The Perspective Vaires With What You Bring To The Table

There's a sequence in Duck You Sucker where a man in a black trenchcoat and large hat is walked off a train and in front of a firing squad. He's a tall thin man, with a long nose. The coat is ripped off him, revealing the same uniform as the men in the firing squad. He's spun around and summarily shot in the back.

The commentary track says Leone selected the actor because he strongly resembled a young Mussolini, and Italian audiences in the early '70s would get a bit of a kick out of seeing "Mussolini" shot for desertion.

I like knowing what Leone was going for. The scene works towards the purpose I think he was aiming for even if you don't know that, but knowing who the man was intended to represent adds an extra level to it. A touch of dark humor.

Even so, I guess the audience will always take what's relevant or notable to them from a work. I never would have realized who it was supposed to be on my own, but even knowing what Leone meant, my reaction is still the same. I'm curious. Why was he deserting? Did he believe they were going to lose, that he'd die horribly in the process? Or was he leaving because he couldn't be a part of the acts the military was conducting (though maybe he didn't want to be a part of him because he knew how much mercy the soldiers would receive, which is to say, none)? Maybe it was more mundane. His mother was sick, perhaps. Or maybe he was a spy, though I doubt it based on his posture.

But in a movie were people act out of revenge, greed, idealism, cruelty, and everything else, I couldn't help wondering what drove him to try and escape.

That and why he and the Strangers from Dark City had the same tailor.