The astronauts travel in a "Barli-type" rocket that looks like a vintage espresso machine.
The film's most striking feature is its meticulous recreation of Fascist-era filmmaking. From the grainy black-and-white cinematography to the bombastic, "staccato" narration typical of historical propaganda, Guzzanti captures the era's visual and auditory language with precision. Fascisti su Marte (2006)
Upon landing, they encounter "Mimimmi"—sentient rocks that refuse to acknowledge the Fascist authority, leading to a hilariously futile "war." The astronauts travel in a "Barli-type" rocket that
Originally conceived as a series of sketches for the television show L'Ottavo Nano , the film is presented as a "recovered" newsreel from the Istituto Luce , documenting a fictional 1939 mission where a small group of Blackshirts attempts to colonize Mars for the Italian Empire. The Aesthetic of Parody directed by Corrado Guzzanti
The humor stems from the clash between this epic, imperialist tone and the pathetic reality of the mission:
(2006), directed by Corrado Guzzanti, is a satirical masterpiece that uses the aesthetics of 1930s propaganda to skewer both historical and contemporary Italian political rhetoric.
While the surface-level humor targets the historical Fascist regime, the essay's core argument lies in its critique of modern Italian politics. Released during a period of significant political polarization in Italy, the film acts as a warning against the resurgence of populism and the "empty" language of power.