This movie describes the 55 days of captivity of On. Aldo Moro, kidnapped by the Red Brigades in 1978. In rapid strokes, the Red Brigades are presented as a group bent on implementing a Marxist-Leninist revolution in Italy through the destabilization of the Republican democratic state in order to implement a Soviet style dictatorship. The Red Brigades were inspired by the Russian revolution and by the actions of Lenin and his Bolshevik followers. The maxim at the time was "Portare l'attacco al cuore dello stato", i.e. "Bring the attack to the heart of the state" and the Red Brigades extended their campaign of numerous targeted assassinations to those public figures that were trying to dilute the original message of the Marxist-Leninist revolution. On. Aldo Moro, President of the Christian Democratic Party, with his decade of attempts to mediate "Il Compromesso Storico" (The Historic Compromise), i.e., the entrance in the Government of politicians of the Italian Communist Party (Partito Comunista Italiano, PCI), was targeted, kidnapped and assassinated because he was close to succeed in his task. In the Red Brigade's view, the entrance of the PCI in the Government would have betrayed the Leninist dogma of proletarian revolution, and of the planned physical elimination of the middle class (Classe Borghese). Mr. Bellocchio does not delve too deeply into this essential motivations of the Red Brigades, and while he does not embellish their crime, he presents a superficial view of the political debate. I was in Italy when On. Moro was kidnapped and assassinated, and I remember very well those days. The Italian Communist Party (PCI) was very worried that the equation Communism-by-the-book = Red Brigades would cause a loss of votes for the party (30-35% of the electorate voted PCI) and the Italian Right (non-fascist) was too sleepy or ignorant to use the equation in the political debate, i.e. to suggest that communism was a bloody ideology that had at its core the destruction in a blood-bath of all the class enemies. Mr. Bellocchio does not present this political debate and prefers to continue the traditional and superficial approach: the Red Brigades were somewhat romantic criminal assassins. The film would have greatly improved had the most recent development on the significance of Communist Terrorism (especially the magisterial work of Richard Drake on the subject) in the 1960's and 1970's Italy been presented. Because it failed to refresh the trite and regimented view that the Red Brigades were a sort of political criminal folly, Mr. Bellocchio should be commended only because he is the only major movie director daring to dedicate a movie to the still not closed chapter of Marxist-Leninist terrorism in Italy. The movie was produced by the Italian State Television (RAI), and many of the RAI intellectuals are lefties: therefore it is not surprising that the fundamental violence of communism in all its forms had not been presented by the movie. In summary: commendable for reconstructing a painful chapter in the history of the Italian Democracy and for presenting a credible On.Aldo Moro, but missing the most updated debate on the subject and not adding much to the popular mythology.
Review of Good Morning, Night
