‘Lotte in Italia’ or — A Class Struggle?

I forgot to mention that when I watched ‘Juliet of The Spirits’ (1965) recently I made it part of a double-bill with Godard and Gorin’s ‘Lotte in Italia’ (1970) where a young Italian woman, Paola Taviani, struggles to transform her bourgeoisie life through revolutionary means. Fortunately, unlike Fellini’s wife, Paola at least gets to have sex. Unfortunately it is according to strict Marxist and Freudian principles combined with Godardian editing techniques so I’m not too sure who out the two of them gets the shorter end of the stick.

The film is divided (?) into four chapters starting with Paola describing her family, romantic and educational life. It seems this life is fragmented as scenes and shots are punctuated by black and red screens. She argues with her father, attempts to create a relationship with her boyfriend that is purely Leninist (sounds like a fun date) and buys herself new shirts whilst contemplating the means of production and if people’s social existence determines their thoughts (apparently it does).

The other parts primarily deal with her attempts (I think!) to reconcile the dichotomy between theory and practise and, as she does so, the coloured frames are replaced by shots of factory workers and industry that not only change contexts but add tension and alter meaning in terms of contrast.

This contradiction and change is then further extended to the film itself as Paola drops pretence and (spoilers!) reveals she is an actress in a film commissioned for Italian TV (which this, originally, was). It is no longer her life that is a form of practise for change but the film itself (again, I think) where the power of the communications network as a whole is addressed.

Can Paola change her reality and consciousness through class struggle? Just what is the material process of production? And most importantly, will her boyfriend get tired of all the Leninist sex in the afternoon?

I had fun with ‘Lotte in Italia’ mainly because it’s the type of film that you don’t really see being made any more — overtly political, experimental and energetic and deliberately infuriating. It’s the sort of movie that Rik from ‘The Young Ones’ would watch and claim to understand it without a hint of irony. There’s something about that old, lefty stuff I find rather endearing (and oddly hopeful).

Yet, despite all the late 60/early 70s revolutionary theorising it does still feel surprisingly pertinent and, possibly, even more relevant. As I said, it was originally commissioned for Italian TV through RAI (Radiotelevisione Italian), so when Paulo herself directly addresses to camera the role Italian media plays in society and the power it exerts it feels like an almost prescient warning cry of the coming of Berlusconi. It’s all rather arresting.

Add onto that the usual Godard flourishes — didactic editing; bright primary colours, pop-art etc — and there’s a lot to unpack and “enjoy” here (I’ve watched it twice now and still trying to figure it all out). And I’d certainly rather be Paola than married to Fellini.