One of the bravest works in the history of cinema, shaped by the pursuit of word and image, was in the midst of the second great disaster when the world fell on the curtain in 1940. Charlie Chaplin used voice and language as a weapon, surpassing the most beloved character of the silent film era; but this weapon had laughter at its tip, not bullets. Written, directed and portrayed by Chaplin in two separate characters, this work raises a voice that glorifies man, on the contrary, at a time when fascism and racism are trying to reduce man with their blind power. The story revolves around two astonishingly similar men: one is a megalomaniac dictator who rules his country by oppression, the other is a barber who tries to live his life in a small and ordinary shop, maintaining a pure and innocent view of the world. The contrast between these two figures forms the film's spirit, which is both humorous and profoundly moving. With the figure he caricatures, Chaplin is actually holding up a much larger mirror to history. It takes rare ingenuity to manage to show how ridiculous and how dangerous power intoxication, propaganda and fear-based management can be at the same time. The film establishes this balance almost without breaking it. While some scenes make you laugh, when you think about what the gears turning in the background mean, that laughter suddenly stops. The character Hannah, portrayed by Paulette Goddard, symbolizes the hope and resilience of ordinary people under oppression. As the narrative progresses, the film presents itself to the audience not merely as a story, but as a reminder and a call. Chaplin's speech at the end of the film, looking directly at the camera, is one of the most powerful moments in the history of cinema, which both transcends time and still strikes with a fresh harshness today. Although it was taken more than eighty years ago, The Great Dictator feels like it is speaking directly to the moment we are in today, and not to the past when watched today. This is a sign of a truly universal work.