The movie “Voyage to Italy” or sometimes called “Journey to Italy” was a movie about a couple that went to Italy to sell the villa that their uncle left for them. They’ve been married for eight years and this was one of the only times they were alone. They knew their marriage was falling apart but not one of them wanted to admit it. Only when they went to Italy could they see that they needed to do something. The film was intended to be an adaptation of the novel “Duo.” But Roberto Rosselini, which was the director and husband of the leading lady did not get the rights to the novel. Instead, they wrote the screen play similar to the book.
As I suspected, the movie was predictable. I predicted that they were going to reconcile and save their marriage which most of the films I have watched end with this kind of stories. The first night in Italy, they saw a friend and the same night, you could see Alex, which is the husband already flirting with a woman. The wife, which is Katherine did not like it. Alex does get jealous as well and it did not help their situation. They spent their vacation in Italy separate. Katherine went to go see the museums that Alex was not a fan of. The first museum she visited, talked about the Emperors of Rome. The one that stood out for me was the emperor that killed everyone in his family, including his mother and burned Rome. He had a baby-face. Spending their vacation separately helped them thinking that they needed to divorce. And in their last day, they agreed to do just that. Suddenly, someone appears insisting that they go to Pompeii. Pompeii is something significant to Katherine because it was written about by an old suitor that made Alex tell her that he was a fool. In Pompeii, they discovered a couple who was buried in ashes during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius two thousand years ago. She was disturbed so she and Alex left Pompeii. But they were caught in the procession of a Saint in Naples. Katherine got swept away by the crowd and Alex went after her. After that, they again, professed their love for one another and that was the end.
In one of the articles I read, Wheeler Winston Dixon stated: “And yet, the final moments of the film seem absolutely “right”; indeed, it seems to be the only possible conclusion to the film.” I disagree with this statement. We did not see their marriage before they went to Italy but I do feel that what they need is a divorce. I feel like they just had that burst of emotion on the very last scene of the film is because they’ve been married for eight years and it is hard to think and do let go but after watching the movie, I feel like the only logical conclusion to the film is them separating. In the video: “Martin Scorsese on the Films of Roberto Rossellini”, Martin Scorsese talks about the different archaeological sites which was shown in the last scene where Alex and Katherine found the couple that died together in each other’s arms when the volcano erupted. He stated that he felt that he was not so separated from the ancient world and the cultures from seeing the movie. And I believe that he was right. We are not separated from the ancient world. I know it has happened so long ago but what ever happened in the past, it will always be connected to what we have now. He was also moved by the last scene and said that he thinks that it’s the most modern film which I disagree. Yes, it is similar to other movies I watched because of the story but I don’t see it as modern. I have not watched a lot of old movies except for the Schindler’s list and in some way, the take between movies is similar. On the very first scene, the camera was very shaky because they were in a car and I could not call that modern. The movie is modern in a way how the story was told. It did make me want to watch it without a lot going on other than a married couple fighting. It was interesting to see that a sense of danger in the very end of the movie made them see how they really feel about it each other. But I do think that it would’ve been better if the movie gave us a glimpse of their eight years of marriage before they finally end up where they were before they rekindled. We had to see if them getting back together was worth it or is it just prolonging their misery?
While I did enjoy the movie, and loved the chemistry between the two leading actors, I did not see it as a modern film and did not think the right ending was given. I do think that if the ending was unpredictable, and they end up in divorce, I would’ve loved it more. I also would’ve wanted them to elaborate on the deceased poet who was in love with Katherine. I think it would’ve made the film so much more exciting.
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I thought about watching this movie as my choice for the week but I thought similarly to you. I thought it seemed predictable as a normal love story. The way you described the movie and plot I would have expected more detail in the couple’s background relationship. I like that we both have similar thoughts about these movies being a little predictable. I did learn from your post that I expect so much more in love movies now because it is so much more interesting when the story is unpredictable. I admire that you aren’t afraid to argue your point with this movie. You spoke your true thoughts about how you would have wanted to movie to end.
Hi Francesa! We did the same movie, but you had a much different take about the film than I did, which made reading your post super interesting. I am a huge sucker for a happy ending, but I didn’t really think about why it would not work in the long term. I’ll definitely make sure to take a more “long-term” approach when looking at future films that we watch. I did not notice the relevance of the Ancient Greece setting, so that was definitely something I will look for next time I watch the film.
Hi, Francesa
I also watched the movie voyage to Italy. I agree with your post when you described the film of having predictability but I also disagree. If they didn’t get to rekindle their relationship at the end I would’ve been upset at the fact that I just wasted an hour of my life watching a movie that didn’t go anymore from beginning to end. Although your point about in the long term they were better off without each other is true. If it was another movie with that ending it wouldn’t have been a very exciting watch.
Francesca,
I think it is interesting that it seems as though several of the films we could have chosen to watch this week seemed pretty conventional. I like how you didn’t feel any obligation to compliment the movie and really tackled the issues with the conventional plot. This essay really made me start to wonder if films have gotten to be more unconventional over time or if these films were unconventional when they came out but as time went on they became conventional as the plots have been repeated. Keep up the great work!
Francesa,
I completely agree with your take on the movie. ” I feel like they just had that burst of emotion…”. I could not agree more with this, like you said we did not get to see their relationship before they began their journey. However, based on their relationship on a ‘vacation’ they have just grown apart. They are a relationship striving to hold onto it simply because they don’t want to be alone not because of their love for each other. Things change and people grow apart and the longer we try to hold on to it the more we lose a piece of ourselves. I truly appreciate this short essay you’ve written and your capability to express what you have seen.