“The overwhelming experience of 1945 was Rome, Open City,” wrote influential film critic David Shipman in his book Cinema: The First Hundred Years, “it made every movie made until then seem old-fashioned and artificial, or so it seemed at the time”.
In this brief sentence, Shipman perfectly encapsulates the impact that Roberto Rossellini’s film had on the world: it startled audiences with its apparent naturalism, made international stars of Rossellini and lead actor Anna Magnani, and played the key role in launching Italian neorealism as an idea.
The film centres on the Resistance activities of Manfredi (Marcello Pagliero), the communist leader of the National Liberation Committee, during the 1944 German occupation of Rome. Attempting to avoid capture by the Gestapo, he seeks the help of Don Pietro (Aldo Fabrizi), a Catholic priest, and Pina (Magnani), the pregnant fiancée of a fellow resistance fighter. In telling their story, Rossellini shows us the reality of daily life during the occupation, and paints a sympathetic portrait of the Italian civilians who fought against their cruel German occupiers…
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