Paisan (1946)
Australian Premiere - 4K Restoration
“…a milestone in the expressiveness of the screen…it is not an ordinary film—neither in form nor dramatic construction nor in the things it has to say. In some ways, it is the antithesis of the classic "story film," and certainly it throws off glints of meaning which are strangely unfamiliar on the screen.” – Bosley Crowther, New York Times
Roberto Rossellini’s follow-up to his breakout Rome, Open City was the ambitious, enormously moving Paisan (Paisà), which consists of six episodes set during the liberation of Italy at the end of World War II, and taking place across the country, from Sicily to the northern Po Valley. The incidents which supposedly occurred during the Allied war campaign in Italy—random incidents, with no connection, except by war—allows Rossellini “to construct a terrifying picture of the disillusion, the irony, the horribleness of strife.” With its documentary-like visuals and its intermingled cast of actors and non-professionals, Italians and their American liberators, this look at the struggles of different cultures to communicate and of people to live their everyday lives in extreme circumstances is equal parts charming sentiment and vivid reality.
Introduced by Gino Moliterno at Ritz Cinemas and by Cristóbal Escobar at Lido Cinemas.
Rating
M
Duration
126 min
Country
Italy
Language
English, German, Italian (English subtitles)
Cast
Carmela Sazio, Maria Michi, Gar Moore, Dots Johnson
Director
Roberto Rossellini
