I’m a history buff, with a strong focus on social justice, class struggle, minority rights. But for some reason, I’m fascinated by fascist war songs. I use the term fascist loosely, to refer not just to Italian Fascism, but also parties that came into power during the same period, in Spain, Croatia, etc. In some cases these songs are still illegal to perform to this day in their countries of origin. But when I did a YouTube search for the song “Sul ponte di Perati (Bandiera nera)” [“On the Bridge of Perati (Black Flag)”], I was surprised that this specific clip actually came up and that it hasn’t been taken down:
The clip is from Pier Paolo Pasolini's last film, Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom, which is probably the most important film ever made that you’ve never seen. It’s infamous for its brutal depiction of life in Italy under Fascism, adapted from the Marquis de Sade’s 120 Days of Sodom, involving graphic scenes of sexual torture. Apart from the nudity in this scene, note that the soldier on the floor in the background, behind the Duke and others seated at the table, is having both non-consensual sex with a captive woman taken from a local town, and consensual anal sex with a wealthy banker. With that going on, the Duke begins to lead the other aristocrats (libertines) and soldiers in “Sul ponte di Perati,” a song about honoring fallen soldiers.
Sul ponte di Perati
bandiera nera:
è il lutto della Julia
che va alla guerra.È il lutto degli Alpini
che va alla guerra
la miglior gioventù
che va sotto tera.
And then there may or may not be some Last Supper imagery in there too. This is a film I highly recommend, though you may not sleep for a few days after seeing it.
4 comments:
"the most important film ever made that you’ve never seen"
... but many have seen it... and more than once... it's available from criterion on a splendid dvd.
This was recommended to me by horror buffs. I will check this out
True iani, but of the few people I know personally who have heard of it, not many have actually had the guts to watch it.
I know this makes a lot of horror lists, but it definitely won't appeal to gorehound types - it's actually not graphic by horror standards. But it's a terrifying film on an intellectual level. Even though it uses the imagery and context of Fascist Italy, with some elements of De Sade, Pasolini believed it was just as much a portrait of his own time, and it holds up just as well as a reflection of the world today.
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