User Reviews

A police detachment is sent to Sicily to bring to Milan a political prisoner, Braccio, who was connected to a conspiracy. Apparently, Braccio has asked the supreme authorities in the country a month's permit to be with Giulia, his girlfriend. The higher ups decide to grant him the opportunity, which sounds too good to be true in theory. Braccio is surprised when the day comes for his transfer. It will be a long and surprising trip to Milan.

The captain of the group, is basically a decent man. He rides in the back of the armored vehicle, separated by bars that protect him from any possibility of being harmed. Braccio and the captain talk a lot during their trip. The journey is not without snags. The first one comes as the blinded car suffers a mechanical problem. To make things worse, the captain receives an order to pick up a criminal, Consilio, at a nearby town and take him to Bologna. Word gets around of the arrival and the people in town mob the car. To calm the situation a religious procession is planned and the new passenger is taken into the car.

At the same time, Giulia, in Milan, tries to talk to lawyers about how will the arrival of Braccio interfere with her life. Giulia doesn't count on the mounting bureaucracy she meets. She even goes to a former colleague of her lover, a man that hides under his job as a teacher. He is reluctant to come forward. In spite of Giulia's pleas, he remains cold toward the idea of revealing anything.

Consilio, the criminal, has a gun hidden in the suitcase he is carrying. Braccio convinces him to give it to him because he will be searched when they get to Bologna. Braccio is given a chance to have sex with a prostitute the police finds at a filling station. Braccio has the opportunity to escape, but he is reluctant to do it. The truth about his transfer finally is revealed by the captain, in an unexpected turn.

"My Generation" is a film written and directed by Wilma Labate. Things are not explicitly explained as to what group Braccio was involved with. One can only think he might have been part of the Red Brigades, but Ms. Labate doesn't reveal it for us. The transfer is just an excuse that, at first, doesn't make much sense, as the story goes. It is a somewhat different road movie, in this case, a long dialog between Braccio and his escort, and with the fellow prisoner.

The acting is first rate. Silvio Orlando does the fine job he has costumed us to expect from him. Equally fine, in a less flashy role is Claudio Amendola, a good Italian actor giving a nuanced performance. Francesca Neri appears as Giulia. Her appearance reminded us of the work of other Italian masters that used their heroines brooding while they walk their city lost in thought. Stefano Accorsi is seen in a minor role.

This is one of the few serious attempts made by the Italian (and European) cinema at portraying the events and the implications of the "anni di piombo" ("years of lead"), when armed groups challenged the state's authority and tried to lead the country into civil war.

The movie investigates the feelings and the attitudes of three sides of that struggle: a convicted terrorist serving a 30-years term in a high security establishment, under extremely harsh conditions; his old comrades who stayed free only to be haunted by their memories; and the policemen attempting to make the former denounce the latter.

The movie strikingly conveys the contrast between the carelessness that moved 20-years old guys to arm themselves and shoot establishment men, planning their exploits during holiday campuses and high-school parties, and the terrible impact such actions have had on their lives, be it out of conviction, love for those who are in jail, or fear to be brought to trial. Since inmates can only obtain term reductions and other benefits if they collaborate with the authorities and accuse those who are still free, fear divides the ancient comrades and inspires feelings of distrust and repulsion. Braccio, the main character, is a deeply lonely man.

The "carabinieri" - they themselves perfectly ordinary people with their own stories and personalities, are neither portrayed as holy defenders of the democratic order nor as thugs hired by the Capitalist reactionary. Their leader realizes the political grounds that brought Italy in proximity of civil war and how idealistic, energetic young people might be drawn into the struggle. Yet he must perform his duty and take advantage of Braccio's very hopelessness in order to push him to betray his old friends.

The movie portrays the dreadful contradictions of a generation that experienced an aborted revolution: one which spoiled the lives of so many people – victims and executors alike – yet did not result in a real civil war, which, however appalling, would have allowed the protagonists to substantiate and contextualize their choices -- and the resulting sufferings. This is a typically Italian movie, half way among sadness, melancholy, and the almost ironic feeling that life has no inner meaning. A difficult movie for a foreigner to appreciate, I deem.

The only fault in the script is that in the conclusion it tends to turn Braccio in a kind of tragic hero, beyond the bounds of the sad realism running through the movie. Yet, this movie is a must for all those who want to "look back" and understand what the so-called "terrorism" truly was.