Fascisti su Marte (2006) User Reviews

Surprisingly funny, yet so true

[vittoriobaky · 8/10 · 26 March 2008]

It's probably because I wasn't born in Italy that I'm not a huge fan of Italian comedy - in fact, apart from a few classics like Fantozzi (who got old as well) I hardly can stand today's so called "comedians" like De Sica or Boldi. Then what was I expecting from "Fascisti su Marte" (Fascists on Mars)? I liked the concept, and despite the fact that I've never seen the source material TV-show, I thought this could be entertaining. I couldn't be more right.

The concept is as simple as it gets - Fascists are sent to conquer Mars, but as always, only a bunch of people with little to no food or any resource are sent. The problems are many, caused not only by the lack of resources, but also because Mars has no air, no water, or no life whatsoever. Or does it? When the strange rock-resembling creatures that apparently say "mimimmi" appear, things turn out very differently, and what seemed to be an easy task in a place full of nothing but sand (a clear satire of the attack on Libia), turns out to be a matter of interests, whereas the "Duce" sure wouldn't let our heroes lose (also to mention that the 5 men are bringing around a bust of Mussolini himself).

When the war against inanimate objects isn't going on, the soldiers act as typical Italians - they laugh for bad jokes, they play soccer, they quarrel. But all this mindlessness causes trouble, which makes it necessary for the soldiers to create commissions, real politics in an otherwise anarchic situation - institutions as the MIN.CHI (which is a vulgar Italian pun), which in theory should make all easier, but in reality do not work at all (any resemblance with real history is unintended of course). Constant adoring of the Dux and typical Fascist behaviors of the protagonists force the viewer to know how Italian history went, because while the movie is fun for the situations itself, the funniest thing is the political and historical satire it makes - it even jokes on the war on terror in Iraq for example. But it also makes fun of movies like Schindler's List and 2001: A Space Odissey, so you'd better have a good general knowledge too.

We could say that an Italian film that ridiculizes the Italian (and not just that) history is very daring, especially when one-sided jokes clearly insult other countries (like England who were "still hunting beavers while we were already conquering"), and indeed Corrado Guzzanti (the director) made a great job, without caring of possible controversy (but then the source material is already around from a long time, so no trouble).

The actors, all knowable but none are very famous, are doing a great job, even the less important ones. In the last part of the movie many new actors appear as the story continues, but the level remains high. Also, congratulations for making a believable Mars scenario with such limited budget. I'd also mention that there's a small cartoon sketch on the "mimimmi", I don't know who drew that one, but it's pretty funny and well made. But then you shouldn't expect A pretty lenghty review with no bad sides? Not really. As I said, you need to know a lot about Italian history, and even better, you'd better be Italian to get this movie fully. There's just no way ANY translation could give this movie any justice, because you just can't "translate" the typical Italian behaviors. Also, if you could get offended by one-sided political and religion points of view, you'd better not watch this movie, because they're even making a hypothetical Fascists Madonna (extremely funny if offensive). In the end, this movie is extremely funny if you know what's so funny about it - but this is not your typical USA comedy with random jokes, so only watch this if you know a lot on Italian history and Italian culture. In that case you won't be disappointed.

Cute, but not a masterpiece

[greenylennon · 6/10 · 10 September 2007]

"Fascisti su Marte" is a feature film based on the TV series "Fascisti su Marte", included in the show "Il caso Scafroglia" by Corrado Guzzanti, who's the co-director, the co-writer, the narrator and the leading male in this likable film.

The TV series, composed by brief sketches, was smashing: funny, witty and irresistible. But it's impossible to bring to the silver screen (in a film of about 90 minutes) a story who in five minutes has told everything.

The plot stretches itself until the end, and, if at the beginning you laugh heartily, then you start yawning with boredom because ideas are scarce.

But this film has two credits: the inventiveness of cinematographer, costume designer and production designer, who created the planet Mars from a Magliana's quarry (in Rome) and with a small budget, and maybe it's the first film who speaks ironically about the Fascism in Italy.

The signature tune at the beginning is mythical! "Faascisti su Maarte, rosso pianeta bolscevico e traditor…" (fascists on Mars, red Bolshevik traitor planet).

Too long

[borgolarici · 6/10 · 14 January 2022]

There's only so many "blackshirt in space" based gags you can do before the whole things gets boring.

This movie is just too long: starts funny but kind of dies with a whimper.

Parody and Politics

[andrea-prodan · 6/10 · 16 April 2021]

Making people laugh has become an ardous task these days.

But some things (like Trump) are risible and scary at the same time. And doing a film about Mussolini and his era is a joke which becomes particularily relevant nowadays...not only because Mussolini and Trump share facial expressions and body attitudes (as does the entertaining protagonist of our film) but...in this case...the USA comes in late on the triunfal race to 'dominate' Mars! Mussolini's boys got there first, and in the 1930ies!!!

So WHAT IS 'Facists on Mars' ?!?

It's one looong 1930ies pseudo-Newsreel, complete with typical fascist-era speaker and rhetoric.

The jokes are smart, ironic, and mostly wrily funny for an Italian audience. Pity that after almost 25 years of Berlusconi, most Italians have been near zombified, making such satire almost useless.

Corrado Guzzanti and his sister Sabina, have been poking fun with skill and intellect at the Right Wing for a long time. Here, despite the low-fi SFX, FANDANGO FILMS put in quite an effort as one can see. And the film is charming in it's apparent 'vintage' naivité. But more is working behind the façade...and that's what is most appealing. I suspect we are being reminded that the whole US Govt / NASA hoo-ha about the Mars Space Programme is...in fact...hollow and ridiculous Propaganda, for OUR era! This harmless 'mockumentary' may go on a bit too long but, hey!, we may just re-discover it in a couple of decades and...see how HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF.

Or maybe not.

Nonetheless, I enjoyed a few good, spontaneous, laughs!

Better than the best Monty Python film.

[kissthepink · 10/10 · 18 February 2007]

An hilarious spoof of the "Istituto Luce" propaganda news report that the fascist regime used to project in the theaters before the feature film. Instead of the Libia's conquest, this is about the forgotten mission on Mars by which, May 10th, 1939, "Mars is fascist!".

A platoon of fascist soldiers, Pini, Freghieri, Fecchia, Santodio, commanded by the bold "gerarca Ba-R-R-R-bagli" (Corrado Guzzanti, also writer and co-director of this film), lands on Mars' unfriendly soil.

The first issue is the oxygen: there's no air on Mars. But our heroes, though badly equipped with no respirators (a bash of the fascist regime, which was often criticized for sending its soldiers low on budget on almost suicidal missions), don't waiver and, with a simple "Me ne frego!" ("I don't give a damn!") the commander Barbagli starts to breathe and order his men to do so, demonstrating the propaganda credo that a strong will is more than enough to win every material adversity.

From then on, our heroes are set to begin the journey on the red ("bolshevik and traitor") planet, soon discovering that it's nothing more than a huge desert (a "box full of sand", how the historians called the Libia's conquest before the oil was discovered). The only comfort to the soldiers' morale is the company of a Mussolini's statue in form of a bust which Barbagli pretends to communicate telepathically with and sometimes "romanly" kisses.

The lack of any life form to subjugate, though a problem at first, is solved when a clandestine "balilla" child (actually a 36-years-old adult dressed in the uniform of a fascist school boy), while running away from its punishment bumps into an inanimate egg-shaped rock with two antennas sticking out its head, swearing he heard it say the word "Mimimmi".

The rest of the movie unfolds as a quest for the water, and the history of the "battle" against the Mimimmi's people of rock, that like any good colonialist the fascists try at first to enroll in their army then, frustrated by their "lack of cooperation", begin to persecute when suspected of engaging in guerrilla against the conqueror. There is also a bash of the Iraqi war, when the narrator claims that "weapons of mass destruction are searched for inch by inch, (often the same inch), but what is found is the VOID: and the VOID is the most lethal of all the WMAs. So we are pulled into this conflict by the hair".

Maybe the most irresistible feature of this movie is the narrating voice, that mimics the solemn and bombastic timbre of the 1930's imperialist propaganda, using obsolete terms and bizarre pronounce of common words. There is also a mini "regime cartoon" that depicts the Mimimmi's as evil newborn-eaters that are at last defeated by a heroic Barbagli with the help of the infamous fascist's trademark tools of the billy club and castor oil.

Another hilarious moment is when, during a recreative Bingo night session when all the dates fatal to the fascist regime (8-9-43, 25-4-45, etc.) are drawn in sequence, Barbagli has delusions of seeing the martians in the shape of Teletubbies greeting him from the dark desert and starts to shoot at them laughing like a madman.

The story ends with some twists, a deus-ex-machina plot and an epilogue set in modern days.

An intelligent satire against the fascist (and the imperialist/colonialist at large) regime and mentality, packed with fun at a frantic pace. A must-see.