Other titles:THE SEVENTEENTH YEAR, 9TH MAY [Translation]
Summary: A celebration of the achievements of 20 years of Fascism in Italy under Mussolini's leadership.
Description: The film takes the form of a number of sequences each illustrating the theme of a preceding excerpt from the Duce's speeches; the theme is sometimes repeated as a slogan subtitle. Particularly during the earlier sequences, purely civilian achievements are recorded - civil engineering, agriculture, industry, communication ('CONSTRUIRE'), social and recreational programmes ('VERSO IL POPOLO') - but the tone gradually becomes more militant. The training of youth ('ATTINGERA I SUOI DESTINI') is introduced by the image of a rifle placed on top of a book, and thereafter the themes are less concerned with peace ('ARRIVERA ALLA POTENZA E ALLA GLORIA'). Images of armed might and preparedness in all three services, backed up fully by the home front, alternate with reminders of the expansion of Italy's African empire with the conquest of Ethiopia, of victory in Spain for Franco and Italy's volunteers, of the forging of the Fascist Axis. The final message is that the 20th Century is an age belonging to the strong which finds Italy prepared and mighty.
Alternative Title:THE SEVENTEENTH YEAR, 9TH MAY [Translation]
