There's a flashback in which a black shirt orders the band to start playing a song, and everyone stops dancing. Athos, defiantly, grabs a woman and starts dancing much to the changrin of the black shirts.
Pardon my ignorance, but what was the music the black shirts ordered to be played? And why did Athos dancing cause such a reaction?
This world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel.
Don't worry. It is not ignorance. It is not easy to understand unless you know about Italy and the fascists under Mussolini. They play "Giovinezza" (Italian for "youth"), the official hymn of the Italian National Fascist Party, regime, and army. It was the unofficial national anthem of Italy between 1924 and 1943.
"Giovinezza" was played with the slightest pretext at sporting events, films, and other public gatherings, and often carried adverse (even violent) consequences for those who did not join in. Even foreigners were roughed up by blackshirts if they failed to remove their hats and show respect when "Giovinezza" was played.
That's why what Athos does is so defiant.
Glad to have helped! This is one of my favorite films, along with "The Conformist", another Bertolucci gem.
Thank you for the explanation. That certainly helps me appreciate the movie even more, although it makes Athos' betrayal even more incomprehensible.
This world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel.