Il cattivo poeta: D'Annunzio's Final Years Become a Cinematic Biopic

Gianluca Jodice's debut feature film "Il cattivo poeta" arrives in Italian theaters on May 20, 2021, distributed by 01Distribution. The movie focuses on Gabriele D'Annunzio's last years (1936–1938), portraying the poet as a decadent recluse in his luxurious Vittoriale estate, likened to a vampire or Nosferatu. The plot intertwines D'Annunzio's story with that of Gianni Comini, a young Fascist federal (played by Francesco Patané) sent to spy on the poet for Mussolini. Sergio Castellitto stars as D'Annunzio, describing the poet as a misunderstood genius, loved like a rockstar in life but maligned after death by intellectuals like Elsa Morante and Pier Paolo Pasolini. The film marks the first time cinema has been allowed inside the Vittoriale, the monumental complex designed by architect Giancarlo Maroni between 1921 and 1938 on Lake Garda. Jodice explains his choice of subject by recalling D'Annunzio's self-imposed isolation, perversions, obsessions, and cocaine use, and notes the title comes from a self-deprecating phrase in one of the poet's letters. The film is described as philological, heavily relying on D'Annunzio's own words, and explores themes of national decline, generational conflict, and ideological doubt.