Original subtitles

In the previous episodes...

I have to go.

I have a husband.

Me too.

Benito, promise me.

Never again you'll do something that would put you in danger.

Both you and us.

How are one or two ministries enough?

We can take everything.

I want 20.000 black shirts.

But the militias are not ready, we have no weapons.

They don't know it, but it's all a bluff.

Five ministries.

Less than that and I won't be able to hold back the black shirts.

And after the first shot we would crumble like a house of cards.

We mustn't shoot.

They moved ahead of time.

As my last act, I suggest declaring a state of siege.

Should I gove the order to shoot at my own people?

The king hasn't signed.

We won.

"I" won.

You'll be the First Lady.

The First Lady, the most important woman in the country.

It would be enough to be the most important woman to you.

Democracy survives, by my kind concession. For now.

1... 2... 3...

..4... 5... 6...

..7... 8...

..9...

..10...

..11...

..12... 13...

- Enough. - Up to 20.

..16...

..17... - 20! - Oh!

Lazy.

You have to be fit to face the titanic challenge

to change this country of wimps and set an example.

You are the Prime Minister, my place is in the shadows.

- Put that down, come back here. The arms. - No. I'm tired.

And I'm also tired of dancing this tarantella every morning.

I order you to come back here.

No. How about rereading some of the press?

Yes.

Where do we start?

France.

The New Era.

The New Era: "The Honorable Mussolini".

"The Honorable Mussolini enjoys enormous popularity."

"His disappearance would have the same consequences in Italy...

..as would the disappearance in the Greek world of Alexander the Great".

Alexander the Great, Alexander the Great.

The Telegraph:

"A decisive experiment, the dawn of a new era."

"The semi-socialist system has finally disappeared,

under which the country had suffered in the past."

"Of course, there was a revolution,

but it was a typically Italian revolution."

"A messy one."

Continue, go on.

"And the way the change happened

it should not cause too much concern,

just because it was completely unconstitutional."

Read the... Read the note from the American ambassador.

The American Ambassador. She's fantastic...

"We have"... "We have witnessed a beautiful revolution of young people."

Of young people.

"No danger. It's a revolution full of color

and enthusiasm". - Of color and enthusiasm.

"We're having a lot of fun."

A lot!

Cesarino. Cesarino.

The window.

Duce! Duce! Duce!

Duce! Duce! Duce!

I have something for you.

What?

Here, these are us.

We took power with just a handful of people in parliament.

Only a handful of us, we are phenomenal, Benito.

Phenomenal.

As good as we have been, never rest on your laurels.

The world admires us, but beware of those who relax now.

The task we have set ourselves is immense,

we must transform this nation into a State.

Flattery shouldn't even touch us, Cesarino.

- Bravo. Bravo! - Congratulations.

- Thank you. - Thank you.

Finally a man of order at the helm of the country.

A pure admiration surrounds me, I really like.

You were saying?

I was saying that the task we have set ourselves is immense,

we need to give a moral idea, everyone needs to feel pride

to do one's duty for this state.

State which is the repository of all history, of all the future.

Miserable coward! Scoundrel!

You disgusting bastard! Are you running away?

Coward, are you running away? Leave me alone! Leave me alone!

I am Ida Dalser, I am the mother of his son! Leave me alone!

I gave that scoundrel a son, I gave him a son!

Crazy damn woman.

They all love me, they let in the only one who hates me.

These idiots!

Don't worry, I'll handle miss Dalser.

You go out first, go!

- So? - All clear!

There he is!

Bravo!

Long live the Duce!

Good morning.

Good morning.

Good morning, Your Excellency. Quinto Navarra, at your service.

Your Excellency. President. It is a joy for me...

- Thank you. - Your Excellency.

Thank you, thank you, let's go to work.

And when would I have chosen it?

I am entrusted by the Kingdom to the service of the Prime Minister.

Ah, good, good.

We can also hire staff to do the ironing.

of your clothing, if you wish.

Long live the Duce!

Call me the Chief of Police.

The Chief of Police is waiting for him inside.

Excellence.

Excellency, these nuts. What happened is unacceptable!

What if that crazy woman had been armed?

If instead of hurling insults and absurdities at me, he had shot me,

thrown a cobblestone or stabbed me?

Your Excellency, I don't know what you're talking about.

The crazy woman in my hotel.

I-I'm not aware of that,

but I'll certainly do some checks now.

"I am not aware of this." "I am not aware of this."

This is even more unacceptable!

What's more important than my safety?

I am here for the events in Turin, Your Excellency.

What about Turin?

Gangs of Black Shirts attacked and burned down union offices,

chambers of labor, hunted down socialist exponents.

A massacre.

Your Excellency, with all due respect,

from the march on Rome, your nomination is considered,

by some troublemakers, as a license to commit crime.

- How dare you? - Fringe, certainly, minority.

But they are as if possessed by a sense of...

..of impunity. For the fact that you...

Damned dogs.

The problem with revolutions is that they are beautiful, liberating,

but then there remain the revolutionaries.

Excellence.

Even though they are Black Shirts,

I think we should respond severely.

The dead are uncounted. The last one is yet to be identified.

He was tied to a truck and dragged through the streets of Turin.

A state of law cannot...

You are absolutely right,

I really appreciate your sense of state.

I will take action myself, immediately.

- Thank you, Your Excellency. - You're welcome.

- Thank you, Your Excellency. - You are welcome.

Excellence...

But, w-what does it mean?

That you need to find another job. Best wishes.

How fucking long does it take to iron a pair of pants?

We took over the government, Italy loves me and no one is up to it.

The country wants order, efficiency, security, from me.

President.

This is the second half of the revolution,

the most difficult, the most important.

The second half decides the fate of the revolution.

But nobody here understands it.

Well, there are those who sleep, those who chat,

some people drink coffee and some people masturbate.

And who sheds blood with impunity. Enough.

A disgrace to humanity, exemplary punishments.

Yes, comrades, sorry for the wait. So, here we go.

The Head of Government, Prime Minister, Secretary of State,

Honorable Benito Mussolini.

Salute to the Duce! Salute to the Duce!

Head of Government, President of the Council,

Secretary of State, Honourable...

Anything else, Benito?

Don't piss them off.

Fascist comrades.

Comrades, I advise you to take advantage of this

to empty the bowels and bladder, because the bathroom is worth it.

Super soft towels and bergamot soaps.

Do you have a weakness for bergamot, Duce?

Fascist comrades, I bring the government's greeting to the backbone

of our revolution.

I declare open the first session of the Grand Council of Fascism.

And now the reading of the agenda.

And why don't we read this first?

- Because it's not on the agenda. - It will have to be put there then.

"It is hereby deemed...

Because we made the revolution,

but the question remains unanswered.

What question?

For "who" did we make this revolution?

Only three fascist ministers in government.

You took all the most important ministries yourself,

and if we complete the cleansing, we face "exemplary" punishments.

No.

So, who did we make this revolution for, Beni'?

- For everyone or just for you? - I told you.

Gentlemen, I had to make my statements.

I am the Head of Government, I cannot remain silent in the face of a massacre.

Or not? Or not?!

And if you had let me get through the agenda to the end,

you would have discovered that...

..De Bono is appointed Chief of Police,

De Vecchi to the direction of the Treasury, Ciano to the Navy,

and the list goes on, gentlemen, the list goes on.

There's something for everyone. Everyone. Everyone.

Everyone. Balbo...

To you...

..I ask to mold our Black Shirts in a military body

of the State directly under direct government dependencies.

The Fascist Militia.

A personal army.

A military body paid by the State, but that answers only to me.

I appoint you General and demand order, discipline and obedience.

Gentlemen, gentlemen, we are no longer revolutionaries.

We are all servants of the country,

and we will act accordingly.

Long live Italy!

Long live Italy, long live fascism, long live the Duce!

And that's done.

I want flowers everywhere. Fresh air, new air.

Away with these dark and dusty colours,

everything must convey the idea of change.

We'll also have to put a wardrobe in here, for him, a proper one.

It's been given a cleanup, but there's still a lot, a lot to do.

- Madam. - What?

Ah, you are here.

Yes, by chance, but you go ahead,

I'll just stay here in silence.

We'll continue later.

We have to make you live up to what the world says about you.

The world judges me for what I've done.

Don't rest on your laurels, Benito.

If we are where we are, it's because we have never settled.

If I am where I am, it is because "I" have intuited

that it was the right time to give the push.

No one knows better than me how fragile what I have achieved is.

Your gratitude moves me.

I, instead, by your fixation on insignificant things.

What's wrong with you?

You are the Head of Government, the youngest in the world,

everyone praises you, can I know what you're missing?

What I'm missing is this.

Socialists, liberals, Catholics, and us.

- A lump of fly droppings. - What does it matter to you?

Liberals and Catholics support you, they do whatever you want.

For now.

Italy loves you.

Love comes, love goes.

Moments, if you don't know how to seize them, flee away.

- We need new elections. - I disagree.

- I don't care. - Don't rush it.

We need to consolidate your consensus, do well.

We will go to the elections when we are sure of winning by a landslide.

"I" know what I have to do.

Now, with your permission, I must attend the Council of Ministers.

Remember the assignment.

- What assignment? - For my husband.

- For her husband... - You promised.

For this reason, we liberals,

we believe that the highway should also connect Turin.

Conceived in this way, it will be a memorable work.

For us populists, instead,

the route should undergo a slight shift towards the North.

It would be possible, then, not only to connect...

We can't go on like this!

We need a new electoral law. Enough of this story

that the seats are assigned in proportion to the votes received.

A nice majority law.

Whoever got the most votes, has the absolute majority,

and whoever has the absolute majority, decides.

Without wasting time.

But this is a normal, democratic, confrontation.

It's dialectics.

It's dialectics. It's dialectics.

It's dialectics, the country cannot wait for agreements to be sought,

mediations, compromises. Can it?

If you don't agree, you resign.

Objections?

Good. The session is adjourned.

And the highway?

We'll do it when we can avoid wasting time.

It's difficult, Chiletta, sometimes even exhausting, but you know,

you know how I am, nothing gets me down.

Benito, can you hear me?

Government commitments call for me.

I just want to tell you that these will be the best days of our lives.

Yes, I get that.

You always say that. When are you coming home?

Benito?

- Thank you, Simone. - You're welcome, Mrs. Rachele.

When is he coming back?

- He didn't say. - And what did he say?

That these are the best days of our lives.

My God, your brother is hot.

Honourable colleagues,

the fascist party's proposal is simple, but effective.

I imagine.

Like all our initiatives.

Whoever gets 25% of the votes, gets 65% of the seats.

This is an unacceptable proposal! It's a scam!

To change history, you need to be bold.

It is necessary to violate what is considered inviolable,

we must cross a boundary that no one has ever dared to cross.

But we are only asking for governability.

Please, colleagues, come on!

What you call governability, is dictatorship!

And there will be those who will shout, those who will shout that it is unheard of,

and we can discuss it.

- Dictatorship! - Let's discuss it.

But at that point, the worst is done, the inviolable has been violated.

We could talk about how much, how, but the boundary has been crossed.

And once it's crossed, is no longer a border.

Let's discuss it.

We refuse to discuss an unacceptable proposal.

Be careful, Matteotti!

- Colleague, let's moderate the tone. - Mr. President, did you hear?

This bill is an insult.

Do you know what stands between you and dictatorship? Parliament!

Eh, well...

Ohh!

Please!

Ladies and gentlemen, wake up.

Bravo!

This law is the death of us all, and you support it.

The death of all of us, don't you understand?

No, they don't understand.

- The Catholics want to leave us. - But they agreed.

The problem is him.

"There were good times,

when Catholics did not participate in political life,

they didn't even vote.

The Pope didn't want it. Then he arrived...

..from his little altar."

Good morning, Sturzo.

Sturzo, good morning.

Nice start, I want to punch him.

Sturzo!

Good morning, Mussolini, did you want to talk to me?

Yes.

Here?

You don't want witnesses?

Sturzo,

Italy needs a strong government,

supported by a solid parliamentary majority.

We have a country to rebuild

and the threat of the socialist beast,

atheist and materialist, is not averted.

Let us remember, the atheist and materialist threat.

Your party's votes are needed.

Without your votes, your values are also in danger.

In principle the Popular Party, and Catholics in general,

they are not averse to ensuring the nation has a stable government.

So much so that we are making the sacrifice of supporting...

"The sacrifice"? "The sacrifice"?

I will gloss over the sacrifice. But the nature of the problem escapes me.

Mussolini, the vote of one Italian in four is too little

to secure an absolute majority and take everything.

You see, it's just that every now and then someone forgets it,

for convenience or for fear,

but among our values there is also freedom.

Sturzo, Italy asks to be governed,

and asks to be governed by me.

If you are so sure of it, then why you need to cheat?

Goodbye, Mussolini.

I'll make you change your mind!

Do you want to have a priest beaten?

Don't test me, Sturzo. Don't test me.

If your people are in politics, they accept the risks of politics.

Don't interfere.

You can't.

You can't just, one day, say "enough violence",

and then the next day... A priest, nonetheless.

Come on, Benito, you can't beat Sturzo.

Thank you, Cesarino. Thank goodness you're here..

That's what I'm here for.

I know very well that it can't be done,

otherwise I would have personally smashed with a crucifix

that deformed nose of his.

I would have had all 110 of his MPs sodomized him.

What are you doing, sitting in my seat?

Oh no, for... for convenience. I was sorting your mail.

Are you going to open my mail now, too?

Benito, I'll save you the hassle, it's the same old stuff.

Beggars and ass-kissers, people who pretend to be your relatives,

females in love.

This is the incredible effect of power.

Uh.

- They love me, not power. - Sure. Not now.

Margherita. Margherita, I would say, quite pissed off,

she wants a job for her husband.

And then, this one. She insists.

- Who is it? - Dalser, the crazy one.

Your rise has recharged her, she feels in credit.

I owe nothing to Ida Dalser.

To be fair, when we opened the newspaper,

she gave us some money.

Benito...

..how long has it been since you sent her a check for the baby?

It's not money he wants. He wants to destroy me.

De Bono has to take care of her, make him earn his salary.

I can't afford scandals, now,

especially the kind that make the Church turn up its nose.

I have to take care of giving Sturzo a good beating.

What the fuck are you doing?

"It's true, the word hurts more than the stick.

It hurts just as much.

Discredits, delegitimizes,

it makes less noise, and no one starts bothering.

Fascists are ugly, bad, they torture, they beat, blah blah blah.

No. No.

Fascists today... write."

The lady is inside.

- In here? - Yes, Your Excellency.

- What are you doing there? - I'm not going in there.

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name,

Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,

give us this day our daily bread, forgive us our debts...

Why didn't you call me right away?

How long had he been sick?

Why are you here, can you explain it to me? Where is Bruno?

He's at home.

He's fine now, thanks to the Lord.

The Lord?

Thanks to the doctor, not the Lord!

I thought it was the flu.

He wasn't breathing anymore.

No surprise, Rachele, it was diphtheria, diphtheria!

Bruno could have died, Bruno could have died!

If he had died, I would have killed myself.

You should have called me immediately, Chiletta.

Why didn't you tell me anything?

- Rachele, why didn't you tell me anything? - Because you're never here!

And just repeat that we are living the best days of our lives.

I didn't want to ruin them for you, the best days of our lives.

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name...

- Let's go. - I have to finish my prayer.

Come on, Rachel!

We didn't even get married in church. We didn't baptize them.

We only believed in ourselves and our ideals

and look where we are now. Look where it got us!

But I'm still in the same place.

Get out of here!

Get out of here right now. Get out of here!

I asked you to electrocute me, some time ago!

If you exist, strike me down, because I deserve it!

I'm still here!

Duce! Duce!

Long live fascism! Long live Mussolini!

Duce! Duce! Duce!

Come down!

Come down!

I'll give it to you, I will!

Duce! Duce! Duce!

Duce! Duce! Duce!

Mrs. Sarfatti searched for you insistently.

- Tell her I'm busy. - Already done.

- Oh, and you call Rossi. - Already done.

"Sturzo, the enemy of progress".

So?

What did his people say?

Has His Eminence Grise come to his senses?

Not exactly, he says the attacks against him are useless,

that Catholics are accustomed to turning the other cheek.

And those who are faithful to him, now are even more so.

As long as Sturzo is there, the electoral law will not pass.

So there may be room for negotiation. What does he want in return?

Judging from your answer, I think there is no margin.

Why? What exactly did he say?

- Exactly? - Exactly.

Exactly...

..he said that your newspapers...

..you can stick them in...

Mh-mh?

..respectfully, in the...

In the?

..ass.

Is that what he said?

No, ass is a euphemism of mine.

Oh, and then he said "amen."

Godd...

There is always someone higher up who decides, you just have to go to him.

Even if he were God.

I want to speak to the Pope.

You can tell me.

It's between me and the Pope.

This is not how you speak to the Pope, the vicar of our Lord on earth.

You can tell me.

To the vicar of the vicar...

There is only one thing worse than priests, priests dressed as clowns.

- Excellency. - "Your Eminence."

Eminence.

Your Eminence, since I have been in power, I feel a wound.

A big wound.

Like a phantom limb, an umbilical cord that needs to be sewn back on.

I believe...

I believe that the State must do more for the Holy Roman Church.

For our Christian roots, for our eternal values,

God, the homeland, the family.

And how do you plan to sew up this umbilical cord?

Rediscovering the brotherhood between State and Church.

Laws, Your Excellency.

Equalization of school fees

between state institutions and religious institutions.

Restoration of the crucifix in the classrooms.

Obligation to teach the Catholic religion,

as the foundation and crowning achievement of elementary education

in every school grade.

Through teachers chosen by the ecclesiastical authorities.

No more taxes on seminary assets.

Did we sew this cord back together?

Let's say that in the meantime I am pleased to see signs of redemption in you,

Excellence.

I see you suddenly changed. Has Mussolini seen the light?

Now do you believe?

I believe.

I believe... I believe, without a doubt.

I believe that categories no longer exist.

Socialists, Catholics, bourgeois.

Exists...

..who is with me and who is against me.

And being against me, as well as being anachronistic,

anti-historical, anti-Italian, outdated and idiotic and minority...

..in addition to all these things, it is not worth it.

Because those who are with me, tend not to love those who are against me.

Will you solve the problem?

You must have faith.

Yes?

Margherita.

What do you think I'm doing? I'm working.

We will talk tomorrow?

What do you mean you are here?

Huh?

Busy day today, Margherita, we are...

I'm destroyed, you can't immagine.

Of course I want to see you. Of course I want to see you, come on.

It's just that...

Use the service stairs.

Okay? Let's avoid gossip. See you later, bye.

- Out, out! - Your wife?

I wish.

I wish.

Out, up! Out!

Outside. Leave the door open.

- Margherita. - Benito.

What are you doing?

Your suite...

..your smell, you...

..I missed everything.

It's just that I had...

I've been so busy.

A lot, a lot, a lot?

So much, so much, so much.

And now do you have a minute for me?

Damn, of course I have it.

Hot piece of ass.

- What the fuck are you doing? - Disgusting and pathetic.

Avoid me, make me go through the service stairs like I was a scullery girl.

All this effort to hide your miserable romances from me.

Look, there's nothing worse

than blaming someone for something they have done.

I already have a wife to piss me off!

Don't compare me to her.

You're right, she makes fewer scenes.

Ask yourself if you would have gotten here without me.

I answer myself "yes".

And you lie. You 're lying, Benito.

"I" created you,

I have cleaned you, dressed you, instructed you, advised you.

I taught you how to use cutlery, I bought you shoes.

Without me,

you would still be stirring up the stumps of those wretched,

bloodthirsty, orphans of war.

Then why did you do it?

Because I love you.

No! Because you wanted to shine by my light.

You confuse me with the ones you take to bed.

No, those ask for less.

You think you can make do without me,

in bed and out of bed.

But I'm neither like your wife, nor like that other poor girl

who gave you a son, Dalser.

You... need me.

I leave the door open.

I gave a job to your husband! Do you understand?

I don't need anyone, me.

- To the Duce. - To us!

- Long live Donna Rachele. - To us!

Get down from there!

Come on!

Very kind, very kind, madam.

They are fresh.

Thank the lady, but we can't accept. Thank you, very kind.

Come on.

Long live Donna Rachele!

Don't you ever follow us again or I'll call the police.

I just wanted to see the family that took my place.

Does your father love you?

Go.

Does he get along with his mother?

Go away immediately or I'll have you arrested!

Say hello to your little brothers, Benito Albino.

Let's go, mom.

Rachele... I don't know how this could have happened.

I know, I know.

Rachele, it will never happen again.

It will never happen... It will never happen again, Rachele. I promise.

Rachele?

Great, great, great news!

What the fuck did I put De Bono in charge of the police for?

And what the fuck are you doing here?

Oh, what are you talking about?

The crazy one! She went to Rachele with the baby!

Cesarino! See to resolve this situation once and for all.

Benito, Sturzo...

Is dead?

I have to think that this "desire",

that I abandon the leadership of the party, is a command.

His Holiness expressed a motivated wish.

But His Holiness understands that, by doing so,

it will seem that the Church supports the methods

and the inhuman ethics of fascism?

Does His Holiness understand or not that perhaps this is the last chance

we have to stop this man?

Silence, Your Eminence,

this silence from the Church kills more than Mussolini's beatings!

They kicked him out.

Honourable Members, I would have preferred to entertain this assembly

on foreign policy issues, on our place in the world.

I promise to do so in a future day,

if the House does not want to have the whim of dying prematurely today.

The debate on the electoral reform provided the reason

to the opposition...

..to manifest itself...

..to launch an attack against politics

and the political systems of my government.

We're talking about freedom.

But what is this freedom?

No! Leave him! Leave me! Leave me! Go away!

Does freedom exist?

Ultimately it is a philosophical-moral category.

There are "freedoms". But "freedom"...

..never existed.

- No! No! - Shh!

I am not, gentlemen, the despot who stays locked in a castle,

protected by a triple wall,

I wander among the people without any worries whatsoever

and I listen to it.

No! No! No!

No!

No! No!

No!

Well, the Italian people, up to this point,

didn't ask me for freedom.

"Get us out of the shacks."

"Give us water, I don't mean to bath with it,

but at least to quench our thirst."

"Malaria is killing us."

Nobody...

..speaks to me of freedom, Statute, Constitution, none!

Nobody.

President Sarfatti.

President.

This is the moment when parliament and country...

..they can reconcile.

But if this opportunity passes, tomorrow will be too late.

And you feel it in the air, you feel it in your spirits.

Dad!

Edda.

Chiletta, I was wrong.

The best days of our lives are the ones ahead of us.

I also have a duty to tell you

that from your vote on the electoral law...

..depends, in a certain sense, your destiny.

No, please! Please, no!

Don't get yourselves under any illusions in this place.

Your destiny depends on your vote.

Democracy is beautiful,

it gives you a lot of freedom, even the freedom to destroy it.

Once this is done, we will abolish it.

Thank you.