Neorealism in world cinema

Neorealism, an Italian cinema movement that emerged in the 1940s, with the aim of recovering coherence between images, narrative and reality. Despite the differences in the styles of individual writers and directors, it is possible to draw out certain common elements, for example, the abandonment of fantasy narratives, the preference given to outdoor locations over studio filming, the use of non-professional actors and the attempt to present a less varnished view of the political and social problems of a country in a period of great change.

The term “Neorealism” is believed to have been first used in 1943 by publisher Mario Serandrei in reference to Ossessione (1943), Luchino Visconti’s first film. The director, who based his film loosely on James Cain’s novel The Postman Always Rings Twice (brought to the screen again under its original title in 1946 by Tay Garnett and again in 1981 by Bob Rafelson) set the film outside of the United States. . but in the Po River Valley, and by leaving the studio and shooting in an expressive, black-and-white documentary style, it gained an authenticity that contrasted sharply with the sophisticated artificiality of Cinecittà studio productions of the late 1930s. .so-called “white phone” films, so named for the distinctive accessories on their glamorous sets.

In 1943, Vittorio De Sica filmed I Bambini ci Guardano (The Children Watch Us), but “the Italian school of liberation,” as the French define neorealism (emphasizing the connection between its rise and the end of the fascist regime), did not. made. it would not really emerge until two years later with the making of Rome, Città Aperta (1945; Rome, Open City, directed by Roberto Rossellini), now the symbol of the renaissance of Italian cinema. The film was shot on the streets of Rome during the last days of the German occupation, with footage often salvaged from discarded propaganda films that Rossellini himself had been forced to collaborate on in the years before.

After Rome, Città Aperta (which, together with amateur actors, presented two actors who became icons of Italian cinema, Anna Magnani and Aldo Fabrizi), followed a boom that in a few years produced some of the greatest works of the post-war period. Italian cinema: Paisà (1946) and Germania, Anno Zero (1947; Germany, year zero), also by Rossellini; La Terra Trema (1948; The Earth Trembles, an adaptation of Giovanni Verga’s classic novel I Malavoglia) and Visconti’s Bellissima (1951); Sciuscià (1946; Shoe Shine), Ladri di Biciclette (1949; Bicycle Thieves) and De Sica’s Miracolo a Milano (1951), in collaboration with Cesare Zavattini; and Riso Amaro (1948; Bitter Rice, a social melodrama set in northern Italy that launched the careers of Silvana Mangano and Vittorio Gassman) and In Nome della Legge (1949; In the Name of the Law, a Sicilian-style western) from Pietro sprouted

The day of neorealism ended in the early 1950s. Rossellini went on to make some worthwhile films: Il Miracolo (1948; first part of a diptych called L’Amore, Marcello Pagliero directing the second part, Una Voce Umana), with Anna Magnani and a very young Federico Fellini in a role performance; Stromboli, Terra di Dio (1949; Stromboli); Francesco, Giullare di Dio (1950; Francis, God’s Jester), scenes from the life of Saint Francis; Europe ’51 (1951); and Viaggio in Italia (1954; Journey to Italy, starring Ingrid Bergman, who was married to Rossellini at the time), after which Rossellini abandoned fiction films to concentrate on documentaries and work for television.

Visconti directed Senso (1953; The Wanton Countess), a film that marked his passage from neorealism to realism, from the so-called “poetica del pedinamento” (poetics of everyday life and of the normal man) to the resumption of romanticism. tradition of the 19th century novel, transferring the environment and the psychology of the characters to the medium of cinema. However, his later classic Rocco e i Suoi Fratelli (1960; Rocco and his brothers), while eschewing neorealist production, editing, and narrative techniques, still deal with themes and situations of poverty and struggle that descend from neorealism. . clear tradition.

With Umberto D (1952), a great neo-realist work and perhaps the most successful after L’Oro di Napoli (1954; The Gold of Naples), Vittorio De Sica paved the way for a more commercial cinema and a less dramatic realism. without sacrificing the quality of production. According to historical convention, the period of neorealism that began with Ossessione ended with Umberto D.

In many cases, the newly emerging genres borrowed elements from neorealism but without inheriting its deep sensibilities. As an example, we can cite the entire series of popular films in which the characters are usually little more than caricatures inspired by neorealism. Among them Pane, Amore e Fantasia (1953; Pan, love and dreams, Luigi Comencini), starring Vittorio De Sica (in front of the camera) and the first appearance of Gina Lollobrigida, and Poveri ma Belli (1956; Poor but beautiful, Dino Risi)-, films in which, set in the countryside or in the city, the practice of reducing characters to psychological stereotypes was recreated, as the “white telephone” cinema had done.

In many cases, the newly emerging genres borrowed elements from neorealism but without inheriting its deep sensibilities. As an example, we can cite the entire series of popular films in which the characters are usually little more than caricatures inspired by neorealism. Among them Pane, Amore e Fantasia (1953; Pan, love and dreams, Luigi Comencini), starring Vittorio De Sica (in front of the camera) and the first appearance of Gina Lollobrigida, and Poveri ma Belli (1956; Poor but beautiful, Dino Risi)-, films in which, set in the countryside or in the city, the practice of reducing characters to psychological stereotypes was recreated, as the “white telephone” cinema had done.

In comedy, the legacy of neorealism is noticeable, for example, in the series of films adapted from Giovanni Guareschi’s stories based on the character Don Camillo. The series Don Camillo, starring Fernandel as the priest Camilo and his love-hate relationship with the communist mayor Peppone, played by Gino Cervi, was filmed by directors such as Julien Duvivier, achieving box office records in Italy throughout the decade. from 1950.

Neorealism’s legacy was not just limited to the genre of heartbreaking, comedic, and sentimental movies. Proof of this is that, beyond the differences in style, the movement created a true “school” where the structure of reality and the way of presenting it were investigated, and it was under this influence that a new generation of directors emerged. that emerged would constitute the core of Italian cinema of the 1950s and 1960s, including Fellini and Michelangelo Antonioni.

Michelangelo Antonioni

Michelangelo Antonioni is considered one of the best known Italian film directors. After starting in the neorealist style, he developed his own characteristic style, which includes fantastical elements. His films include Blow-Up (1966) and Zabriskie Point (1969).