What is the best Italian movie?

The artistic temperament of Italian films is closely related to its geographical environment - close to the Tyrrhenian Sea, Adriatic Sea, Ligurian Sea and Ionian Sea, cold, rich, gentle and calm , different landscape images give it different styles and spiritual temperaments. The glory of Italian cinema begins with Rome, which was nurtured by the Tiber River (also known as the Tevere River).

In 1905, Italian filmmakers founded a film studio in Rome. Later, small film companies were also established in Turin, Milan, Naples, Venice and other places to shoot films based on historical themes and adapted from literary works. . During World War II, Mussolini used movies as a means of propaganda and appointed his sons to manage the film industry; some directors refused to make vulgar commercial films and propaganda films that advocated fascist ideas, and shot some films that only focused on the exploration of the form of their works, which were later called " Films of the "Calligraphy School", that is, "follow the formal flow and be refined."

In 1945, Mussolini collapsed, and Italy, which once gave birth to the Renaissance, was facing another rebirth. Severely hit by the war, Italy experienced inflation, economic recession, extremely high unemployment after World War II, and people lived in poverty. The film industry is even more faced with the dilemma of lack of funds, and filmmakers have to carry cameras to the streets to shoot real scenes; at the same time, they are dissatisfied with reality and eager to use movies to reflect the actual situation in Italy and the national tragedy caused by the war, so almost all of them intentionally or unintentionally Films reflecting social problems in post-war Italy were filmed locally. "Rome, Open City" was released in August of that year, marking the birth of the Neorealism school and becoming an unsurpassed monument in the history of Italian film.

"Rome, Open City" is recognized as the pioneering work of Italian neorealist films

"Rome, Open City" truly reflects the Italian people's struggle during the German occupation life and struggles. In this "manifesto of neorealist cinema", director Roberto Rossellini moved the camera to the streets scarred by the war, and the ruins of Rome became the unique background of the film. For the first time, the film embodies the aesthetic principles of neorealism: a historical and concrete treatment of real life, sharp criticism of the living conditions at that time, and sincere sympathy for the suffering of ordinary people; the use of natural scenes, characters Often played by non-professional actors, they focus on depicting the status of workers, farmers, small townspeople and urban intellectuals; they are mainly based on news reports and never use fictional stories.

The collapsed buildings, ugly slums, and secular characters in the neorealist films focused on post-war social problems and exposed the cruel living conditions of the people at the bottom. His "critical humanitarian film" trend not only created a unique and distinctive film style, but also spread its influence around the world.

In 1946, Rossellini filmed "Guerrilla", which later "fascinated" his wife and Hollywood superstar Ingrid Bergman, showing a true picture of Italian life during the war years; the following year, he They also filmed "German Year Zero", which focused on the postwar experiences of a 12-year-old German boy, Edmund. In the end, the skinny boy jumped hopelessly from a dilapidated tall building. This jump completed the most shocking scene in the film, and also completed Rossellini's most profound criticism.

Stills from "Germany Year Zero". Edmund, who poisoned his father, wandered the streets alone, and finally jumped to bid farewell to his short life. He survived the war, but not the post-war reconstruction, and used this to denounce fascism.

In 1952, Giuseppe De Santis made "Rome 11" based on a tragedy: After the war, a company hired a typist and hundreds of people Women rushed to apply for jobs early in the morning, pushing each other so hard that the stairs collapsed. The ending of the film is subtle and thought-provoking: after the police investigation, the matter was finally settled, but there is still a girl waiting outside the building, hoping to get this only position. In a still from "Rome 11", hundreds of women crowded onto the stairs to apply for a typist position, causing the stairs to collapse.

The film truly reflects the social status quo of Italy during the post-war economic recovery period and exposes the severe unemployment and poverty problems at that time. It is a masterpiece of social criticism.

A masterpiece that was also shot in Rome and showed the hardship of unemployment cannot but be mentioned, written by Cesare Zavattini, directed by Vittorio De Sica, and released in 1948 "The Bicycle Thief": Rich, who had been unemployed for a long time, worked hard to get a job as a poster poster. He redeemed his pawned bicycle so that he could work on the street, but he didn't want his bicycle to be stolen on his first day at work. . Richie and his son searched the streets of Rome to no avail, and finally decided to "retaliate with tit for tat", but were caught and humiliated on the spot. The camera follows the Ricci father and son through the streets of Rome: crowded employment agencies, shabby workers' living quarters, pawn shops with piles of items, bustling bicycle markets, churches, brothels, dens of thieves? The film is like a post-war scene Realistic panorama of Italy.

De Sica's work "The Bicycle Thief"

"I would rather have reality than a romantic story, worldly rather than glittering, ordinary people rather than idols", by The lens enables in-depth observation and detailed analysis of all aspects of reality - neorealist cinema, according to film theorist André Bazin, is the "aesthetics of truth". Therefore, we see the atrocities committed by Nazi German soldiers in "Rome, Open City", the embarrassment of life in "The Bicycle Thief", and the forced to survive in "Two Cents of Hope". The retired soldier who pulled the carriage, saw the girl running towards her lover in the bullet-ridden streets of Florence in "Guerrillas"? Rossellini once defined neorealist movies in one sentence: "It is life itself."

Stills from "Guerrilla". When filming the film, Rossellini refused to use a studio, costumes, makeup and professional actors, striving to show the real life of the Italian people during the war years.