On September 14, 1942, the Italian film of Ayn Rand’s We the Living premiered at the Venice Film Festival winning a major award and a standing ovation from all. September 14, 2022 will be the 80th anniversary of the movie. This is occasion to celebrate this superb film, its “lost years” and rediscovery, and its subsequent restoration and theatrical release in the late 1980s.
We the Living was Ayn Rand’s first novel. Set in Russia during the 1920s, the chaotic years following the Communist Revolution. The plot involves a passionate romantic triangle. Kira, an engineering student, is independent, determined, and rebellious. She’s at odds not only with a corrupt, collectivist society, but also with her conventional, middle-class family. Kira is torn between Leo, a counter-revolutionary fugitive, and Andrei, a disillusioned captain of the secret police. A forbidden love affair, jealousy, deception, and betrayal ensue.
The book has wider and more profound implications and universal ideas. In Rand’s words “It is a novel about Man against the State. Its basic theme is the sanctity of human life….” In 1926, Rand had arrived in America escaping the tyranny of Soviet Russia. The world she depicted in the novel was based on her own first-hand experiences. She called it “as near to an autobiography”.
If these events that lead to the movie were presented as fiction, no one will believe. The time: World War II. The place: Italy, led by Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. America and Soviet Russia were allies, fighting the Axis powers, Italy and Germany. Fascist Mussolini thought it would be a good idea to authorize a film that would serve as anti-Soviet propaganda. An Italian translation of the novel was published in 1937 and had been popular, so the notion seemed logical.
In 1940, Cinecittà, an Italian studio, negotiated with Ayn Rand’s representatives for the film rights to the novel. The rights were denied. In 1941 Italy and America were at war; no further negotiations. The authorities asked studio Scalera to produce the film without authorization. Rand’s intellectual property was stolen. A wonderful irony and a twist of fate ultimately defeated the Fascists at their own game. What the officials didn’t understand was that Rand wrote in universal terms. She called We the Living “a story about Dictatorship, any dictatorship, anywhere, at any time….” Thus, the ideas expressed in the film had the potential to undermine the Fascists’ own totalitarian regime.
The film was superbly cast. Kira was played by Alida Valli, Leo by Rossano Brazzi, Andrei by Fosco Giachetti. It was early in the careers of Valli and Brazzi — both were young, good looking, talented. As Kira, Valli is gorgeous and enthralling, and her performance has been widely praised. Brazzi also had a long performing career. Giachetti, who was Italy’s number-one star. At 42, he was beyond the age of the Andrei in Rand’s novel. Still, his performance is compelling. The director was Goffredo Alessandrini. The fine musical score was by Renzo Rossellini, brother of famed director Roberto.
In November of 1942, when We the Living released throughout Italy – audiences were entranced by the story of three young people courageously defying the state. The original film ran four hours — so long that it was released in two parts, with the titles Noi Vivi and Addio, Kira. After a few weeks, both were playing simultaneously in different theatres. People watched the first part, then raced across town for the second. We the Living was a huge box-office success and accepted masterpiece.
The film was screened in Berlin for Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi Minister of Propaganda, he didn’t like it. His objection was that the Soviets weren’t portrayed negatively enough. In Italy, audiences recognized that the film was a clever indictment of the Mussolini regime. Understanding it the authorities ordered film’s seizure and destruction. Fortunately, the original negatives were hidden in the cellar of one of the crew members.
The war ended. Ayn Rand learned that her book had been ripped off. In 1946 Ayn Rand saw the film for the first time. In July of 1947, Valli and Brazzi visited America and gave her a first-hand report. In 1950, Rand filed a claim against the Italian government. In 1961 she received an out-of-court settlement.
About the Author
Dr. K. Raja Gopal Reddy is a seasoned internationally qualified Insurance professional.
What you are reading here, may not answer all the questions we have, but has the absolute power of asking unsettling questions which increase the interest in the strange world, and show the contradictory wonders lying just below the surface of the commonest things of life. Look at this disturbing but beautiful thought of Friedrich Nietzsche “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him”.
Dr. Reddy can be reached at: raja66gopal@gmail.com
