Director Marco Bellocchio’s ‘Exterior Night’ will be released on Friday, August 9. This epic film explores the 1978 kidnapping and assassination of Italy’s former Prime Minister from multiple perspectives, including those of one of the perpetrators, the victim’s wife, and the Pope. It blends fantasy and blatant fiction, blurring the line between reality and imagination.
Critic Yuji Shibasaki notes that the film’s “fictional” elements serve not only as captivating artistic choices but also as a reflective inquiry into the treatment of historical events as narrative. This is discussed in the 17th installment of the series “That Selection Creates the Film.”
Please note that this article contains descriptions of the film’s content.
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The Italian Prime Minister’s Kidnapping: A Comprehensive External Examination
On March 16, 1978, at 9:02 a.m., on Mario Fani Street in the center of Rome, former Prime Minister and Christian Democrat leader Aldo Moro was kidnapped by unknown assailants.
At that time, Italian society was plagued by terrorism from both far-right and far-left groups, with frequent incidents of violence and kidnapping. The kidnapping of Aldo Moro by the far-left armed group “Red Brigades,” the subsequent shooting of his five bodyguards, his 55-day captivity, and his murder following a “people’s trial” are remembered as a shocking episode symbolizing the violent struggles of the so-called “Years of Lead.” The vast amount of research, numerous books, and many visual works created about this event illustrate how it continues to be a massive trauma that profoundly affects the identity of many Italians.
Moreover, the event occurred against a backdrop of complex political maneuvers, including the “historic compromise” between the long-dominant Christian Democrats and the Italian Communist Party, and the emerging coalition government. Various political machinations involving the mafia and anti-communist forces both domestically and abroad were involved (or so it is believed). As a result, conspiracy theories have abounded, and a plethora of “truths” continue to emerge to this day. Indeed, the Aldo Moro kidnapping and assassination remains one of the most crucial moments in the study of modern Italian history.
‘Exterior Night’ is a monumental work by renowned Italian director Marco Bellocchio, spanning a total of 340 minutes. The film, originally produced as a six-part television drama, is Bellocchio’s first venture into depicting the Aldo Moro kidnapping and assassination. In fact, Bellocchio had previously explored this subject in his 2003 film Goodbye, Night (original title Buongiorno, notte), inspired by the memoir Prisoner (1998) by Anna Laura Braghetti, a member of the Red Brigades.
This film markedly differs from other Italian works dealing with the “Years of Lead” and the Moro case. Instead of verifying historical facts or uncovering new details, it presents a “what-could-have-been” history through the internal perspective of Chiara, a female activist modeled after Braghetti. The narrative blends dreams and reality, offering a speculative portrayal where Moro survives the ordeal. Notably, the film even explores an alternate scenario where Moro does not die, following the development of an imaginary film script introduced in the movie.
The name of this fictional script, handed to Chiara by someone unaware of her true identity, is precisely ‘Goodbye, Night.’ This episode exemplifies the meta-structural aspect of Bellocchio’s work, as discussed below.
So, what perspective did Bellocchio adopt when he revisited the Molo case in ‘Exterior Night’ more than 19 years after his masterpiece? Let us quote a part of the statement by Bellocchio himself.
In this film, except for the tragic epilogue at the end, we are outside the confinement of Mauro. This time, the protagonists are men and women who acted outside the Moro confinement, who were involved in the kidnapping from various perspectives: family members, politicians, priests, the Pope, professors, police, secret service, members of the Red Brigades on the run or in prison, and even the Mafia and infiltrators.
From the press release
True to these words, the film shows the events before and after the incident from the viewpoints of Francesco Cossiga, the Minister of the Interior in charge of the investigation, Pope Paul VI, Adriana Faranda, a member of the Red Brigades, Eleonora Morro, Aldo’s wife, and others. In other words, if “Hello, Night” depicted the “night” as witnessed (experienced) by the people inside Mollo’s confinement, this film attempts to depict the outside of the confinement site, or “outside the night,” by intersecting multiple viewpoints.
A single incident of kidnapping and confinement is viewed from the viewpoints of different people, each with their own “narrative,” which sometimes overlap, collide, and conflict with each other. The film invites us to experience a completely different cinematic experience from the usual films that pile up historical facts with monolithic plots, as was attempted in “Hello, Night” in the past.
