Rome, Open City.

Review #1789: Rome, Open City.

Cast: 

Aldo Fabrizi (Don Pietro Pellegrini), Anna Magnani (Pina), Marcello Pagliero [dubbed by Lauro Gazzolo] (Giorgio Manfredi), Vito Annichiarico [dubbed by Ferruccio Amendola] (Piccolo Marcello), Nando Bruno (Agostino the Sexton), Harry Feist [dubbed by Giulio Panicali] (Major Bergmann), Giovanna Galletti [dubbed by Roswita Schmidt] (Ingrid), Francesco Grandjacquet [dubbed by Gualtiero De Angelis] (Francesco), Eduardo Passarelli (Neighborhood Police Sergeant), Maria Michi (Marina Mari), Carla Rovere [dubbed by Rosetta Calavetta] (Lauretta), Carlo Sindici (Police Commissioner), Joop van Hulzen (Captain Hartmann), and Ákos Tolnay (Austrian Deserter) Directed by Roberto Rossellini.

Review: 

"I do not want to make beautiful films, I want to make useful films."

It is hard to mention the noted filmmakers of Italy and not include Roberto Rossellini. He, alongside filmmakers such as Vittorio De Sica and Luchino Visconti, wanted to make films that took the camera into the street for Italians, whether that meant using discarded film stock to help with filming or with guerilla-style filmmaking that aimed for open-air cinema (one that would aim against the perceived glossy filmmaking that was liked by the previous regime that ruled Italy). Of course, Rossellini was born into cinema, since his father opened the first cinema for Italy. He started directing with short films starting in 1935 before he was given the reigns to try and direct with The White Ship [La Nave Bianca] (1941), although he was not credited (he made two further films in Italy when it was under fascist rule). At any rate, Rome, Open City would be his first prominent film, and Paisan (1946) and Germany Year Zero (1948) are considered his second and third parts of his "Neorealist Trilogy". 

Various people contributed to the writing of the film: Sergio Amidei (both screenplay and story), Federico Fellini (screenplay), Rossellini (screenplay and additional material), and Alberto Consiglio (additional material), with numerous people serving as inspiration in some way or form (such as Teresa Gullace and Don Morosini). I'm sure we folks know about the Nazi occupation of the country and how it is covered here in the film, since open city refers to a settlement where all defensive efforts of a city are abandoned right as a city is going to be captured (essentially to avoid a city being destroyed by the military). What a marvelous 103-minute movie we have here. It strings together a narrative of harrowing realism that shocks its viewer without serving as exploitation meant to milk false notes of emotion. In essence: it is the film that helped spark a new movement for filmmaking that achieved everything it wanted without failure in style and execution. A mix of familiar (to Italian audiences) actors, voice actors (since this film was shot without sound) and amateurs (such as actual German POWs as extras) are all present here in a film that works well in delivering startling rhetoric in destiny and form that makes an interesting melodrama distinct from previous incarnations (granted, future "neorealist" films wouldn't exactly have as many melodramatic aspects, but innovation and variety is its own thing). Fabrizi is the shining star here, one that is quite sobering and interesting to view through the eyes of staid divinity, one that sells the closing scene with all of the quiet punch needed. Magnani (likely the one who benefitted the most as an actor from this film) does her part in soulful grace that belays the usual expectation in a melodrama for overt qualities and instead makes it something rawer and fitting, one that contributes the most to the one key shocking scene in the film: a shooting on a street corner in front of onlookers. The rest of the cast is a mix of dubbing and other aspects that nevertheless sell the film for what is needed in striking strength, whether that involves Pagliero or Feist or Galletti. As a whole, it shouldn't be surprising that this has endured for over 75 years as a model of striking drama and realism that touched a chord with audiences for all the right reasons, one that has a light that still burns bright today in carrying the torch of neorealism for cinema.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.

Next Time: Park Row (1952)

On an unrelated note, today is the start of the NFL playoffs. I'll keep it short and simple: Go Bills.