Unorthodox
Journey to Italy was directed by Roberto Rossellini and released in 1954. The film was shot in black and white and follows a crumbling relationship between an english couple who are traveling to sell an inherited home in Italy. The 1950’s were a time of conformity for the general American public, it was the boom of the sprawling suburbs where major differences between neighbors was their television size. The lead actress of Journey to Italy, Ingrid Bergman, had her fair share of drama during the time period of Journey to Italy’s release. Ingrid Bergman had admitted to having an extramarital affair with the film’s producer Rossellini in 1949 and conceived a child with him in 1950. Hollywood would not cast her in movies until twenty years later due to her unconventional actions. So, she filmed with Rossellini in Italy for a total of four films in the 1950’s. The press did not favor the movie at the time of release due in combination with Bergman’s extramarital affair and Rossellini’s style of blended narrative and scenery that resulted in a convoluted plot. The New York Times would not end up writing a review for the movie until 2013.
Roberto Rossellini’s methods of filming caught the more traditional actor George Sanders off guard. During the course of filming Sanders became increasingly upset at Rossellini’s decision to hold back his dialogue until the day prior to filming in order to get a more authentic take. According to Roberto Rossellini, a book detailing Roberto Rossellini’s films, Sanders would be on the telephone with a psychiatrist every night and at one point broke down into tears due to frustration. Sanders and Rossellini would feud many times over decisions similar to this. In addition, Rossellini was a secretive man and would not fully disclose his plans with the actors and started the directing process by filming various sequences in Naples hoping to be inspired and develop the story from those scenes. Sander’s displeasure contributes to the displeasure displayed by the character Alex that he plays in Journey to Italy. Thereby enabling Rossellini to achieve the authenticity of a somber man on the brink of divorce. However the internal issues Sander’s contained proved to be too great many years later when he committed suicide. Leaving behind evidence that he had always been a broken and unpleasant man.
In hindsight Rossellini’s film is viewed by many to be a masterpiece. It is clear that critics at the time had many issues with the film. Mainly the scandalous affair that led to Bergman and Rossellini’s marriage. The plot vaguely mirrors the tumultuous relationship of Bergman and Rossellini. With no concrete story at work the film captures Katherine Joyce played by Bergman traveling around Italy while her husband Alex does his best to sell an inherited home and flirts with other women. To that point it does it’s job well showing a beautiful countryside with fascinating history including Italy’s catacombs and ruins. By the end the couple’s relationship is pushed to its limits and Alex decides it would be best for the couple to get a divorce. Immediately after, they are whisked into sightseeing and eventually caught in the middle of a street festival where a unconvincing plot twist ends with the pair telling each other “I love you”. However the movie has provided too many scenes showing the couple hating each other for the twist to come across as genuine. One can not help but notice how oblivious they seemed to the culture of Italy. Demonstrating how their subpar relationship was more important than anything going on around them. For example at the conclusion of the movie they pay no attention to an ongoing religious festival and mention how childish the religion was. Rossellini’s ability to merge narrative and atmosphere left many viewers underwhelmed at the plot; yet is the reason many view this film today as magnificent. Rossellini is able to draw parallels and symbolism from the Italian landscape. A scene in Pompeii where two ancient lovers are encased in clay from the explosion of Pompeii conjures up symbolism to the main characters relationship. The emotions are too much for Katherine who tears up in the scene and then provides a rebound for the couple’s marriage.
Since the movie and it’s stars were highly unorthodox it made for a under appreciated movie until years later. In retrospect audiences and critics very much appreciate Rossellini’s unique and bold approach to blend scenery and narrative into a story. It mirrors the off screen drama surrounding Bergman and Rossellini’s marriage as well as attempting to push the boundaries of film-making with unusual approaches to acting and plot building. This led to the New York Times to deem Journey to Italy in their 2013 review, “A movie ahead of its time”
Works Cited
Rossellini, Roberto, director. Journey to Italy. Youtube / Journey to Italy.
Hello, Connor, I’ve chosen the same film with you this week. It’s a great movie, though people didn’t think highly about it when it first came out. I have the same opinion as you about this movie. In your post, I find you’ve compared some different reviews about this movie. Through your analysis, I become to realize the meaning that the last sentence in your post conveys. The unique skills Rossellini used in this film, combining scenery with narrative together, have made the film an extraordinary one in the later years. I admire your ability to describe the movie plots in concise words. I usually have to use long words to describe a film clip, and sometimes it turns to be meaningless. I believe I can learn it by reading your post carefully.
Hey Conner,
It was interesting reading your blog, you took a different approach to the others that i read as well. hearing more about the process that the actor and producers took and the frustrations that they faced daily i believe is such a large part of why movies are so great. to see that frustration acted out through their work is truly a work of art. you did a great job showing what you believed were the more important parts of the movie and that was hard for me to do this week between watching an movie i am not used to and can not understand i found myself almost going in circles about what was more important or not.
Hey Connor,
I really enjoyed reading your blog about the movie, Journey to Italy. The title, “Unorthodox” is perfect. After reading your post, i am completely in agreement with the fact that this filmmaker, Robert Rosselini, is extremely unorthodox. Learning that the main actor was driven to talk to a psychiatrist every night, due to Rosselini’s unorthodox directing and filming, was insane to me. It just shows that acting is very hard and a lot more than just talking and moving in front of a camera. I hope to read more of your blogs as I really enjoyed your analysis on how the director used his real life relationships to influence the movie.
Hi Connor!
I agree that the film and director were rather unorthodox and it seems like the actors were as well. I was very interested to learn Ingrid Bergman had an affair with the film’s producer. I enjoyed the unique layout of your blog and I am wishing I had done something similar.
Hi, Connor,
I haven’t seen the film before, but after reading your blog, I went to enjoy the “beyond The Times movie”. I’m just as attracted to this movie as you are. At the end of the film, when the couple was swept away by the festival parade, and finally tried to find each other, the words after getting together should be the theme Rossellini wanted to express: we originally loved each other, but always torture each other, maybe we are too easy to be hurt! But I believe this film is not only about love, it has more profound themes, about war, time and hope. A nation will not know the pain of war until it has experienced it. A person does not see death, will not figure out the thickness of life, do not know how precious now have. In addition to the film itself, I found that you talked about the process of making the film in the beginning. The director’s affair with the actor led to the film’s unpopularity at the beginning of its release. Therefore, I wonder whether the appreciation of films should focus more on the films themselves rather than the private lives of directors and actors. I learned a lot from your blog. You described the plot of the movie with concise and concise language and added your own thinking. This writing style of combining description and comments is worth learning for me.
Hi Connor,
This film seems like it is very interesting for its time. I am really intrigued at how Rossellini took this film so seriously as a director. I think that his leadership techniques provided the truth he was looking for from his actors and the final work of this film. In a way, the behind the scenes drama is almost more appealing than the film itself. I wonder if people knew at the time that Rossellini and Ingrid had an affair at the time – if so, I am sure that made the film much more appealing to viewers. I know it definitely would have to me.
I really enjoyed the route you took for your research aspect because it showed the film in a different sense that spoke more about the history than the film itself, at first.