Come In, We're Open
It is 1944. This is Rome, war-torn and ravaged.
We meet Manfredi, a resistance leader on the run, who hides from the fascists with Francesco. From here we are presented with a microcosm of post-war Italian society, struggling and disquieted. Pina is Francesco's passionate, indignant (and already pregnant) fiancee. They are to be married by Don Pietro (Aldo Fabrizi), a priest who is helping the resistance. As they seem to be making progress, Manfredi's lover Marina betrays the movement in exchange for drugs and material luxuries. Her tip leads the enemy to Don Pietro and Manfredi. Horrified, we are confronted with a glimpse of the terrors of war when they are consequently captured and persecuted by the Germans.
And it is real. The sense of urgency is palpable. I feel as though I was standing beside Roberto Rossellini, perhaps even holding the shaky camera. I was watching in the crowd during the climax at the end of part one. I was there. This film transports you to Rome, the location so pertinent to the plot and mindset of the time. We begin to understand Italians and a piece of their history.
As well as the connection you form with the characters and their individual plights (and they are many), there is also a sense that what they are experiencing is universal. In some ways, Rome is a vehicle, a place to show how people all over the world are dealing with the atrocities of war, and love in wartime. This representation of universal messages transcends space and time, and is open for us to see through the eyes of ordinary people. In true Neorealistic style, there are no heroes and the non-professional actors make the film raw and unassuming.
As well as being an important film which brings us closer to understanding the hardships of the World War Two, Rome, Open City presents ideas and circumstances that are certainly still relevant. Not just to watch, but to be a part of.
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