Incredible and emotional film that, despite its apparent humor, narrates the tragic events of the fall of fascism and the liberation of Rome by the Allies. It is a neorealist film that sarcastically mocks all the fascist paraphernalia made up of empty slogans and the cult of the body and military hierarchies.
The choice of actors is very good, with a very young Stefania Sandrelli and the legendary Ugo Tognazzi, a masterful actor in Italian comedy. The narrative is well-constructed, and the dialogues are always intelligent and well-structured.
This is a film that hides beneath the surface of apparent humor all the tragedy of a nation beguiled by the powerful flame of populist National Socialism. The use of comedy, typical of Italians, although somewhat stereotyped, is masterful here, used to exorcise what is actually a unanimous cry, the defeat of an entire nation. But one must approach this humor with caution, as since the fall of fascism, there has been a certain historical revisionism that has sought, through political propaganda and the use of the cinematic medium, to soften and sweeten the political and military role of Italians in World War II, portraying them in a comedic manner, as a kind of "good people" victimized by a system, a good-natured people more inclined toward survival than truly convinced of their fascist political ideals. But we know that it was not so, as Italians, from the bombings in the Spanish Civil War to the invasions of Ethiopia and Albania, showed their cruel, ruthless, and inhumane side. There, laughter was largely drowned out by the cries of pain and suffering of entire peoples.
But this is history, and what is valued here is the film, which is undoubtedly a good cinematic product with a good dose of humor, lyricism, and veiled tragedy. A separate mention deserves the music, which marks the cinematic debut of what will eventually become a legend, the great Ennio Morricone, who in this film timidly begins with a masterful display of his doses of musical dramatization.
