The Bad Poet

1936 marks a turning point as Giovanni Comini, Francesco Patanè, a fervent supporter of the Fascist Party, is promoted to the position of federal secretary of Brescia. Tasked with a delicate mission by Achille Starace, he must leverage his poetic sensibility to win over the great poet Gabriele D’Annunzio and spy on him for the regime. The Vate, who has long resisted Fascism, has retreated to the Vittoriale, living in seclusion and surrounded by his loyal companions Luisa Elena Bucci and Amélie Clotilde Courau. Now aged and memory-filled, he moves through his days with a wary quiet, clinging to memories of past glories and a troubling reliance on cocaine. Yet there remains a surprising warmth: he grows fond of Comini, even as he understands the young man’s mission, and the recruit himself begins to find the poet increasingly compelling.

When the moment arrives for a bold political intervention, D’Annunzio asks Comini to arrange a meeting with Mussolini so he can urge the Duce to reconsider the push toward alliance with Hitler. Comini undertakes the task, but the effort proves fruitless. Parallel to this high-stakes political maneuver, Comini engages in a passionate liaison with Lina Lidiya Liberman. Lina’s world is shaken when her anti-fascist half-brother is arrested, and she ultimately dies by her own hand, an event that casts a long shadow over Comini and deepens his growing doubt about fascism.

The drama continues to unfold in 1937, a year that brings both symbolic and personal turbulence. With the death of Guglielmo Marconi, D’Annunzio is appointed ex officio president of the Accademia d’Italia; the poet, now visibly unstable, voices warnings about the dangers of the regime’s path. He manages to confront the Duce at Verona Porta Nuova Station on his return from Germany, trying to alert him to the perils of an alliance with Hitler. The meeting is bluntly dismissed by the regime, and D’Annunzio’s disillusionment deepens into a mental and physical breakdown. He bids farewell to Comini, asserting that opposing the coming war is his duty and that he will resume his stand when he goes to Rome to accept the academy presidency.

Back in Brescia, Comini’s dossiers reveal the growing unease among people about the Hitler–Mussolini alliance, and his revelations earn him a sharp rebuke from Starace. The regime’s discipline tightens as Comini remains a thorn in their side, yet his resolve to shed light on the public mood persists, even as he faces professional consequences.

A year later, the life of the poet ends in unclear circumstances, and his funeral—attended by the Duce himself—becomes a charged tableau of loyalties and loss. Luisa passes a peacock feather that once belonged to the Vate to Comini as a symbol of their friendship, a memento that carries both affection and tragedy. In the aftermath, Comini is demoted for his opposition to the alliance, and Luisa along with Amélie must leave the Vittoriale forever, their long association with D’Annunzio ending in exile.

The story unfolds as a quiet meditation on how art and charisma intersect with political power, and how one young fascist’s conscience is pulled between duty to a regime and the pull of a brilliant, rebellious poet. It’s a portrait of loyalty tested by truth, the weight of memory, and the costs of choosing a moral path in a time of looming conflict.

Last Updated: October 01, 2025 at 10:25