the revolution should not rely on peasants ("the land makes them reactionary") but on workers, the proletariat, and that it should be organized scientifically ("we are with science and economics, not philosophy"). According to them, the old revolutionaries want to change everything in a moment and get immediate rewards, whereas the revolution requires patience (the development of class consciousness will happen gradually) and selflessness ("others will take credit for our struggle"). Ironies and insults replace arguments, and Giulio, feeling unbearably disillusioned and frustrated, commits suicide just before the boat reaches the shore.

The (Marxist) Taviani brothers, although they view their hero with sympathy, take a clear stance in favor of the Marxist approach. The psychological background of the romantic revolutionary (as revealed by a dream Giulio has in prison) is a mixture of narcissism and vanity, while the revolution demands the sacrifice of the Ego for the We. In this sense, his suicide (despite its tragedy) is presented as the natural consequence of an outdated, distorted mentality: selfish utopianism leads to resignation and defeat, while the revolution requires dedication for victory.