WE THE LIVING
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1988 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule review: The history of this film is more
intriguing than its plot. A melodrama based, without
permission, on an Ayn Rand novel was first supported, then
banned by the government of Il Duce. Set in post-
Revolutionary Russia, the film tells the story of young Kira
and the men in her life. Not much historic scope but a
lavish film. Rating: +1.
In 1942 Italy was at war with the Allies in more ways than one. Without permission or legal rights they thumbed their noses held by the enemy. They started writing their own FLASH GORDON comic strips, hiring for the task two young unknown Italian cartoonists, one of whom was Federico Fellini, who later was to have some association with the film industry. Also without permission, and certainly in direct opposition to her philosophy, the state appropriated film rights to Ayn Rand's semi- autobiographical first novel, WE THE LIVING. Goffredo Alessandrini adapted the anti-Communist novel into a film. NOI VIVI (WE THE LIVING) played for about five months before a reportedly furious Mussolini decided the film was an argument against any totalitarian government and had the film banned. In 1968, after much effort, lawyers for Ayn Rand found a copy of the film in a vault outside Rome. Ms.~Rand, not happy with the original film, re-edited it and redubbed parts. WE THE LIVING is now having its first United States release.
It would be nice to report, as is usually the case when an old "lost film" is discovered, that it is a wonderful classic that we are all culturally poorer for for having been deprived of all these years. It may have been true of Gance's NAPOLEON; it is patently not true of WE THE LIVING. The re-released film is only a moderately enjoyable melodrama made with some of the faulty conventions but also some of the cinematic artistry of the period. That means it's no CITIZEN KANE, but it stacks up really well next to ALIEN NATION.
In post-Revolutionary Russia, Kira's family of ex-aristocrats returns to the city they will always call Petrograd and take up residence in a few rooms of what used to be their house. Young Kira (played by Alida Valli) has no respect for anyone who works for the new Soviet government. She rebuffs the advances of her cousin Victor, a loyal Party member, and instead has a monthly rendezvous with Leo (played by Rossano Brazzi), the son of a famous counter-revolutionary. The police are looking for Leo and Kira is nearly pulled into trouble with him. Yet unbidden, people in high places seem to intervene in her behalf. One of Kira's unbidden saviors is Andrei (played by Fosco Giachetti), an inspector for the GPU security police, who seems anxious to reunite the two lovers. This is the beginning of a story that spans several years in the lives of Kira, Leo, and Andrei, a story involving politics and crime, love and death.
WE THE LIVING was made at a time when great care was taken to compose scenes visually. A vast number of Soviet propaganda posters were somehow obtained (or perhaps invented) for the filming. Yet not everything makes sense as it was filmed. One wonders how in an economy of shortages, Kira is always able to wear lipstick and eye makeup flawlessly applied. In one scene the characters come into a warm building from the snow, yet the snow on their shoulders refuses to melt.
Ayn Rand's stories always seem to be overblown melodramas, having larger-than-life characters who refuse to capitulate to the demands of society. And the stories usually culminate in the hero making an impassioned speech of Rand's personal philosophy that society tries to tear down the individual as a sort of dubious benefit to an undeserving multitude. This version of WE THE LIVING is no exception, however the speech seems to make little sense in the context of the film. And the speech scene is quite noticeably one of those scenes that were re-dubbed. One wonders if in the original the speech was so noticeable a non sequitur.
WE THE LIVING is diverting fare, but falls well short of being a classic. Still, it is valuable as an artifact of World War II history as well as film history and a reminder of what films used to be. Rate it a +1 on the -4 to +4 scale.
Mark R. Leeper
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