Set in the turbulent years of the Cold War, the film recounts Berlinguer’s courageous attempt to move beyond the rigid ideological boundaries of the time. His vision of a democratic socialism, far from the Soviet model and open to dialogue with Western democracy, took shape in the famous “historic compromise” with Aldo Moro. It is precisely this openness, this drive towards a more united Italy, that is the beating heart of the film.
Giving Berlinguer a face and a soul is Elio Germano, whose performance is simply magnetic. Awarded Best Actor at the Rome Film Fest 2024, Germano manages to convey all the complexity of a man torn between idealism and responsibility, between moral rigour and civic passion. Alongside him, a solid cast: Elena Radonicich, Paolo Calabresi, Roberto Citran, Fabrizia Sacchi.
Segre’s restrained and sensitive direction is matched by refined writing (he wrote the screenplay together with Marco Pettenello) and by cinematography from Benoît Dervaux, which alternates the narrative present with powerful archive material, bringing a historical period that is still relevant today vividly to life. The editing by Jacopo Quadri and the evocative music of iosonouncane complete a moving picture.
Berlinguer. La grande ambizione is much more than a biopic: it is a journey into collective memory, an invitation to reflect on the ethics of politics, on the courage of compromise and on the utopia of a possible change.
What does it mean to aspire to a collective good, and not only to a personal one? Andrea Segre answers that question with his intense new film Berlinguer. La grande ambizione, premiered at the Festa del Cinema di Roma 2024.
At the centre is Enrico Berlinguer, the historic secretary of the Italian Communist Party and a key figure in Italian politics in the 1970s and 1980s. In an age divided between opposing blocs, Berlinguer dared to propose an idea of democratic and independent socialism, seeking dialogue with the then president of the Democrazia Cristiana, Aldo Moro, in an attempt to change the country radically through the famous “historic compromise”.
Berlinguer is masterfully played by Elio Germano, named Best Actor at the Rome Film Fest. The film alternates fictional narrative with powerful archive images, tracing not only the portrait of a man but that of an entire era of hopes, tensions and social struggles.
“I did not want to imitate Berlinguer, but to understand him. To tell the story of politics not with slogans, but by entering the lives of those who live it as an inseparable part of their own existence.”
Segre, known for his documentaries and his socially committed films (Io sono Li, Molecole, Welcome Venice), has built a rigorous, respectful and deeply human work. The film is also an opportunity to reflect on collective memory, on social justice and on the relevance of a figure too often confined to history books.
On Tuttoitalia.ch we will keep you up to date on special screenings, meetings with audiences and features devoted to this landmark film.
A film by Andrea Segre
With Elio Germano, Elena Radonicich, Paolo Calabresi, Roberto Citran, Fabrizia Sacchi
In cinemas in German-speaking Switzerland from 22 May 2025, in French-speaking Switzerland from 7 May 2025
