Benito
Mussolini came to power in Italy in 1922, more than a decade
before Hitler. That he made the trains run on time was quite
enough to inspire praise from ordinary Italians, but for the
Americans and British living in Florence one might imagine
that a lack of democracy would be important. Not so for the
females from England and the United States featured in Tea
with Mussolini, the latest film directed by Franco
Zeffirelli, who attempts a cinematic autobiography with a
not unexpected artistic license. The "Golden Girls" enjoy
Florence as art lovers, deprecating Britain as a cultural
desert in comparison, and forming a group called "Scorpioni"
for their biting wit, much of it directed by English toward
Americans. Mary (played by Joan Plowright) brings up an illegitimate
but darling boy, Luca Innocenti (played as a youth by Charlie
Lucas, as a teenager by Baird Wallace), who is rejected by
his Italian father, an exporter of British-style clothing,
his would-be Italian stepmother, and whose American mother
is dead. Mary is assisted by the Scorpioni, including Arabella
(played by Judi Dench) and Lady Hester (played by Maggie Smith)
as well as two Americans—Georgie, a Lesbian archaeologist
(played by Lily Tomlin) and Jewish art collector Elsa Morgenthal
(played by Cher). As political options narrow due to the ascendancy
of the Fascists, who disrupt lunch at Doney’s Tea Room, a
restaurant frequented by the expatriates, Lady Hester decides
to protest directly to Il Duce, since her late husband was
Britain’s ambassador to Italy. During tea, the dictator (played
by Claudio Spadaro) reassures her falsely that he will look
out for her. When other English-speaking expatriates leave
Italy at the advice of the British consul, the good ladies
remain, believing that Il Duce is protecting them and otherwise
oblivious of their fate, but Italian Jews are arrested, Italy
allies with Germany, the British ladies are placed under detention
in a squalid dorm but keep up their spirits, and German soldiers
arrive in Florence. Elsa, arrogant and rich but generous,
secretly pays to have them moved to a hotel before she is
herself in jeopardy after the United States enters World War
II despite believing herself to be secure by sleeping with
and trusting her perfidious chauffeur, who charms her by promising
to escape with her to America while wondering whether Italian
aliens will be incarcerated in the United States as Americans
and Brits have been in Italy. The darling boy becomes a resistance
fighter (here Zeffirelli departs from autobiographic reality)
and arranges safe passage for Elsa out of Italy. In due course,
a Scottish infantry unit liberates Florence, but in the nick
of time, as the ladies have chained themselves to priceless
works of architecture that the Germans planned to blow up.
Such is the story, parading women as naďve fools in matters
of politics who successfully defy the military orders of friends
and foes, with many loose ends. We are reminded of the brave
resistance and true story of women under Japanese detention
in Indonesia during World War II in Paradise Road
(1997), and we may wonder why Zeffirelli is determined to
make fools of his women if only for the sake a few laughs
and an effort to promote tourism in Florence for those who
have forgotten Italian culture. It is a pity that Zeffirelli
did not fight in the Italian resistance, as he would doubtless
have made more heroic films, but perhaps we should be grateful
that comedy could be found in the midst of the horrors of
World War II, as in last year’s Academy award winner Life
Is Beautiful, directed by Roberto Benigni. Indeed,
recalling the story of the blind man in At
First Sight who was happy as a lark because he
always found helpful people, the lesson of Tea with
Mussolini, Paradise Road, and Life
Is Beautiful is the same—kind people can create heaven
just about anywhere. MH
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