Reviews

As noted in some other reviews, the film covers some aspects of Dali's life that are fascinating, in particular his complex relationship with Gala, his muse / lover / mother figure. The film also touches on the massive amounts of fraud occurring with Dali lithographs and prints, though it doesn't do much with this angle. So if you don't know the Dali story, this will be informational, at least about his later years. If you do know the Dali story, you will recognize the truth and have a richer experience.

While enjoyable, this film has a major structural problem. It focuses on a young person being brought into the world of Dali, and serving as our proxy as we learn about Dali, Gala and their struggles. This is a common storytelling tactic (used recently, for example, in both The Exception and Il Cattivo Poeta), but it's unnecessary and diverts attention from what we really came to see. No one will go this film for the young person's story, they will go for the Dali story.

This series (which made up three films but somehow 8 episodes on TV) is well-made and a lot of fun. It will be especially enjoyable to anyone who has read Gogol's stories, as it incorporates elements and storylines from Viy and others (even The Nose). The look and feel is very much like Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow. Alexander Petrov as Gogol is very good. And if you love Russian literature and its tortured geniuses, watch for a couple of cameos from A. S. Pushkin! As of 2023, the whole series is still on Amazon with subtitles. The three-disc blu ray series of the films that I bought only has English subtitles on the second and third films.

This is a beautifully filmed story with a towering performance by Sergio Castellitto as Gabriele d'Annunzio. While it helps to know something about d'Annunzio - which the makers could assume Italian viewers would - the story is clear enough for anyone to follow. It is a subtle but captivating story of Italian fascism before World War II and how even an idealistic political view can be executed in a horrendous way - in that way, it relates to films like The Young Lions. But for those who consider d'Annunzio a proto-fascist (which he was), it's illuminating to get this focus on his differences with Mussolini and the Italian government's plan to muzzle him. The art direction and music are excellent, and you get to see some of d'Annunzio's bizarrely impressive Vittoriale home on the banks of Lake Garda.

I hope they release this with English subtitles.