Since then, as they say, “a lot of water has flowed under the bridges,” and the radicalization of the political life in the Peninsula has turned into Mr. Berlusconi’s variety-style democracy. So what can be said about these young people who thought they were making a “proletarian” revolution, when they were mostly from the petite bourgeoisie and only proletarian in name, who ended up becoming murderers by sacrificing the lives of so many innocents?
Sergio Segio, arrested in 1982 and sentenced to life imprisonment, was released in 2004, the last member of the Prima Linea Group, a formation that vied for supremacy against the Red Brigades in the fight against republican institutions. Since then, he has been working in social volunteer work. His story is that of an entire generation of young people who believed in an illusion and, as the protagonist puts it, ‘thought they were right and ended up being wrong.’
More than 300 deaths—politicians, judges, state representatives, and, particularly, ordinary citizens—were the victims of this dream turned nightmare and a bloody awakening. Renato De Maria, the director, has the undeniable merit of having avoided romanticism and caricature in the making of this film. Riccardo Scamarcio and Giovanna Mezzogiorno (who plays the role of Susanna Ronconi, Sergio Segio’s companion in both adventure and life, also arrested in 1982 and detained until 1998), two of the valuable actors of the new transalpine generation, accurately embody their characters.
This is a film to watch for analysis and reflection, but above all, it is a (bad) memory for those who personally experienced those “years of lead,” not so distant, when leaving home in the morning, one would wonder if they would return alive in the evening!
