Movie #30. Released in 1954, directed by Roberto Rossellini, 85 minutes. New to me!

LetterBoxd score: 3.5 stars

This one just didn’t connect with me. The acting is very good – it captures well that beat where maybe the other person will say or do the thing that lets you say or do the thing that leads to forgiveness and reconciliation. But no one makes the first move (until the end), and so they just keep hurting each other. But I didn’t ever feel particularly drawn into their pain. Maybe because there just doesn’t seem to be anything to save in their marriage. Not to get too metatextual, but it’s not that surprising that the couple making this movie later divorced; there is no substance to the ending about-face (though I understand it is supposed to be ambiguous).

I do like the idea of setting this kind of personal drama amid a setting evocative of civilizational ruin. But ultimately, this didn’t move me very much.

I don’t mean to nitpick, but this movie had more technical flaws than I would have expected for something so highly regarded. The dialogue looks like it was overdubbed, and didn’t match in a way that was distracting to me. There were a few sudden jump cuts, like a few frames had been lost, but not in a way that seemed intentional.

Why would someone think it’s one of the ten greatest movies ever made?

I think the focus on a simple domestic character drama, with little in the way of high stakes, was a new idea (though arguably I think something like Late Spring would also qualify?). And using the exterior settings (Pompeii, catacombs, sulpher pits) to reflect interior distress is a good way to use cinema. Just didn’t do much for me though.

Next: Ordet