The complexities of former Prime Minister Dom Mintoff’s character will make it to the cinema screen next month. Kurt Sansone sits with filmmaker Pierre Ellul for a preview of the documentary.
Sociologist Mark-Anthony Falzon recently wrote in his column in The Sunday Times that former Labour Prime Minister Dom Mintoff was “loved and despised in equal measure”.
What I hope to achieve is for people to look at him from a different place
It was an obvious but accurate characterisation of a man who dominated Maltese politics for more than half a century, shaping the lives of many people in good and bad ways.
Many people have a story to tell about their encounter with Mr Mintoff, an incident to recount or a memory to recall; but the image il-Perit, as he is known, conjures is a contradictory ensemble of adulation and hate.
“Every devotional shrine had its obverse, every ‘Ma Tagħmlu Xejn’ song its irreverent counterpart, usually some vulgar ditty,” Prof. Falzon wrote.
Elderly people in Mr Mintoff’s hometown of Cospicua, who witnessed his rise from a poor boy like them playing in the slums to becoming a dominant political leader, even coined the term Socialist Mintoffian to describe their political beliefs.
But this cult status is despised by many others, who see in Mr Mintoff the makings of a despot, getting his way no matter what, and ready to pick a fight almost at any cost.
In this black-and-white picture aptly described by University lecturer Oliver Friggieri last month as the “entrenched feeling of duality” so characteristic of the Maltese psyche, another man has stepped forward to tell Mr Mintoff’s story.
Filmmaker Pierre Ellul, 38, has just completed a 67-minute-long documentary on Mr Mintoff that will soon be shown on the big screen. In his own words, Mr Ellul hopes “to shorten the distance between the extremes” that characterise any debate about Mr Mintoff.
“What I hope to achieve is for people to stop to think and maybe look at him from a different place from where they usually stand,” Mr Ellul says of his venture that has been six years in the making.
The documentary, Dear Dom, takes the shape of a letter addressed to Mr Mintoff.
It tellingly starts with a telex Mr Mintoff, who was then deputy prime minister, wrote from London to Labour Prime Minister Paul Boffa to inform him that he disagreed with the way negotiations with Britain on the Marshall Aid programme were being handled.
The message was to mark the beginning of the saga that saw Mr Mintoff resign his deputy prime ministerial post and eventually oust Sir Paul from leader of the Labour Party in 1949.
Mr Ellul admits the documentary, which covers Mr Mintoff’s political career and persona, is not a comprehensive view of the man. “For that you’d probably need a TV series of some 12 hours if not more to cover the complexities of the man.”
Despite being a product of the politically turbulent 1980s, remembering the latter part of Mr Mintoff’s career, Mr Ellul has transcended the barriers that sharply divide the political persona in two distinct and radically opposing blocs.
“I look at the effect Dom Mintoff had on Malta and the Maltese people and how he shaped the country,” he says.
The story is told by ordinary people whose paths crossed Mr Mintoff’s, or who lived the significant battles he fronted as leader of the Labour Party against the Church and the professional classes.
The spark that led to the documentary was ignited six years ago as article in The Times
The spark that led to the documentary ignited six years ago was an article (see left) on Mr Mintoff written by Steve Mallia in The Times to coincide with the former prime minister’s 90th birthday.
Mr Ellul says he was fascinated by reactions the piece – which contained the personal reflections of a journalist who had got to know Mr Mintoff – had elicited.
“It was 2006 and the man still stirred so much emotion in people, negative and positive,” he adds. The seeds of the documentary were sown and a six-year journey, not shorn of difficulties, started.
Mr Ellul pauses when asked how, as a filmmaker, he views Mr Mintoff. It is a significant pause, probably breathing space many others would require before describing the Mintoff they know.
“It’s like opening Pandora’s Box,” he says, noting that the documentary focuses on particular stories that reflect the man and the way he operated.
The documentary, produced by Falkun Films, will be released in cinemas in March and promises to be a rollercoaster of emotions.
It portrays, possibly for the first time on one reel, the Mintoff people know and the Mintoff they choose to ignore, whether the glasses they wear are tinted red or blue.
ksansone@timesofmalta.com