In this episode, we turn to Vittorio De Sica’s The Garden of the Finzi-Continis, an Oscar-winning adaptation of Giorgio Bassani’s semi-autobiographical novel. Set in Ferrara during the late 1930s, the film follows an aristocratic Jewish family who retreat behind the walls of their estate as Mussolini’s racial laws begin to strip away Jewish rights. Their tennis courts and libraries become a fragile refuge, a self-made prison that they believe will protect them from the rising tide of fascism.

De Sica contrasts the cloistered elegance of the Finzi-Continis with the creeping reality outside: Jewish students expelled from schools and libraries, neighbors turning away, the erosion of rights rationalized as “not so bad.” The story unfolds in a haze of memory, where romance and class denial collide with the blunt fact of deportation.

We discuss the tension between Bassani’s novel and De Sica’s film, the controversy over its softened love story, and how the movie reflects Italy’s own reckoning with its fascist past. Alongside the tragic ending, we explore iconic scenes: Giorgio’s father insisting “we can still enjoy our basic rights” even as they vanish; the Finzi-Continis continuing a funeral procession while air raid sirens wail; and the final knock on the door that ends their illusion of safety.

What does it mean to live under fascism when it feels distant, then suddenly arrives at your door? How does memory, denial, and class privilege shape survival? This film asks those questions—and shows how quickly the walls we build for safety can become cages.