November 2, 2010
Roberto Rossellini (what a name) co-produced Rome, Open City with fellow filmmaker Federico Fellini and screenwriter Sergio Amidei in August 1944, two months after the Allies had forced the German troops out of Rome. The city was fresh with its battle wounds, empty, devastated, and yet one marvels when watching the film at the relentless optimism - or rather, relentless and remarkable predisposition to humour - of the Italian psyche in the face of catastrophe; the cheekiness, for example, of Don Pietro and the little Marcello in the face of German guards, and that eternal trope of the frenetic Italian family, living together in an organic whirl of vital humanity.
Indeed, this humour is yet more disquieting when it catches you off-guard and all of a sudden you find that three pivotal characters, a mother, a rebel and a priest, are dead, and the uncomfortable realism of the situation faces you.
Marcello Pagliero plays Manfredi, a courageous rebel who defies the German SS guard’s premise that Italians are weak whilst the German master race is strong, a premise supposedly shown in their inability to tolerate torture. Manfredi dies under torture, with his subversive secrets intact and having proved the evil official wrong. The priest, Don Pietro, is also part of the resistance movement, aiding rebels in their movements and in the transport of goods. He is set to marry the mother, Pina, played by Anna Magnani, and her lover Francesco, before Pina is killed and Francesco’s heart is broken. In such bleak times, Manfredi states, all that humanity has is love for one’s lover, one’s children and one’s friends, remove this and love morphs into seedy desires and evil aspirations.
Throughout there is the wonderful motif of child rebels. Pina’s son, Marcello, is one such soldier. The children are courageous and highlight the brutal absurdity of the occupation through their sweet vulnerability and unbreakable spirit. It is fitting that the film ends with them - that is, with the brave prospect of future hope for the eternal city. Let’s pray that the fresh hope felt all those years ago for an Italy free of dictators and the brutality of fascism, an Italy left open for wonderment and respect by people far and wide, still holds firm today.
Indeed, this humour is yet more disquieting when it catches you off-guard and all of a sudden you find that three pivotal characters, a mother, a rebel and a priest, are dead, and the uncomfortable realism of the situation faces you.
Marcello Pagliero plays Manfredi, a courageous rebel who defies the German SS guard’s premise that Italians are weak whilst the German master race is strong, a premise supposedly shown in their inability to tolerate torture. Manfredi dies under torture, with his subversive secrets intact and having proved the evil official wrong. The priest, Don Pietro, is also part of the resistance movement, aiding rebels in their movements and in the transport of goods. He is set to marry the mother, Pina, played by Anna Magnani, and her lover Francesco, before Pina is killed and Francesco’s heart is broken. In such bleak times, Manfredi states, all that humanity has is love for one’s lover, one’s children and one’s friends, remove this and love morphs into seedy desires and evil aspirations.
Throughout there is the wonderful motif of child rebels. Pina’s son, Marcello, is one such soldier. The children are courageous and highlight the brutal absurdity of the occupation through their sweet vulnerability and unbreakable spirit. It is fitting that the film ends with them - that is, with the brave prospect of future hope for the eternal city. Let’s pray that the fresh hope felt all those years ago for an Italy free of dictators and the brutality of fascism, an Italy left open for wonderment and respect by people far and wide, still holds firm today.