On Tuesday, Sept. 24, the Guild Cinema in Nob Hill screened a new restoration of the 1942 Italian film “We the Living.” The film, directed by Goffredo Alessandrini, is an adaptation of Ayn Rand’s 1936 debut novel of the same name. Clocking in at almost three hours, “We the Living” is an epic love story set amidst the political turmoil of the post-revolution USSR.
It chronicles the love triangle that forms between three protagonists: Kira, a young engineering student who refuses to let the state mold her values; Andrei, a fellow student who is an ardent communist and a member of the Soviet secret police; and Leo, a free spirit who is wanted by the government.
The three protagonists’ intense passions and clashing values only escalate, until the film’s tragic conclusion puts an end to the cycle of secrecy and betrayal that has been created by the fraught political climate the characters exist in.
The new restoration of the film was presented by producer Duncan Scott, along with Henry Mark Holzer. The latter, along with his late wife Erika Holzer, was an associate of Rand and rediscovered the film, leading to its American premiere in 1988 — almost four decades after its original Italian release.
“Scott devoted 2 ½ years to removing dust, scratches and other flaws” from the original film negative, according to the film’s rerelease website.
Rand came of age during the Russian Revolution, and her opposition to the Bolsheviks formed her steadfast belief in the rights of the individual, according to the Ayn Rand Institute.
In 1926, Rand emigrated to America, where, over the next several decades, she became a renowned writer. Rand wrote the seminal epics “The Fountainhead” and “Atlas Shrugged” and developed her own philosophical system called Objectivism.
The core tenet of Objectivism is that it is “based not on religious faith or on majority opinion, but on the factual requirements of human survival,” according to the Ayn Rand Institute.
Produced during World War II, “We the Living” was the highest-grossing film in Italy in 1942. While the film was made in line with Rand’s vehement anti-communist ideology, it also takes a stance on another contemporary political issue: Italian fascism and the leadership of Benito Mussolini.
The film conveys the idea that totalitarianism is wrong, no matter which side of the political spectrum it falls under. Thus, “We the Living” exists in a unique space in which it is both a conservative and progressive work.
Due to the film’s anti-fascist stance, it was banned and ordered to be destroyed by Mussolini, according to the film’s rerelease website. When required to submit the film’s negatives to the government, the filmmakers handed over different negatives, and instead hid “We the Living” — condemning it to obscurity for decades.
After the film, Scott and Holzer held a Q&A session with audience members. Holzer, who was also a visiting professor of law at the University of New Mexico in 1993, provided a deeper look into the decades-long journey to introduce “We the Living” to American audiences.
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He described how the original negatives were rediscovered by him and his wife: An employee at a film studio near Rome opened the trunk of a Fiat where there were film cans that held nitrate film, Holzer said.
Nitrate is a highly flammable type of film stock that many early films were shot on. It was a big deal in cinema until the 1950s, Holzer said.
A recording of the entire Q&A session has been uploaded to the official Duncan Scott Productions YouTube page.
Thanks to the hard work of Scott and the Holzers, film lovers can now experience “We the Living” how it was meant to be seen: on the big screen, restored to all of its original glory.
Elijah Ritch is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. They can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on X @dailylobo
