Fiume o morte!

Through dramatic reconstruction and documentary asides, Igor Bezinović captures the spirit of Italian poet, playwright, journalist, aristocrat and army officer Gabriele D’Annunzio, and the nascent fascism in his attempts to annex the city of Fiume/Rijeka to Italy in the aftermath of the First World War.

In 1919, outraged by the outcome of the Paris Peace Conference, which proposed handing the city of Fiume (now Rijeka, Croatia) to Yugoslavia, Italian poet, aristocrat, and army officer Gabriele D’Annunzio occupied the city. The ensuing 16-month occupation stands as one of history’s most peculiar experiments in governance.

Igor Bezinović (A Brief Excursion, IFFR 2017) revisits this singular episode just over a century later, employing the help of Rijeka’s citizens in a bid to reclaim history and tell their version of what happened. The enthralling hybrid documentary opens by comparing Rijeka’s past and present, before taking to the streets to question the city’s populations about their knowledge of the fascist leader.

Combining archive footage, informative documentary interludes, interviews with cast members and dramatic reconstructions that capture the spirit of the era, Fiume o morte! grapples with the ultranationalist views that underpinned D’Annunzio’s actions. Far from a conventional history lesson, it interrogates how the past informs the present, reflecting on the persistence of extremist ideologies in contemporary society. As one interviewee starkly observes, “They’re still around today, unfortunately, we just don’t know who they are”.

– Vanja Kaludjercic

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