I saw "Anni Difficili" in 1954. It cast an indelible impression on me, and I thank my friend, who chose the movie. Manuc was an interesting guy - born in Bucharest of Armenian parents, he was undoubtedly different. He chose the movies that we as teenagers saw on monthly leave from boarding school. Where he got the knowledge about what to see was never clarified. When I asked him how he did it in 2001, he smiled enigmatically and offered no answer at all. I can no longer get a response from him now. Regardless there we were watching a movie, which we wondered why it was allowed to be shown. This was Buenos Aires during the Perons - not the latter day peronist, but the real Perons - Juan Domingo and Evita (although she was dead by then, yet she lived on to the glory of her supporters and to haunt us in opposition.). As an Argentine, I am half Italian - if not by blood at least by culture. An Argentine by all assessment is an Italian, who speaks Spanish (actually Castilian, but that is another story; ask the Catalans, Basques and Galician about that), who thinks s/he is French, but would love to be English. (Now try that in Italian. My Italian is good enough to pull it off). Being by culture an Italian, the film seared images which reflected not only the pain of Italy (actually Modica in Sicily) as it coped with being dominated by Mussolini, but also for us movie goer who we still subject to the fascism of Peron. The audience watched very silently, accepting the story in the same way that we had to accept every day life. Any reaction was unacceptable to the authorities; although at another movie ("I confess") we witnessed essentially a political response which thankfully went no further (Remember Manuc's choices.). The simple idea that the Italian Fascists could censor and prohibit the showing of Bellini's classic opera "Norma" indicates the twisted logic of fascist ideal. Today Fascism has been rebranded patriotism which could become the new world order, which sadly will smother out the desire of a world which in the last fifty years has become so small. The detail of "Anni difficili" now escapes me, yet the images engendered still haunt me sixty-five years. I would give it top billing chiefly because of the circumstance that I saw it in.
I have been told that my review is too short. Do I need to add the blood TOO
