The film revolves around a Contessa, in 1866 Venice during the Third Italian War of Independence, who falls for an Austrian officer amidst a tumultuous period in Europe’s history as she is also connected to those working in the Italian resistance. It is a film that explores an affair that would have repercussions during an intense conflict where a Contessa and this Austrian officer both desire a world without war, politics, and social standings. Yet, they would endure a reality that proves to be fatal for both of them as the film’s screenplay by Luchino Visconti and Suso Cecchi d’Amico is largely told from the perspective of Contessa Livia Serpieri (Alida Villa) who is attending an opera in Venice with her husband in Count Serpieri (Heinz Moog), who has been supporting the Austrians, where a protest led by her cousin and revolutionary Marchese Roberto Ussoni (Massimo Girotti) has caused a ruckus. There, she would meet the young Austrian officer Lieutenant Franz Mahler (Farley Granger) who has a post in Venice where is challenged to a duel against Ussoni.
Ussoni would be exiled from Venice where Livia gets to know Lt. Mahler as they would also fall in love where they would keep their affair a secret until Lt. Mahler suddenly leaves with Livia suspecting that there are other lovers. Yet, the war would intensify with Ussoni returning from exile as Count Serpieri and Livia would provide funds for him while they would stay up north to be away from the conflict. The script also play into the chaos of Livia trying to hide her affair though people including her maid Laura (Rina Morelli) know about the affair and its dangers. Especially in the third act it relates to the consequences of their affair with Lt. Mahler and the effects of the war.
Visconti’s direction is grand in the way he presents the film such as the opening scene at the Le Fenice opera house where Giuseppe Verdi’s Il Trovatore is performed where Visconti’s usage of the wide and medium shots play into the scope of the Venetian building. Shot on locations in Rome and Venice including studios on those locations, Visconti creates these compositions that do have this tone as if he is creating a painting in some of the shots he made while the opening scene at Le Fenice is lively in the way the Italians react toward the Austrians. It is a lavish opening sequence that helps establish the conflict that is happening as well as the role that Livia is in as she a woman of stature and importance due to whom she is married. Visconti’s close-ups and medium shots help play into the intimacy of a room as well as the interaction between the characters. Even in scenes at Venice at night where Livia and Lt. Mahler are walking around the canals as it would be this moment that would make the two connect over the fallacies of war as well as their longing for each other. Visconti’s direction also play into this growing disconnect between those who are rich and what is happening among those in Italy who are not fond of the Austrians in this conflict that is brewing.
The film’s second half has some grand set pieces such as the Battle of Custoza where the Italians become overwhelmed by the Austrian forces despite claims that the Italians were winning. Yet, it is about what is happening outside of the battlefield, where Livia must watch from afar as she deals with her own actions due to her affair with Lt. Mahler whom she had just seen some days ago. Even as the events in the third act has Visconti putting a lot of detail for the scenes in Verona where the Austrians are preparing to leave but also get drunk and such as it is not a place for Livia to be in. Especially as she is forced to see what her own actions in trying to help her cousin would do as well as what Lt. Mahler had done. Its ending is not just about death but also anguish in a woman who had given up everything for love only to create more chaos during a tumultuous conflict. Overall, Visconti crafts an enchanting and riveting film about an Italian Contessa’s tumultuous affair with an Austrian officer in mid-19th Century Italy.
Cinematographers G.R. Aldo, Robert Krasker, and Giuseppe Rotunno do incredible work with the film’s Technicolor photography with the richness of the daytime exteriors at the villa in the North of Italy as well as the scenes set in Venice with much of the work done by Aldo and Krasker with Rotunno shooting the film’s ending. Editor Mario Serandrei does excellent work with the editing as it is straightforward in its cutting as well as using rhythmic cuts to play into some of the action including fast-cuts in some of the battle scenes Production designer Ottavio Scotti and set decorator Gino Brosio do amazing work with the look of the homes that Livia lives in including her villa near Custoza and the apartment in Venice where Lt. Mahler stayed at. Costume designers Marcel Escoffier and Piero Tosi do phenomenal work with the costumes in the design of the gowns that Livia wears that plays into the feel of the times as well as the Austrian uniforms that Lt. Mahler wears.
The sound work of Aldo Calpini and Vittorio Trentino do superb work with the way cannons and gunfire sound up close and from afar in the battle scenes as well as the sparse sounds of scenes set in Venice. The film’s music by Anton Bruckner, with adaptation by Nino Rota, is brilliant for its bombastic music score with its orchestral flourishes as well as the usage of Giuseppe Verdi’s Il Trovatore for the film’s opening opera scene.
The film’s wonderful ensemble cast feature some notable small roles from Ernst Nadherny as an Austrian general in Verona, Christian Marquand as a Bohemian officer, Sergio Fantoni as a farmer who lives near Count Serpieri’s villa, and Marcella Mariani in a fantastic small role as a prostitute named Clara that Livia meets late in the film. Rina Morelli is excellent as Livia’s maid Laura who aids her in various affairs although she disapproves of Livia’s affair with Lt. Mahler despite her reluctance to hide the affair. Heinz Moog is excellent as Count Serpieri as Livia’s husband who is supportive of the Austrians to maintain his social status until the war goes into chaos where he reluctantly supports Ussoni’s group as Bruno Persa dubs him. Massimo Girotti is brilliant as Livia’s cousin Marchese Roberto Ussoni as an Italian Nationalist figure who is trying to stage a revolution against the Austrians where he would be exiled for a period as he hopes for Livia’s help financially so he can overthrow the Austrians.
Farley Granger is brilliant as Lieutenant Franz Mahler as this Austrian military officer who is filled with charm but also a sense of duty where he falls for Livia hoping for a life outside of war. While Granger is dubbed by Enrico Maria Salerno, Granger still maintains this sense of beauty and weariness of a man tired of his duties only to then succumb to his own faults that would unravel everything around him. Finally, there’s Alida Valli in a tremendous performance as Contessa Livia Serpieri as a woman who is fascinated by this Austrian officer whom she would fall for as she hopes to escape a loveless marriage while also wanting to support her cousin. Valli maintains this sense of regality as a woman that wants love but also must contend with the fact that she plays a small role in this growing conflict that is happening in Italy where she becomes desperate and lost as it is one of Valli’s finest performances of her career.
Senso is a spectacular film by Luchino Visconti that features a great leading performance from Alida Valli. Along with its supporting cast, grand visuals, a sumptuous music soundtrack, and its study of love and lust during one of Europe’s most tumultuous conflicts. It is a film that explores a love affair between two different people that would create chaos during a time of war as well as revelations of what this affair would cost. In the end, Senso is a sensational film by Luchino Visconti.
Luchino Visconti Films: (Obsessione) – (Giorni di gloria) – (La Terra Firma) – (Appunti su un fatto di cronaca) – (We, the Women) – (Bellisima) – White Nights (1957 film) - Rocco and His Brothers - (Boccaccio ’70-Il lavoro) – The Leopard - Sandra – (The Stranger (1967 film)) – The Witches-The Witch Burned Alive - The Damned - Death in Venice - (Alla ricerca di Tadzio) – (Ludwig) – (Conversation Piece) – The Innocent
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