#96: Rome, Open City
Part of the Top 150 Films series
In war, in the event of the imminent capture of a key city, the government of the nation will sometimes declare it an “open city”, thus announcing that it has abandoned all defensive efforts. The attacking armies of the opposing military will then be expected not to bomb or otherwise attack the city but simply march in. However, once an army has occupied it, as in Rome, Open City, that does not mean that troubles are over. Rossellini miraculously creates a heartbreaking portrait of the realities of Nazi occupation, fusing neorealism with melodrama and bringing the best out of both filmmaking styles. Though the nonprofessional actors are very good, the stars of the show are Aldo Fabrizi (as the priest Don Pietro) and Anna Magnani (as bride-to-be Pina). Their eventual deaths have momentous weight through the power of their twin performances, and the exemplary world Rossellini has built around them.
