TO Venice 2025 has passed today Duse by Pietro Marcello (at the cinema from 18 September), film On the last years of the legendary theatrical actress Eleonora Duse played by Valeria Bruni Tedeschi. Which he told his love for a project that resembles them in all respects, then expanding the speech on the intense and realistic relationship he has with the transfesses In the definition of his characters, including Duse, of course.
Valeria Bruni Tedeschi is the “Duse”: “I convene the deceased in my room and talk to them to feel strong”
Duse It is a complex work that puts a character “against” at the center of its historya legendary woman and artist as unforgettable. To those present, Marcello said he was fascinated by this out of the ordinary personality: “It is not a biopic in the strict sense but it is the story of the spirit of this woman in the years of dissolutionon the threshold of fascism ».
For the part, Pietro immediately thought of Valeria Bruni Tedeschi. A granitic certainty that did not even need a casting. For Brui Tedeschi, put yourself in the role of the “Divine”, of his own environment and profession, It was an incredible privilege. “At the Actors Studio in New York, where I studied for a certain period, There is a gigantography of the Duse. Stanislavskij loved her. You changed the way of acting, He all inspired because he was looking for the truth ».
Valeria Bruni Tedeschi in Venice 2025 for “Duse” (Getty)
Bruni Tedeschi reiterated his enthusiasm and admiration for this splendid musewith whom he feels he has a lot in common, including the desire to improve and never feel a star. For her too, the work is pure oxygen and freedom to interpret, direct and write. “Duse was known to be able to cry. I also cry a lot on the set. Fragility is important in a world in which only the fort must win only ».
Finally, he revealed an out of the ordinary sensitivity: “I feel spiritually very close to her even through Geraldine, The American teacher that the method taught me, disappeared 15 years ago». “I have a strong connection with the dead. I do species of meetings with them, I convene them in my room And then I go to the set by feeling stronger. I hope that with this movie the Duse wants me a little good».
Valeria Bruni Tedeschi: “How I duse I also cry a lot on the set”
Pietro Marcello stressed The need to tell a character so uncertainly in these uncertain times. When asked about the relationship of cinematographic art with reality, the director had no doubt. «Neorealism was born from the ashes of the Second World War. Impossible, therefore, for art, do not deal with reality. Now is the time for civil disobedience». Faced with the well -known sympathies of the Duse towards Mussolini and fascism, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi seemed equally resolved, defending it as a lioness.
Valeria Bruni Tedeschi and Fanni Wrochna in “Duse”. (Piperfilm)
«Duse was wrong on Mussolini. For naivety or for presumptionhe was convinced he could have a theater and create the beauty against the ugliness of fascism. “We can all make mistakes, I have not told a perfect character but the perfect characters are never interesting». The film is set At the descendant moment of the career of the Duse, More than 10 years from his farewell to the scenes.
In 1921, For economic needs and for indomitable love for acting, The actress returns to the stage. The times, however, have changed And the horrible shadows of Mussolini’s advent are very close. This extreme solution, which makes it vulnerable and at the same time combative, is an instinctual form of conservation. It is not only the money that attracts it but the terror of losing its independence. The theater, therefore, becomes the bulwark of its freedom and active resistance to the ugliness of the future world.
In the cast, largely femalein addition to the protagonist Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, French actress Noémie Merlant (Portrait of the young man on fire) reads in the role of his daughter Enrichetta, whose relationship with the mother appears conflicting. Fanni Wrochna (Myth of Man) instead is désirée von wertheimsteinthe key character who supported Duse for at least 20 years of his career. His secret loveof which little or nothing is known.