Dizi Planet
Libera, My Love (Libera, amore mio...)

Libera, My Love (Libera, amore mio...)

Movie · 1975 · 12 people

Claudia Cardinale leads the cast of Libera, amore mio... (Libera, My Love), an Italian drama that Mauro Bolognini directed in 1975. Running from about 1905 to 1945, the story follows a fiery Italian woman who rejects Catholicism, fascism, communism and even liberal democracy, and lives and dies as a committed anarchist. Shot in Italian, the film runs 110 minutes. In France it is known as Liberté, mon amour !.

Bolognini places the story in the fascist era and recreates the period with great care. The dramatic moments lived by Matteo Zannoni and Libera Valente are accompanied by numerous inserts of documentary footage about events of the time, which gives their personal lives an ideological and political flavour. Alongside Claudia Cardinale the cast includes Bruno Cirino, Adolfo Celi, Philippe Leroy, Luigi Diberti, Rosita Pisano, Rosalba Neri, Tullio Altamura, Eleonora Morana, Franco Balducci and Carla Mancini, while the internationally known Bekim Fehmiu plays one of the main roles.

Nicola Badalucco, Bolognini and Luciano Vincenzoni wrote the screenplay, and the original idea came from Vincenzoni.

DirectorMauro Bolognini

Reactions

You can pick up to 3 reactions.

Cast

Names without a link have no profile here yet.

Claudia Cardinale Claudia Cardinale Actor · died at 87 Libera Valente Luigi Diberti Luigi Diberti Actor · 87 years old Ceccarelli, the taxi driver Bruno Cirino Adolfo Celi Philippe Leroy Rosita Pisano Rosalba Neri Tullio Altamura Eleonora Morana Bekim Fehmiu Franco Balducci Carla Mancini

More from this director

Through different eyes

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

Bolognini's most striking choice is to cut Libera and Matteo's dramatic moments together with documentary footage of the period. The method ties a personal story to the flow of history, but it comes at a price: the back-and-forth between fiction and archive risks turning the characters into carriers of an ideological thesis and at times interrupts the emotional continuity. The great care taken in recreating the period, on the other hand, is a reminder of how strong the director's sense of place and atmosphere is. Telling four decades through one woman's stubborn stance is an ambitious structure, which is why the film's whole weight rests on the role Claudia Cardinale takes on.

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

What makes Libera interesting is that she is a woman who rejects Catholicism, fascism, communism and even liberal democracy, and lives her life as a committed anarchist. A character who stands against every major ideology that shaped Italy in the first half of the twentieth century offers an unusual angle on the political climate of the time. The recreation of the fascist years and the inserted documentary footage give concrete form to an age in which private life could not stay free of politics. For viewers unfamiliar with the historical background, though, that density can be tiring at times.

Family Viewer Asks whether the whole household can watch it; cares about humour and heart.

A heavy, political period drama. It moves through the fascist years, ideological clashes and inserted documentary footage. It is not for young children and would not hold their interest anyway. It can be watched and discussed with high school or university-age young people who are curious about history. Families looking for a light evening film should look elsewhere.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

Reviews (0)

Log in Log in to write a review.

Comments