Few major themes emerge this year within the selection of the Festival de Cannes as the list of selected films is eclectic. However, this 76th edition was punctuated by several highly acclaimed historical frescoes that sparked intense debates on the Croisette.
This exploration of the great events of the past began at the opening with the premiere of "Jeanne Du Barry", Maïwenn's new film about the tumultuous relationship between Louis XV and his last favorite. With a Johnny Depp as king of France, whose performance has spilled a lot of ink, in addition to the many controversies drained by the film.
On the same theme, "The Queen's Game", by Brazilian Karim Aïzouz, explores the fate of another strong woman, Catherine Parr, sixth wife of the terrible King of England Henry VIII, who managed to resist his tyranny.
Other feature films explore lesser-known dramatic episodes of history, such as the new Martin Scorsese "Killers of the Flower Moon" reuniting Leonardo Di Caprio and Robert de Niro. Receiving a standing ovation on the Croisette, this feature film of more than three hours returns to the murder of members of the Osage Native American tribe in the 1920s, after discovering large quantities of oil on their territory.
Equally striking, director Marco Bellocchio's film "Rapito" (The Abduction), screened in recent days, has aroused the interest of critics, carving out a place of choice among the favorites of the competition. This historical drama traces the incredible destiny of Edgardo Mortara, a young Italian Jew born in Bologna in 1851, whose story caused a national stir in 19th century Italy. Baptized in secret, when he was a baby, by his servant, he was taken from his family at the age of six, by order of the pope, and placed in an institute in Rome, where he was raised in the Catholic faith until adulthood. A horrific story that is far from being an isolated case.
Forced conversion
One evening in June 1958, the police arrived at the Mortaras' home, woke up the children and gave the family twenty-four hours to hand over little Edgardo, then six years old. The authorities, acting on the orders of the pope, inform the parents that he has been baptized baby. A quick calculation allows the family to identify the perpetrator of this betrayal, a former maid, dismissed for pilferage. But in the Papal State of Bologna, any discussion is impossible.
Having been baptized, the young boy is an apostate, he cannot live in a Jewish family. Only the church can save his soul. The Inquisitor of Bologna organized his placement in a house for catechumens, a closed institute intended for the conversion to Catholicism of young Jews, Muslims as well as non-Catholic Christians.
Grip and guilt
Through the journey of this young child, brutally locked overnight in the precepts of the Catholic religion, director Marco Bellucchio engages in a meticulous exploration of the reasons for this influence that goes far beyond the scope of his story. When he arrives at his new home, a young boy explains that he must adopt exemplary behavior if he wants to return to his family as soon as possible. A piece of advice that turns out to be a trap since it gives the appearance of a happy conversion and on the contrary reinforces the decision of the papal authorities to remove the child from his family.
Marco Bellucchio at the press conference on Wednesday. © David Rich
At the same time, the work of indoctrination is at work, based on a double spring: confinement and guilt. When he asks when he will be able to see his mother again, he is told that she is the one who will come and that he will have to "deserve it". As soon as he arrives, young Edgardo is explained, in front of a giant statue of Christ crucified on the cross, that the Jews killed Jesus.
One evening as if to absolve his sins, the young boy removes the nails from the hands and feet of the statue of the son of god, bringing him back to life during a phantasmagorical scene symbolizing little Edgardo's secret dream of fleeing his prison. But psychological indoctrination acts like a steamroller on the young boy's mind. When, exceptionally, an external element disturbs the tranquility of the teaching, Edouardo is taken aside. "Nothing happened, nothing happened," he is immediately repeated.
The Edgardo Mortara Mystery
Eduardo's story is exceptional in more ways than one. By his media coverage first of all because his parents have not stopped fighting against the papal authorities to recover their child, mobilizing the liberal press which seizes the case to create a national scandal. The affair became a symbol of resistance to the Inquisition, which further stiffened the position of Pope Pius XI, who was determined to apply religious dogmas to the letter and maintain his power. This case was put forward because it took a "political" turn, said Marco Bellocchio, Wednesday, at the press conference of the film, recalling that it coincides with the "dislocation of the Papal State".
This historical context, intrinsically linked to the Mortara affair, is illustrated by the structure of the film, which rests on three pillars: the kidnapping in 1858, the trial in 1860, made possible by the nationalist seizure of power in Bologna and finally the conquest of Rome in 1870.
Another particular element and not the least, the trajectory of Edgardo Mortara who, despite this immeasurable ordeal, will become a priest and will remain until his death a fervent Catholic, away from his family. Marco Bellocchio skillfully uses the mystery surrounding the psychology of the character throughout the film. Is he pretending? Is he in a protective reflex or a victim of Stockholm syndrome? Throughout the story, the character fascinates and questions.
Serial conversions
Although it presents many peculiarities, the Mortara case is not an isolated event. "There have been many, many cases, hundreds since the 1,500s due to Jewish families on Shabbat needing to have a Catholic servant," the director explains. Numerous works by historians confirm that many other cases of forced conversion took place, favored by the context of strong discrimination against Jews.
In the Morena case, the maid claims during the trial to have baptized little Edgardo when he was ill. The dying believer she would have performed this gesture to prevent him from sinking into limbo, according to the widespread belief at the time that only his conversion was able to save his soul.
These secret conversions, practiced in the name of religious convictions, were used by the authorities as leverage to push Jewish families to marry the Catholic religion, the only way to get their child back. An option fiercely opposed by the Mortara family, who have never agreed to choose between their child and their religion.
Anticlerical fire?
Marco Bellocchio explains that he discovered the fate of Edgardo Mortara in the work "of a very Catholic and conservative author," Vittorio Messori, "who defended the reasons that pushed the pope to separate him from his family." The film project, originally titled "The Conversion" gradually took a critical turn as evidenced by its final title. This highly publicized case unleashed passions, generating many accounts of the facts, sometimes contradictory, between which it was necessary to sort.
"We were lucky to be able to 'work on direct sources'," explains Susanna Nicchiarelli, co-writer of the project. We had the testimonies of the trial and in particular that of Mariana Mortara, the mother, who described in detail the whole first part of the film, the arrival of the police, the fact that they ask the names of the children... It allowed us to choose between a lot of elements that really happened."
It then remained to imagine the intimacy of the characters, an aspect on which very little information was available, explains Marco Bellocchio, who highlighted the contradictions of Edgardo Mortara and the suffering that results from them. This is not the filmmaker's first stab against the dogmas of the Catholic Church. His film "My Mother's Smile" in particular, selected at Cannes in 2002, was attacked by several bishops and banned in the approximately 1,100 cinemas owned by the Vatican in Italy.
If he recognizes a natural sympathy for the child torn from his family, Marco Bellocchio refutes the fact that "Rapito" is an anticlerical work. "This is not a film against the pope or the Catholic Church but against intolerance," he insists.
"Little Edgardo was never mistreated, on the contrary, he received extremely benevolent attention. He was never beaten or punished and the pope wanted to protect him from the beginning by granting him an annual pension for his studies," he stressed, describing the boy as "a lifeline" in a collapsing universe. "When someone, like a dictator, doesn't want to lose power, he prefers to go all the way to the fall. This is the case of Pius IX who says no, I will not give up little Edgardo."
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