Rome, Open City (1945)

Roberto Rossellini's Rome, Open City was pretty much the inaugural film of the Italian Neorealism movement. After seeing De Sica's The Bicycle Thief and really digging the Neorealist style, I moved it to the top of my queue.

I wasn't aware that it was a public domain title, though. Man, what a horrible disc. It's window-boxed on all four sides, has no extras whatsoever, and the print is incredibly scratchy. The subtitles are burned in, and in all honesty, only seem to translate a third of the dialogue spoken. I imagine that sometimes speech is compressed when subtitled, so the audience can read it more easily, but this is just ridiculous. Not only is it frustrating, it really takes away from the characterization in the film. At one point, Anna Magnani's character asks a man how he knows a girl he mentions. After this, from my extremely basic Italian, I gather that she apologizes for asking such a personal question. Yet, only her asking the question is subtitled. Without knowing she apologized afterwards, you lose the little bit of characterization that shows what a warm, kind person she is. Makes me wonder how many other little touches are lost due to the subs.

About the film, it was very good, but I didn't think it was great. It was different than most other Neorealist works. It's actually got a lot of intrigue and suspense, which surprised me. A little bit of action as well. The plot focuses on the freedom fighters in Rome during the Nazi occupation. I'm always intrigued by this period in Italian history, just because of the struggles that ordinary people endured simply to survive. Rome, Open City deals more with the freedom fighters than with the ordinary citizens, like say a De Sica would, but it's still a good flick.

As usual, I loved Magnani's performance in the film. She dives into it, like all her other roles, with incredible gusto and bravado. Yet, she shows a very sympathetic and warm side at the same time. I was pretty much in shock when she got shot near the end of the film. Here's the heart of the film, the main, or at least most identifiable character, shot down in the street! How dare they! It's pretty much what Psycho or Planet of the Apes should have been, had their big events not been spoiled so many times throughout the years.