Anno Uno (1974)

After several years of television work, Italian director Roberto Rossellini returned to the big screen with 1974's Anno Uno. The film recounts the life and career of postwar Italian Christian Democrat political leader Alcide de Gasperi (here played by Luigi Vannucchi). Gaspari gained considerable stature as politician and newpaper editor opposed Mussolini: he was imprisoned by the fascists, and after his release in 1929 spent many of his next years working quietly in the Vatican. During World War Two, already a man in his sixties, he was active in the Resistance movement. In this film, Gasperi's activities are traced from the moment of "Liberation" in 1945 to his death in 1954. He was the Italian Prime Minister in eight postwar governments from 1947 to 1953, and was a master consensus-builder. Despite his close ties to the Catholic Church, he worked hard to keep the Vatican from overly influencing postwar Italian politics. Most of the film's dialogue comes directly from public documents. Anno Uno might have gotten wider American play had Rossellini been able to realize his dream of casting Gregory Peck as Gasperi. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi