Sttonight, at 11.15 pm, on La7 there is Fascists on Mars, comedy satirical written by Corrado Guzzanti and interpreted among others by the journalist Andrea Purgatori, who has just passed away. Among other performers, Caterina Guzzanti, Marco Marzocca, Lillo Petrolo (by Lillo & Greg), Andrea Blarzino, Andrea Salerno (today director of the La7 network). A scathing reflection on the twenty years of fascism and on the propaganda created in Rome with very little means.
“Fascists on Mars”: the plot
A series of newsreels from the twenty years bring to light an extraordinary story: the conquest of the planet Mars by a fascist team in the two-year period 1938-39. Without diving suits, respirators and other “useless modern frills”, the small group of black shirts has one goal: give Rome and its leader a new place in the sun. Commanded by the hierarch Gaetano Maria Barbagli (Conrad Guzzanti), the fascists embark on the German space rocket prototype Repentaglia IV, built with the help of the physicist Ettore Majorana, and set off to conquer Mars, “red planet Bolshevik and traitor”.
Arrived at their destination, they begin to explore the planet. After planting the flag and setting up camp, the problem of supplies arises: there is no water on Mars. It will constitute a hope, a sign of the presence of water, a spit from the hierarch. During the search, the handful discovers a clandestine table on board, Bruno Caorsor. Sentenced to death for having offended the bust of the Duce, Caorso escapes from the firing squad and runs into a strange rock. Convinced of hearing her speak, he returns to the camp terrified and tells of having met Martians.
Andrea Purgatori, Corrado Guzzanti, Marco Marzocca and Lillo Petrolo in the film “Fascists on Mars”. (Photo Wikimedia commons)
The fascists become convinced that the stones are sentient beingsso they start a short campaign to subdue them and, in the end, they declare Mars “fascist”. A series of factors, such as the lack of food and the destruction of the spaceship, pushes the subordinates to mutiny against the commander. However, the hierarch Barbagli frees himself and engages in battle against the mutineers, during which a flying saucer lands, piloted by a group of alien amazons who offer their unfortunate comrades food and water.
The Amazon chief offers a lift to Earth, but the chief wants to prevent his subordinates from leaving. However, he fails in his intent and finds himself alone on the red planet. Only fifty-eight years later, in 1996, his skeleton will be found.
A film born between friends
The film was directed by Corrado Guzzanti and Igor Skofic. The location was a quarry in Magliana, which changed every day due to the ongoing construction. at music contributed by Nicola Piovani: the film includes numerous period songs, as well as original parody compositions and a melodious version of the program’s theme song.
In the cast, Corrado Guzzanti (the hierarch Barbagli), Lillo Petrolo, Mark Marzocca (the black shirts), Caterina Guzzanti. Exceptionally, there are also two non-actors, such as Andrea Salerno, television writer and director of La7, and Andrea Purgatori, the journalist who has just passed away at the age of seventy.
Quotations between history and cinema
In addition to Benito Mussolini’s speeches, the film quotes some classic titles, from Schindler’s List (in one scene the stones behind the barbed wire are framed, all in black and white except one red), 2001: A Space Odyssey (at the end in the monolith scene) and The great dictator (when Barbagli dribbles and plays with an inflatable Mars). The story is a satire on the twenty years, but not only: it makes fun of the Italian customs and politics of the period, in particular of the Berlusconi government.
During the bingo scene, the numbers 25 7 43, 8 9 43 and 25 4 45 appear in sequence: a clear reference to the events that marked the fall of fascism. The first is precisely today’s date, 25 July, the day on which in 1943 the Badoglio government disheartened Mussolini. The others correspond to the signing of the armistice with the Allies and the liberation of Milan and Genoa.
“Fascists on Mars”: the critique
Born on television within the satirical program of 2002 The Scafroglia case (Rai Tre), Fascists on Mars it initially became a mini-series, with the form and language of regime newsreels. Given the success and popularity of the program, the producer Domenico Procacci has decided to transform it into a film for the big screen. The result has generated conflicting opinions. For some it is a “visionary and autarkic film, very rich in graphics and backdated effects”. For others, the film does not stand up to the big screen, its times, longer than those of television, and in the end it is boring. The hundred minutes of Fascists on Mars, with Corrado Guzzanti’s voiceover, are a bit difficult to hold. But some found, the language and graphics are worth the effort. In addition, it has the great advantage of showing us how ridiculous the rhetoric of a period that should not be forgotten, so that it does not repeat itself
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