Film: Rome, Open City
Release date: 15th March 2010
Certificate: 12
Running time: 102 mins
Director: Roberto Rossellini
Starring: Aldo Fabrizi, Anna Magnani, Marcello Pagliero, Vito Annichiarico, Nando Bruno
Genre: Drama/War
Studio: Arrow
Format: DVD
Country: Italy
The first part of Rossellini’s Neorealist trilogy, Rome, Open City (originally titled Roma città aperta) was lauded internationally upon its release, scooping the 1946 Grand Prix at Cannes. A poignant tale of life in war-torn Rome, it saw a marked shift away from the all guns blazing derring-do of Hollywood productions towards a more naturalistic, authentic portrayal of life during wartime.
Giorgio Manfredi, an engineer for the Committee for National Liberation, has been denounced. Having escaped the soldiers sent to bring him in, he makes his way to the apartment of Francesco, a printer and fellow partisan who is preparing for his marriage to Pina, a widow who is pregnant with his child. Together, they enlist the help of Don Pietro, a local priest who is sympathetic to their cause, to deliver much needed funds to the soldiers in the Roman hills.
Meanwhile, the German occupying forces, led by Major Bergmann and his associate Ingrid, continue to hunt for Manfredi, aided by the corrupt police commissioner and Manfredi’s drug-addicted girlfriend, Marina.
On the day of Francesco and Pina’s wedding, the S.S. arrive to search their building; discovering the fugitives and arresting them, only for them to be freed by an ambush. With the net closing in, Manfredi and Don Pietro are captured once more and taken to Gestapo headquarters, where Major Bergmann awaits...
At the time of its release, Rome, Open City was a revelation. Whilst not being the first Neorealist film (that honour went to Visconti’s Ossessione, released three years earlier), it is certainly the film that brought the movement international acclaim. All the hallmarks that one would associate with Neorealism are present and correct, and are still effective and striking sixty years later. Having to make do with what little material was available to them, Rossellini and his crew (which included a young Federico Fellini) more than make up for this with their ingenuity and commitment to their project.
The use of natural light and location shooting, coupled with poor-quality film stock give proceedings a documentary feel, and in scenes depicting the day-to-day lives of the people of Rome, one could be forgiven for believing this to be the case. The camera watches Francesco and Pina reminisce about their first meeting, and follows them as they get into an argument with her sister about the noise; and the first time the audience is introduced to the “partisan priest” Don Pietro, he is refereeing a football match for local children. All of these give a sense of life that is intensely familiar and ordinary, without recourse to sensationalist, plot-driven dialogue.
Where this approach is most successful is when the screenwriters marry the trials of war to the pressures of everyday life, creating an authentic depiction of day-to-day living at the time. Aided in no small part by the location shooting, which emphasises the destitution and danger of war-time Rome, we watch as the bakery is raided by women desperate to feed their families, a police constable looking on, annoyed that he cannot join in; we sympathise with Francesco, fleeing from Gestapo officers rather than staying and rescuing his friends; and we feel for Marina as she defends her promiscuity as a means of earning enough money to keep going. Whilst some of these actions may be deplorable, we are not encouraged to judge: rather, Rossellini uses his camera to illuminate human nature and all the different forms it takes, presenting the audience with an all too realistic portrait of human life.
In sharp contrast to the naturalism of the above is the melodrama and sensationalism of the central plotline - that of Manfredi’s attempt to evade the Gestapo. It is a typical story of scheming Nazis and selfless patriots which breaks with the verismo of the rest of the film - Gestapo HQ is populated with broadly drawn thugs and calculating pantomime villains, Harry Fiest being the obvious culprit (his Major Bergmann is a very effective and scenery-chewing antagonist, yet is a one-dimensional stereotype of Nazism that would not rear its head again until Indiana Jones). In purely cinematic terms, this is not necessarily a bad thing; it is merely disappointing that the director has fallen back on such broad generalisation and caricature in his presentation of the central storyline when he has gone to such great lengths elsewhere to present the audience with a complex, accurate presentation of life in a style that eschews traditional Hollywood trappings.
However, this is a minor quibble about a film that has much to recommend it: from the forthrightness with which it looks at issues such as communism and faith, to the universally excellent performances. One of the key aesthetics of Neorealism is the use of non-professional actors. Save for Anna Magnani and Aldo Fabrizi, who were well-known comic actors of the day, and are both excellent cast against type, the cast was largely made up of amateurs, who acquit themselves well. Worthy of particular praise are Marcello Pagliero, whose quiet, dignified Manfredi is the perfect un-hero for the film and the times, and Maria Michi as his drug-addled girlfriend turned informant. Beyond these two, young Vito Annicchiarico is wonderful as Marcello, Pina’s revolutionary son who holds hope for the future – the final shot of the film, of the abandoned children marching toward Saint Peter’s, is wonderfully evocative and the perfect way to close the film.
Rome, Open City is a rousing story of life in the face of insurmountable odds, featuring wonderfully assured and clear direction from Rossellini, who coaxes believable, heart-warming and heart-breaking performances from his cast. It is a milestone in world cinema, not only for the DIY aesthetic it introduced to the world, but for the truth that shone out from the screen. A true masterpiece. RMK
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