The Flowers of St. Francis

Based on the novels Little Flowers of St. Francis and The Life of Brother Juniper, Francesco, giullare di Dio (The Flowers of St. Francis) is a film featuring a series of stories about the life of St. Francis and his followers doing deeds in their journey. Directed by Roberto Rossellini and screenplay by Rossellini and Federico Fellini with contributions from Father Antonio Lisandrini and Father Felix Morlion, the film is an exploration of faith and spiritual enlightenment that follows the teachings of St. Francis and his own journey into his devotion to God. Starring Brother Nazario Gerardi, Brother Severino Pisacane, Esposito Bonaventura, Arabella Lemaitre, and Aldo Fabrizi. Francesco giullare di Dio is a majestic and touching film from Roberto Rossellini.

Set around the 12th/13th Century, the film follows the life and works of St. Francis of Assisi (Brother Nazario Gerardi) who walks around the world with his disciples as they would perform small miracles and such during the course of their time at a village where they build a home. Through a series of short segments and vignettes, the film showcases what St. Francis and some of his disciples would do to help spread their word of peace and generosity. The film’s screenplay opens with St. Francis and his disciples walking around the rain as they find shelter where they eventually build a small house for themselves at a village. The segments which are introduced with intertitle cards as it play into moments of St. Francis and his disciples doing whatever they can to help out people whether it’s St. Francis comforting a man with leprosy, the adventures of Brother Ginepro (Brother Severino Pisacane) in his attempt to do good deeds including meeting a noted tyrant (Aldo Fabrizi), and other moments to play involving St. Francis’ teachings.

Roberto Rossellini’s direction is very simple as he doesn’t really go for anything stylistic in its compositions in order to create something that does feel real. Shot on location at the Italian countryside near Rome and Bracciano, Rossellini chooses to shot in places where it does feel like a world that is very simple whether it’s people farming or doing things in the country life during this period between the end of the 12th Century and the early years of the 13th Century. While there are some wide shots of the locations, Rossellini would favor more intimate shots in close-ups and medium shots as it relates to the plight of St. Francis and his disciples as they try to help anyone or resolve some form of conflict that is looming nearby. Even as the film opens and closes with St. Francis and his disciples going into places to find a home base or something as it all play into everything St. Francis wants to do to help anyone and remain humble about it. Overall, Rossellini creates an engaging and mesmerizing film about a man and his followers trying to do what is good for the world and help people during troubled times.

Cinematographer Otello Martelli does brilliant work with the film’s black-and-white photography from the naturalistic look of the daytime exterior scenes in the sun to the scenes set at night with its usage of artificial light for its interiors. Editor Jolanda Benvenuti does excellent work with the editing as it is straightforward with some transition wipes for stylistic reasons. Production designer Virgilio Marchi and set decorator Giuseppe Rissone do fantastic work with the design of the hut that the monks live in as well as some of the interiors of the houses of some of the locals.

Costume designers Marina Arcangeli and Ditta Peruzzi does nice work with the costumes from the robes of St. Francis and his disciples to the clothes that the nuns wear as well as the locals. The sound work of Eraldo Giordani and Raffaele Del Monte do superb work with the sound as it is mostly straightforward to capture the natural aspects of the location. The film’s music by Renzo Rossellini, with liturgical music chants by Father Enrico Buondonno, is wonderful as its usage of organs and string instruments play into the drama while the music chants add a serene yet evocative quality to play into St. Francis’ plight.

The film’s incredible cast which largely consists of non-professional actors include some notable small roles from Brother Nazareno, Brother Raffaele, and Brother Robert Sorrentino as a trio of monks, Arabella Lemaitre as a visiting head nun in St. Claire, and Esposito Bonaventura as an old man named Giovanni who would be a follower of St. Francis. Aldo Fabrizi is excellent in a small role as a tyrant whom Brother Ginepro tries to reason with while Brother Severino Pisacane is brilliant as the young Brother Ginerpo as a young monk trying to whatever he can to help people as well as deal with humility. Finally, there’s Brother Nazario Gerardi in a tremendous performance as St. Francis of Assisi as a monk who travels around the world in the hopes to spread messages of peace, love, and generosity to the poorest parts of the world as he maintains his humility as well as being humble knowing that he’s just a servant of God.

Francesco, giullare di Dio is a sensational film from Roberto Rossellini. Featuring a rapturous story told through a series of segments as well as powerful themes on faith and humanity. The film is definitely one of Rossellini’s finest films as it has elements of neorealism but without a sense of cynicism. In the end, Francesco, giullare di Dio is a phenomenal film from Roberto Rossellini.

Roberto Rossellini Films: (La Vispa Teresa) - (Desiderio) - (Paisan) - (L’Amore-Il Miracolo) - Rome, Open City - (Germany, Year Zero) - Stromboli - (Medico Condotto) - (The Seven Deadly Sins-Envie, L’Envy) - Machine to Kill Bad People) - Europe '51 - (We, the Women-Ingrid Bergman) – Journey to Italy - Fear (1954 film) - (Giovanna d’Arco al rogo) - (General della Rovere) - (Escape by Night) - (Viva l’Italia!) - (Vanina Vanini) - (Benito Mussolini) - (Ro.Go.Pa.G.-Illbatezza) - (The Carabineers) - (Rice University) - (Anno uno)

© thevoid99 2017

Fear (1954 film)

Based on the novel by Stefan Zweig, Fear is the story of an affair between a renowned scientist’s wife and another man where the latter’s former love threatens to expose them. Directed by Roberto Rossellini and screenplay by Rossellini, Sergio Amidei, and Franz von Treuberg, the film is an exploration of infidelity set in post-war Germany as it is shot on location in Munich. Starring Ingrid Bergman, Mathias Wieman, Renate Mannhardt, and Kurt Krueger. Fear is a compelling yet flawed film by Roberto Rossellini.

Set in post-war Germany, the film revolves the wife of a scientist who decides to end her affair with her lover in order to fix her marriage as she is then blackmailed by her lover’s former lover who threatens to tell the woman’s husband about the affair. It’s a film that plays into a woman coping with guilt as well as trying to move on from it yet there’s forces that want to destroy her. Much of it is told from her perspective in a film noir first-person narrative as Irene (Ingrid Bergman) copes with the guilt and shame of her infidelity as she has to deal with this woman named Johann Schultze (Renate Mannhardt) who has a grudge with Irene over the fact that she stole her lover Enrico (Kurt Krueger) from her. The film’s script plays into Irene trying to move on but the presence of Johann would add to her troubles as there’s more layers to the blackmail as it emerges but the outcome ends up being very predictable.

Roberto Rossellini’s direction is very intriguing for the way it plays into the world of infidelity in Germany where the country is starting to come out of the post-war era. Much of the compositions that Rossellini creates don’t just borrow from the world of film noir but also German Expressionism in terms of its images and moods. It plays into Irene’s own sense of paranoia and anguish with these intricate lighting schemes in the cinematography to add to that eerie mood. Rossellini’s usage of close-ups and medium shots also add to that sense of style that looms all over the film including shots set on location in West Berlin and other parts of Germany.

As much as Rossellini maintains that air of suspense for much of the film, things do start to fall apart in its third act as it relates to a minor plot twist and then comes its ending where it is a cop-out since there was so much invested into Irene’s own anguish and paranoia as there was only one logical conclusion. Instead, the ending strays into conventionalism as its ends up being unsatisfying. Despite its ending, Rossellini does still creates a very engaging suspense drama about a woman coping with her infidelity.

Cinematographers Carlo Carlini and Heinz Schnackertz do excellent work with the film‘s stylish black-and-white photography from the scenes set at night to the usage of lights and shadows for some of the film‘s interiors as it plays into the eerie mood of the film. Editors Iolanda Benveneuti and Walter Boos do terrific work with the editing in terms of its rhythmic cuts as well as knowing when not to cut in certain long takes as it adds to the air suspense in the film. The sound work of Carl Becker is superb for the way it plays into the suspense for some scenes set at the factory lab where Irene and her husband work at as well as a few scenes set in the city. The film’s music by Renzo Rossellini is fantastic for its usage of orchestral flourishes and bombast to play into the suspense as it features themes that help create a mood for a scene as Rossellini’s score is a major highlight of the film.

The film’s amazing cast includes some notable small roles from Gabriele Seitz and Elisabeth Wischert as Irene and Albert’s children and Klaus Kinski as a cabaret performer at a club Irene and Johann meets. Kurt Krueger is terrific as Enrico as Irene’s lover who has no clue about what Johann is doing while Mathias Wieman is excellent as Irene’s husband Albert as a renowned scientist who is freed from prison as he tries to comprehend Irene’s strange behavior. Renate Mannhardt is brilliant as Johann Schultze as Enrico’s former lover who stalks Irene as a woman who is tormented by what Irene has done to her but also has this dark edge that makes her very engaging to watch. Finally, there’s Ingrid Bergman in a sensational performance as Irene as this woman who decides to end her affair in order to fix her marriage as she deals with a jealous woman and cope with the guilt and shame that she caused as it is one of Bergman’s finest performances.

Fear is a stellar film from Roberto Rossellini that features a solid performance from Ingrid Bergman. Despite its conventional third act and ending, the film is still a fascinating noir film that plays into a woman coping with the guilt of infidelity and her attempts to move on. In the end, Fear is a superb film from Roberto Rossellini.

Roberto Rossellini Films: (La Vispa Teresa) - (Desiderio) - (Paisan) - (L’Amore-Il Miracolo) - Rome, Open City - (Germany Year Zero) - Stromboli - The Flowers of St. Francis - Europe '51 - (Medico Condotto) - (The Seven Deadly Sins-Envie, L’Envy) - (Machine to Kill Bad People) - (We, the Women-Ingrid Bergman) - Journey to Italy - (Giovanna d’Arco al rogo) - (General della Rovere) - (Escape by Night) - (Viva l’Italia!) - (Vanina Vanini) - (Benito Mussolini) - (Ro.Go.Pa.G.-Illbatezza) - (The Carabineers) - (Rice University) - (Anno uno)

© thevoid99 2015

Journey to Italy

Based on the novel Duo by Colette, Journey to Italy is the story of a couple traveling to Italy on a holiday as they cope with their disintegrating marriage. Directed by Roberto Rossellini and screenplay by Rossellini and Vitaliano Brancati, the film is an exploration of couple’s attempt to save their marriage on a vacation through countryside in Naples as they deal with themselves. Starring Ingrid Bergman, George Sanders, Maria Mauban, Anna Proclemer, and Leslie Daniels. Journey to Italy is an evocative film from Roberto Rossellini.

Set largely in Naples, the film explores a married couple traveling to the Italian city and its nearby surroundings hoping to save their marriage as they both cope with the loss of a friend and a villa they plan to sell. During the course of their Italian vacation, Alex (George Sanders) and Katherine Joyce (Ingrid Bergman) find themselves out of step with each other and in the activities they want to do. While it’s a story that doesn’t have much of a plot, it is about the slow disintegration of a marriage as it is told in the matter of days where Alex is fed up with Katherine’s obsession for museums and historical landmarks as it relates to a friend of theirs. Katherine feels that Alex has been spending too much time either working or socializing with their friends as the film’s script plays into the tension as much of the second act plays into the two spending time with other people. It then leads to this very dramatic third act where the two go to Pompeii where all of these emotions between the two finally come to ahead.

Roberto Rossellini’s direction is quite intoxicating for not just the usage of the different locations in Italy such as the island of Capri, Pompeii, and Naples but also in how it plays into a couple’s attempt to save their marriage in this beautiful country. Rossellini’s usage of wide and medium shots help play into the majestic look of the locations as well as the growing dissolution between Alex and Katherine. There aren’t a lot of close-ups except in certain locations of where Katherine goes including some of the ruins of Pompeii and the volcanic landscape nearby. Yet, there are moments where it adds to the sense of despair as well as scenes where Alex encounters temptation as he ponders whether or not he should make things worse. The film’s climax in Pompeii doesn’t just play into what Alex and Katherine discover but also questions about whether or not they should try to work it out or call it quits. Overall, Rossellini creates a compelling yet touching study about marriage and its complexities through a couple on vacation in Italy.

Cinematographer Enzo Serafin does excellent work with the film‘s black-and-white photography to play into some of the nighttime interior/exterior scenes set at night as well as some of the interiors of the museum and landmarks that Katherine goes to. Editor Iolanda Benvenuti does fantastic work with the editing as much of it is straightforward with some rhythmic cuts in the early scenes set on the road as well as in the film‘s climax at a ceremony in Naples. Production designer Piero Filippone does amazing work with the look of the villa and the rooms in the villa that Alex and Katherine live at. The sound work of Eraldo Giordani is superb for some of the moments that occur from usage of live music heard in the streets to some of the raucous moments in the city of Naples. The film’s music by Renzo Rossellini is brilliant for its orchestral-based score mixed in with traditional Italian folk music to play into the world of Italy as well as the lush string arrangements to play into the dramatic elements of the film.

The film’s terrific cast include some notable small roles from Leslie Daniels and Natalia Ray in their respective roles as friends Tony and Natalie Burton, Paul Muller as the villa house sitter Paul Dupont, Anna Proclemer as a young prostitute Alex picks up, and Maria Mauban as a friend of Alex and Katherine in Marie who tries to flirt with Alex. George Sanders is marvelous as Alex Joyce as a workaholic businessman who tries to move on from the death of a friend as he later goes on his own as he tries to ponder his own feelings about himself and his wife. Finally, there’s Ingrid Bergman in a remarkable performance as Katherine Joyce as a woman trying to cope with loss as well as a marriage that is disintegrating as she goes to various Italian landmarks in order to try and comprehend everything is happening to her and her marriage as it’s a very radiant performance from Bergman.

Journey to Italy is a spectacular film from Roberto Rossellini that features great performances from Ingrid Bergman and George Sanders. It’s a film that isn’t just a captivating drama that explores a couple coming apart but also a film that plays into people taking on two different journeys to find themselves in Italy. In the end, Journey to Italy is a phenomenal film from Roberto Rossellini.

Roberto Rossellini Films: (La Vispa Teresa) - (Desiderio) - (Paisan) - (L’Amore-Il Miracolo) - Rome, Open City - (Germany Year Zero) - Stromboli - The Flowers of St. Francis - Europe '51 - (Medico Condotto) - (The Seven Deadly Sins-Envie, L’Envy) - (Machine to Kill Bad People) - (We, the Women-Ingrid Bergman) - Fear (1954 film) - (Giovanna d’Arco al rogo) - (General della Rovere) - (Escape by Night) - (Viva l’Italia!) - (Vanina Vanini) - (Benito Mussolini) - (Ro.Go.Pa.G.-Illbatezza) - (The Carabineers) - (Rice University) - (Anno uno)

© thevoid99 2015

Europe '51

Directed by Roberto Rossellini and screenplay by Sandro de Feo, Mario Pannunzio, Ivo Perilli, and Brunello Rondi from a story by Rossellini, Europe ‘51 is the story of a wealthy woman who is certified insane after the death of young son as she tries to find redemption. The film is an exploration into grief as well as a woman coming to terms with her loss and the need to help others. Starring Ingrid Bergman, Alexander Knox, Sandro Franchina, Ettore Giannini, and Giulietta Masina. Europe ‘51 is an extraordinary and touching film from Roberto Rossellini.

The film is an exploration of a wealthy woman whose life crashes following the suicide attempt of her young son who would unfortunately die from that attempt as her grief forces her to try and help those who are suffering. It’s a story that plays into a woman who sees the world in a different light as she becomes concerned with those who are ill and those that need help as her husband is convinced that she’s having an affair or is becoming insane. The film’s script does play into a traditional structure in which the first act is about Irene (Ingrid Bergman) coping with her son’s suicide attempt and the reality about her sense of neglect towards him. The second act is about her encounter with the poor with the aid of her socialist cousin Andre (Ettore Giannini) as she would also meet a poor mother of six in Passerotto (Giulietta Masina). It then leads to this third act of not just self-realization but also about the world that Irene was once a part of.

Roberto Rossellini’s direction is quite mesmerizing in the way he captures a woman’s plight over her son’s death and the grief that would drive her to do something. Much of the film’s first act has this sense of artificiality and comfort in the atmosphere it’s in as it is shot in these more posh areas of room as the compositions has an air of style. Even in scenes such as Irene finding about her son’s fall from the stairs and the close-ups that Rossellini puts to play into the drama. By the film’s second and third act, the air of realism becomes prominent where Rossellini would shoot in these urban areas of Rome where he uses a lot of wide and medium shots to capture the look of the locations as well as Irene’s own broadening view of things.

Though her actions would cause confusion among a group of people including her husband George (Alexander Knox), it does play into Irene’s own sense of growth and her chance to find redemption no matter how much she hates herself for her son’s death. Yet, the people she does touch including a family whose son turns to crime or a prostitute shunned by many as it shows what she tries to do to help them. Overall, Rossellini creates an evocative and harrowing film about a woman who tries to help others in the wake of her grief.

Cinematographer Aldo Tonti does excellent work with the film‘s black-and-white photography from some of the exteriors of the urban locations in Rome to some of the more artificial look in some of the interiors in Irene‘s posh apartment home. Editor Iolanda Benvenuti does brilliant work with the editing as much of it is straightforward in terms of the drama while there‘s a notable sequence where Irene goes to a factory as it‘s usage of rhythms help play to her reaction. Production designer Virgilio Marchi and set decorator Ferdinando Ruffo do nice work with the look of the posh apartment that Irene and George live in to the riverside shack that Passerotto lives in. Sound recorder Piero Cavazzuti does terrific work with the sound to capture some of the things that goes on in the urban areas of Rome including the factory. The film’s music by Renzo Rossellini is fantastic for its mixture of somber orchestral music with lush strings to more bombastic arrangements to play into some of the film’s melodrama.

The film’s superb cast include some notable small roles from Sandro Franchina as George and Irene’s son Michel, Tina Perna as the maid Cesira, Teresa Pellati as the prostitute Ines, Alfred Browne as a priest, and Antonio Pietrangeli as a hospital psychiatrist. Alexander Knox is excellent as Irene’s husband George who ponders his wife’s frequent absences at home as he wonders if she has gone crazy. Ettore Giannini is fantastic as Irene’s cousin Andre whose socialist views would introduce her to the world of the poor and disenfranchised.

Giuletta Masina is amazing as Passerotto as this single mother of six children whom Irene befriends as Masina’s performance is full of charm despite the fact that she and many of the actors’ voices are dubbed in American English for the international version of the film. Finally, there’s Ingrid Bergman in a remarkable performance as Irene as this woman whose grief forces her to see things in a different light as she tries to make a difference to help those of need as it’s a performance full of humility and power from Bergman.

Europe ‘51 is a phenomenal film from Roberto Rossellini that features an incredible performance from Ingrid Bergman. The film isn’t just one of Rossellini’s more compelling dramas but also a unique study of faith and generosity amidst the world of death. Especially in the way post-war Italy still tried to ignore common people at a time when they were in need as a woman with that power tried to do something. In the end, Europe ‘51 is a sensational film from Roberto Rossellini.

Roberto Rossellini Films: (La Vispa Teresa) - (Desiderio) - (Paisan) - (L’Amore-Il Miracolo) - Rome, Open City - (Germany Year Zero) - Stromboli - The Flowers of St. Francis - (Medico Condotto) - (The Seven Deadly Sins-Envie, L’Envy) - (Machine to Kill Bad People) - (We, the Women-Ingrid Bergman) - Journey to Italy - Fear (1954 film) - (Giovanna d’Arco al rogo) - (General della Rovere) - (Escape by Night) - (Viva l’Italia!) - (Vanina Vanini) - (Benito Mussolini) - (Ro.Go.Pa.G.-Illbatezza) - (The Carabineers) - (Rice University) - (Anno uno)

© thevoid99 2015

Stromboli

Directed by Roberto Rossellini and screenplay by Sergio Amidei, Gian Paolo Callegari, Art Cohn, and Renzo Cesana from a story by Rossellini, Stromboli is the story of a Lithuanian refugee whose marriage to an Italian fisherman forces her to question the decisions she’s made in her life following the end of World War II. The film is a mixture of traditional melodrama but with an air of neorealism which plays into a woman coping with her identity and the new environment she is following her stay at a war prison camp. Starring Ingrid Bergman, Mario Vitale, Renzo Cesana, and Mario Sponza. Stromboli is a chilling yet mesmerizing film from Roberto Rossellini.

The film revolves around a refugee who meets and marries an Italian POW as they live in his home island of Stromboli in Italy where she endures a world that is completely foreign to her with people that see her as an outsider. It’s a film that explores a woman living in this island with her husband who hasn’t had the worldly experience that she had while her surroundings in this island with an active volcano. At the same time, the residents are people who are wary of outsiders as they don’t see her as modest nor humble as Karin (Ingrid Bergman) tries to adjust to her situation and marriage. Yet, life with Antonio (Mario Vitale) becomes troubling as Antonio isn’t mature nor willing to broaden things in his life as he wants to stay the way things are. The film’s script plays into not just Karin’s own plight but also her attempts to fit in with the aid of a priest and a lighthouse keeper.

Roberto Rossellini’s direction is very complex for not just the sense of realism that he creates but also infuse it with an air of melodrama. Many of the scenes involving Antonio’s fishing and life in the island of Stromboli are presented with that documentary approach to display these things as something that is real. It adds to the sense of despair that Karin would endure in her surroundings as it feels too real for her. Most notably the danger that lurks in the island as it adds a lot of weight to the drama. While much of the landscape of Stromboli was shot on the exact location where it villages and residents are characters in the film. It does play into something that is sort of cut off from the rest of the world which Karin is confused by as her attempts to connect with others become impossible where she would even get the help of another village outsider which adds to her alienation. Especially for the climax where Rossellini’s usage of the locations and the close-ups he capture in Karin’s face says it all. Overall, Rossellini creates an evocative yet haunting film about a woman dealing with a new and harsh environment.

Cinematographer Otello Martelli does excellent work with the black-and-white cinematography as it has this air of realism in its look as well in some of the exteriors and interior scenes at night while using some artificial light for a few dramatic moments. Editor Iolanda Benvenuti does brilliant work with the editing as it is very straightforward with some stylish cuts to play into the drama and some of action that occurs in the daily environment of the fishermen. The sound work of Terry Kellum and Eraldo Giordani is terrific for the natural sound that occurs including the locations of the sea and the sound of the volcano in the island. The film’s music by Renzo Rossellini is fantastic for its soaring orchestral score that plays into the dramatic elements of the film while music director Constantin Bakaleinikoff provides a soundtrack filled with traditional Italian sea chants and other traditional folk songs in that world.

Much of the film’s cast features largely non-professional actors as many of them are actual residents of Stromboli which plays to the realistic tone of the film while there’s a couple of notable small performances from Mario Sponzo as the kind lighthouse man who offers to help Karin out and Renzo Cesana as the village priest who tries to reason with Karin while understanding that Antonio is just a simple young man. Mario Vitale is superb as Antonio as a young soldier who takes Karin to his home island unaware of what her needs are as he’s essentially a simpleton that really has no broad view of the world outside of Stromboli or Italy. Finally, there’s Ingrid Bergman in a remarkable performance as Karin as this Lithuanian refugee who is freed from camp by marrying Antonio hoping for a better life as she contends with her surroundings and marriage as it’s a very gripping and towering performance from Bergman.

Stromboli is an incredible film from Roberto Rossellini that features an exhilarating performance from Ingrid Bergman. The film isn’t just one of Rossellini’s more compelling films that blends his neorealist ideas with melodrama but also stands as one of his most accessible films. In the end, Stromboli is a phenomenal film from Roberto Rossellini.

Roberto Rossellini Films: (La Vispa Teresa) - (Desiderio) - (Paisan) - (L’Amore-Il Miracolo) - Rome, Open City - (Germany Year Zero) - The Flowers of St. Francis - (Medico Condotto) - (The Seven Deadly Sins-Envie, L’Envy) - Machine to Kill Bad People) - Europe ‘51 - (We, the Women-Ingrid Bergman) - Journey to Italy - Fear (1954 film) - (Giovanna d’Arco al rogo) - (General della Rovere) - (Escape by Night) - (Viva l’Italia!) - (Vanina Vanini) - (Benito Mussolini) - (Ro.Go.Pa.G.-Illbatezza) - (The Carabineers) - (Rice University) - (Anno uno)

© thevoid99 2015

2012 Cannes Marathon: Rome, Open City

(Co-Winner of the Palme D’or at the 1946 Cannes Film Festival)

Directed by Roberto Rossellini, Roma, citta aperta (Rome, Open City) is the story of an Italian resistance fighter who is targeted by the Nazis during World War II. With an original screenplay written by Federico Fellini and Sergio Amidei from a story by Amidei and Alberto Consiglio. The film is considered to be one of the pillars of the Italian neorealist movement that would change the face of Italian cinema following World War II. Starring Aldo Fabrizi, Anna Magnani, and Marcello Pagliero. Roma, citta aperta is a chilling yet suspenseful film from Roberto Rossellini.

In post-Fascist Italy where the Nazis have occupied Rome, a resistance fighter named Giorgio Manfredi (Marcello Pagliero) is on the run as he hides out various places to evade the Germans. Living next door to a woman named Pina (Anna Magnani, he asks her for the service of a local priest named Don Prieto Pellegrino (Aldo Fabrizi) who is also helping out the resistance in secrecy as he talks to Manfredi. While Manfredi decides to help the priest out in planning an upcoming wedding for Pina and her future husband Francesco (Francesco Grandjacquet). Yet, things become tense when Pina’s young son Marcello (Vito Annicchiarico) returns home to help pull some pranks on the Germans. On the day of Pina and Francesco’s wedding, things go wrong as the men try to leave while the women, children, and Don Prieto try to cover for them.

Instead, tragedy occurs as Manfredi and Francesco are forced to hide at the home of Manfredi’s girlfriend Marina (Maria Michi) who isn’t happy about Manfredi’s politics as he’s decided to flee to help out the resistance. With Don Prieto’s help, Manfredi and Francesco decide to flee only for Manfredi, Prieto, and an Austrian deserter (Aknos Tolay) get captured while Francesco was able to evade the Nazis. With Manfredi being the target so that they can get answers from him, a Nazi officer named Major Bergmann (Harry Feist) does everything he can to push Manfredi and Don Prieto to answer questions only to face defiance from the two different men who both share a common goal for Italy.

The film is a very loose story about a priest helping out a resistance fighter with the aid of a family during a tense period for Italy following the fall of Fascism and the Germans occupation of Rome. The screenplay by Sergio Amidei and Federico Fellini is a film where it’s about people trying to defy the Nazis without being seen and do things in secret. Yet, they have to live in this tense world where they have curfew and have their homes searched every now and then. They have young adolescent boys trying to do anything they can to fight back causing worry for the parents. All of this just adds to the suspense where it’s all about families, a few resistance fighters, and a priest trying to stick together. Meanwhile, there’s characters like Marina who feels neglected as she refuses to see the bigger picture of what Manfredi wants to do. It would later have repercussions for Manfredi as there’s those who are close to Mariana that have much more seedier intentions to capture him.

The direction of Roberto Rossellini adds to the chaos and tension that occurs in the film. Notably as it was shot in late 1944 after the Germans were forced out of Italy by the Allies in World War II. In order to achieve realism with this story, Rossellini chooses to shoot the film largely on location with non-professional actors to help tell the story. While there’s a lot of melodrama in the story, Rossellini chooses to keep the drama straightforward but also real such as the scene where the women are angry over seeing their husbands, brothers, and other men being captured. There’s something very engaging to that direction as well as a sense of terror that might occur.

The direction that is filled with very direct yet entrancing for the way the scenes in the church is shot or the intimate moments in the film involving the family hiding Manfredi. There’s also a lot of suspense in the scenes where both Manfredi and Don Prieto are interrogated. Rossellini just keeps the camera work and editing simple just so that these interrogations can find a way to build up some kind of momentum. Notably with Don Prieto’s interrogation where he is forced to watch torture to see if he’ll crack. What happens will unveil the kind of approach Rossellini will tell to achieve realism where a more conventional film would have something big happen. Instead, Rossellini strays from that to unveil what would really happen as the result is actually very heartbreaking as he creates a truly marvelous yet harrowing film.

Cinematographer Ubalto Arata does superb work with the film‘s black-and-white photography to display the sense of grit and terror for some of the film‘s daytime exteriors while the nighttime exteriors have a more eerie lighting to play up its chills while some of the interiors adds to the suspense that occurs in the film. Editor Eraldo Da Roma does excellent work with the film‘s stylized editing by utilizing rhythmic yet effective cuts to play up the suspense while using dissolves and wipes to smooth out the transitions. Art director Rosario Megna does terrific work with the set pieces created such as the interrogation room, the jail cells, and the bar that the German officers relax at.

The film’s cast is truly phenomenal for the ensemble that is created as it includes noteworthy performances from Aknos Tolay as the Austrian deserter, Joop van Hulzen as the disillusioned Nazi officer Captain Hartmann, Carlo Sindici as a corrupt police commissioner, Eduardo Passarelli as a sympathetic police sergeant, Carla Rovere as Pina’s more outgoing sister Laura, Nando Bruno as Don Prieto’s friend Augusto, and Giovanna Galletti as Marina’s very shady boss Ingrid. Other memorable performances include Maria Michi as the lonely and materialistic Marina, Vito Annicchiarico as Pina’s young son Marcello, Harry Feist as the cruel Major Bergmann, and Francesco Grandjacquet as Pina’s soon-to-be husband Francesco who reluctantly helps Manfredi with the fight.

Marcello Pagliero is superb as the determined Manfredi who tries to evade the Nazis while helping people out as he also fights them any way he can. Anna Magnani is great as the very fierce Pina who tries to keep her son in check while making sure things stay low-key as it’s an intense performance from Magnani. Finally, there’s Aldo Fabrizi in an intense yet very understated performance as Don Prieto Pellegrini as Fabrizi maintains a sense of calm but also drive as a man just wanting to do what is right. Even as he has to go face-to-face against a Nazi officer about what is right and tells him that no one is above God as Fabrizi truly delivers that performance with a conviction that is ravishing to watch.

Romma, citta aperta is a mesmerizing yet haunting film from Roberto Rossellini that features outstanding performances from Aldo Fabrizi and Anna Magnani. For anyone that wants a primer in the world of Italian neorealist cinema will find this film as a nice place to start as well as worthy introduction to the works of Roberto Rossellini. It’s not an easy film to watch for the way it goes for realism but it is a very compelling one to display the chaos that was happening in German-occupied Rome. In the end, Romma, citta aperta is an engrossing but astonishing drama from Roberto Rossellini.

Roberto Rossellini Films: (La Vispa Teresa) - (Desiderio) - (Paisan) - (L’Amore-Il Miracolo) - (Germany Year Zero) - Stromboli - The Flowers of St. Francis - (Medico Condotto) - (The Seven Deadly Sins-Envie, L’Envy) - (Machine to Kill Bad People) - Europe ‘51 - (We, the Women-Ingrid Bergman) - Journey to Italy - Fear (1954 film) - (Giovanna d’Arco al rogo) - (General della Rovere) - (Escape by Night) - (Viva l’Italia!) - (Vanina Vanini) - (Benito Mussolini) - (Ro.Go.Pa.G.-Illbatezza) - (The Carabineers) - (Rice University) - (Anno uno)

© thevoid99 2012