Alexander the Great

A tale of socialism first deformed and then destroyed by an authoritarian leader, set in Greece a few years after the Paris Commune. Its Alexander is a bandit who became a popular folk hero. Following his escape from prison, he kidnaps some English aristocrats and demands as ransom that the rich local landowners hand over their property to the peasants. When a commune is set up, socialist ideals are betrayed by internal struggles as Italian anarchists, agrarian communists and radical extremists jostle for supremacy. A relentless demonstration of stylistic brilliance, it leaves one wondering why the parable is not more challenging and its point less predictable.