Fiume O Morte!

In September 1919, Italian poet Gabriele D'Annunzio led a force of irregulars in an invasion of the town of Fiume, in what is today Croatia. Was he an egotist with dreams of heading his own state? A utopian with a strong nationalist bent? Or a fascist who cared little for the locals and helped pave the way for Mussolini's rule? In FIUME O MORTE! ("Fiume or Death!"), Croatian filmmaker Igor Bezinovi tells the story of D'Annunzio's escapade in the most entertaining way possible, using brashly anachronistic re-enactments featuring residents of modern-day Rijeka - the city which includes what used to be Fiume. Meticulously researched, FIUME O MORTE! Brilliantly blends archival footage and photography with a rotating cast of informal re-enactors, drawing the past into the present. It also captures the essential puffery and absurdity of the fascist project at a time when authoritarianism is on the rise around the world.