With the sudden rise of political assassinations in America—such as the Israeli embassy workers in DC and the United Healthcare CEO—and the disturbing support they have received from ideological extremists, we might soon need someone like Gen. Carlo Alberto dalla Chiesa. The senior officer in Italy’s Carabinieri (their military police with domestic jurisdiction) strategized the defeat of the Red Brigades and intended to employ similar tactics against the Mafia in Palermo. He was great for Italy, but came to a tragic end. The contemporary parallels are also tragic, but the Carabinieris’ service is edifyingly instructive in creator-director Lucio Pellegrini’s eight-episode The General’s Men, which premiers today on MHz Choice.
As dalla Chiesa explains midway through the series, he has only known war during his adult life. First, he served in the Army, but defected to the Resistance during WWII. Enlisting in the Carabinieri after the War, he waged a losing battle against the Mafia in Sicily before his appointment to head a new anti-terrorism task force to combat the Marxist Red Brigades’ reign of terror.
Some of his methods seem self-evident now, but at the time, they were considered radical by Italian cops. For instance, he recruited Corporals who looked like deadbeat student hippies instead of Corporals, even including a woman. Gone were their standard issue Fiats. He also played some bold gambits, like recruiting the former Liberation theology missionary Silvano Girotto, celebrated by the left as “The Machine Gun Friar,” to serve as an undercover plant. The Red Brigade were not amused, which entailed escalating danger for dalla Chiesa and his unit.
Everyone has heard of the Mafia, but Americans are woefully ignorant of the Red Brigades. Frankly, this series serves as a decent introduction to the violence and fanaticism of the terrorist group. Although the Corporals often express sympathy for the legitimate workers’ complaints the Brigades exploit (largely being working-class themselves), their terrorism is never presented in justifiable terms. In fact, it is often portrayed as quite sudden, brutal, and shocking.
Indeed, this is a terrific period piece that impeccably recreates the look and over-heated tenor of the 1970’s. Aptly, dalla Chiesa’s loyal lieutenant, Nicola Amato asserts during his voice-overs, the 1980s only really properly started in Italy with 1982, at which point the Brigade’s terrorism finally crested. Unfortunately, for dalla Chiesa, it would be a case out of the frying pan, into the fire.
Essentially, The General’s Men is three parts historical procedural and one part passion play—since we know from the prologue dalla Chiesa’s story ends with tears. However, it is all played with conviction by a large ensemble cast that completely look their parts, often in very uncomfortable ways (involving humiliating hair-styles and textiles that breath poorly).
Arguably, The General’s Men might have been even more effective as a tighter six episodes, but it always viscerally transports viewers to a very specific and extremely dangerous time in 20th Century Italian history. Considering how Pellegrini depicts both the Red Brigades and the Mafia (who acknowledge their commonalities and common foe), most viewers could very well find it miraculous Italy survived as a functionally governing democracy. Highly recommended, The General’s Men starts streaming today (5/27) on MHz Choice.
