NZIFF 2025 Craccum Coverage | Fiume o morte!
Fiume o Morte invites us to remember a forgotten part of history, and in telling D’annunzio’s story, he is humanised in a way where the word “fascist” is not the only way to describe him, instead his story can only be explained in tandem with the people of Fiume who he so deeply impacted.
There’s a famous saying: it takes a village to raise a child. In that sense, it took the whole city to raise Igor Bezinović’s brainchild: Fiume o Morte, a docudrama set during the periods of 1919-1921, retelling the story of Italian-nationalist Gabriele D’annunzio’s occupation of Fiume (now known as Rijeka).
Bezinović casts citizens of Fiume who recreate frames captured from D’annunzio’s occupation in a unique form of storytelling. Melding two different worlds: The long-gone Fiume of Italy, and the modern day city of Rijeka, Croatia. Bezinović invites the viewer into a world made from the perspective of the people of Fiume. It is obvious that D’annunzio’s rule left a lasting mark on Fiume, even to this day.
The scenes filmed in modern Rijeka juxtaposes with the narrative of historical Fiume, yet similarities are still prominent. The actors chosen to play the historical figures resemble those involved in the occupation, and through this portrayal, we are reminded that this history is not so far removed from the world today. We are forced to realise that history is not just a story that is told, but instead is a reality that affected many living during that time.
Fiume o Morte invites us to remember a forgotten part of history, and in telling D’annunzio’s story, he is humanised in a way where the word “fascist” is not the only way to describe him, instead his story can only be explained in tandem with the people of Fiume who he so deeply impacted.
