Valentina Lainati in Benito (1993)

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Antonio Banderas makes an unlikely but surprisingly convincing Il Duce in Benito (1993), a made-for-TV dramatic biopic of the Italian Fascist’s early life. The square-jawed dictator who would align himself with Hitler is portrayed here as an indecisive teen whose experiences as a vagrant, a Socialist newspaper editor, an anti-cleric, and a novelist helped to shape his worldview. Anna Geislerová and Valentina Lainati appear as willing women who respond to the charismatic leader’s fiery rhetoric and ruddy appearance with an urge to peel off their tight-fitting dresses.