(Italian historical film with subtitles, 134 min, 2023)
Directed by:
Marco Bellocchio
Cast:
Paolo Pierobon, Fausto Russo Alesi, Barbara Ronchi, Enea Sala, Leonardo Maltese
In 1851, Edgardo Mortara, the sixth child of a Jewish family, was born in Bologna. The infant became seriously ill and unwell at a few months old, and their Christian servant, believing that the child was dying, secretly baptised the infant so that when he died he could go to the afterlife with a pure spirit. The child later recovered, but years later the fact of the baptism was discovered. In those days, it was forbidden for a Jewish family to raise a Catholic child, so Pope Pius IX arranged for the boy to be taken from the family and raised in the Vatican. The desperate parents tried their best to get their child back.
The film is based on a true story: the case was one of the biggest world sensations of its time, with Franz Joseph I and Napoleon III, among others, intervening on behalf of the child and his family - to no avail.
Age limit: 12 years
Entrance fee: 1300 Ft