Kirpianuscus its beauty seems be a kind of flavor. and that is not surprising if you do not ignore the director. meeting of Visconti with Dostoievski's universe, it is one of film who remains in memory not for the story or for characters, dialogs or landscapes but for a ball of emotions. Mastroianni does one of his magnificent roles. Maria Schell is herself, the same strange girl looking redefine the reality. Jean Marais - as a cold ghost who becomes key to return to the reality. at first sigh, the film of one scene - the dance . in fact, a brilliant embroidery. one of films who are only a form of delicate, subtle delight. because it propose only a meeting and few words between two strangers looking the roots of their life's sense.

Ilpo Hirvonen Le notti bianche (White Nights) is a loyal adaption, directed by a neo realist Luchino Visconti, of the short story by Fyodor Dostoevsky. The story is fascinating and Visconti wasn't the only one who adapted it; Robert Bresson and Ivan Pyrjev made films based on it as well. White Nights is about a lonely man who meets a lonely girl, but they're lonely for different reasons; the man is lonely because of social reasons, he's new in town, but the girl's loneliness comes from her isolation, because she has to live with her nearly blind grandmother. The short story by Dostoevsky is much more sentimental than Visconti's film, but they're both dreamy: "The notes of a dreamer." In the book the loneliness of Mario is a little exaggerated by showing that he has no social life at all. In the opening scene of the film we are clearly showed that Mario has had a night with a group of friends and is now heading back home. His loneliness is much more deeper; it's not about him not having social relations, but not really having true love nor happiness. The same night he sees a girl, Natalia crying on a bridge. He starts to fall in love with her, but unfortunately finds out that she is waiting for a man that is unlikely to come back. The man she met a year ago when he was a lodger of her grandmother. They promised to meet each other on the same bridge after a year - if she'd still love him they'd start a life together. It's hard for Mario to believe this and so he let's himself to fall in love with Natalia.The original story is set in St. Petersburg, but Visconti has moved it to Italy - still the neighborhood it takes place resembles the original story. The place is divided into two parts; the dreamy, fantasy world of Natalia and the sentimental, reality of Mario. In Natalia's own side she is a loyal lover, who waits for the man of her dreams and denies all the other relationships from her. But when she comes to Mario's reality side she is forced to see the facts and there she is able to fall in love again. Then when Mario follows Natalia over the bridge to her dreamy ideal world he has to take part in this 'fairy tale' and share the illusions of it.The book by Dostoevsky has two evocative subtitles: sentimental novel and the notes of a dreamer and the film clearly builds around these same issues. Dostoevsky gives us a lyric love story about loneliness, which is realism and an honest portrayal. But Visconti's version is much more ruthless - Dostoevsky still gives us hope, humor and optimism. Both of them are amazing, both the book and the film are the most moving stories I've ever heard.Le notti bianche is a film where ideal image is compared against reality. It's aesthetically gorgeous and the division to two sides is most certainly not just geographical. The contrast of ideal image and reality goes through the whole movie. The products of the reality are; the prostitute, her clients, the dancing, the teenagers and passers-by. But the ideal image cannot be separated into this concrete features, it's only the dreamy fantasy of Natalia. The dancing scene is brilliant and it reminds one of Federico Fellini's surrealism. The scene is very symbolic when it comes to the awkwardness of Mario and the uncomfortable relationship between him and Natalia. The scene is admirable, but also awkward, uncomfortable and maybe even unbearable.When the lonely Mario meets Natalia he can experience happiness; they both aren't lonely anymore - the loneliness is gone. But when the unbelievable happens and the man Natalia has been waiting for returns, Mario is left alone once again and is more lonely than ever. It's quite an interesting choice to give Natalia her victory. In the beginning the sympathy of the audience is given to Mario immediately and in the end every bit of empathy towards Natalia has disappeared. The final walk of the lonely Marcello Mastroianni is heartbreaking - something that will stay with me forever.

HeadleyLamarr Mario (Marcello Mastroianni) is a introverted young man who is new in town (a fantastical Livorno created just for the film). He encounters a young woman Natalya (Maria Schell) who appears to be waiting on a bridge. He saves her from some hoodlums and they become acquaintances. Over the next 4 nights we hear the stories of Mario and Natalya and come to learn why Natalya waits day after day at the bridge. Mario falls completely in love with Natalya and (in a departure from the Dostoyevsky story) throws away the letter she asks him to deliver to her returned lover. Will Natalya reciprocate Mario's feelings for her or will she forever pine for her lost love? The familiar tale unfolds beautifully in Visconti's version and the combination of sets, haunting use of lighting and fog, the river, the rain and snow, the narrow streets makes this a treat for the senses.The lead pair acted very well - Marcello was a heart-throb and Maria was beautifully vulnerable. Jean Marais as the tenant was a complete contrast to Mario the dreamer. He was earthy and big and solid.The movie had many beautiful moments but I MUST mention the night club scene - Marcello's dance was an inspired mix of gauche and genius. This is a beautiful film, well worth a watch and a few repeats. The DVD has some great insights into the period and what went into making the film.

Lee Eisenberg Luchino Visconti's adaptation of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's classic novel fits in perfectly with post-WWII Italy. Marcello Mastroianni and Maria Schell play people from dissimilar backgrounds who meet one night in an Italian town and strike up a relationship.An important aspect is their backgrounds. He has moved in from out of town, but has quickly gotten to know part of the town. While she has lived in the town her whole life, her grandmother has kept her close and never allowed her to see the other side of the town; she earlier struck up a relationship with another man (Jean Marais), but he left and she doesn't know whether or not he'll return. So then, Marcello Mastroianni and Maria Schell meet on the bridge (the link not only between the two sides of the town, but between the characters' different worlds).Another representation of contrasts between the separate worlds is shown by the different types of music. In one scene, Maria Schell and her grandmother go to see "Barber of Seville", one of the all-time classic operas. In the restaurant scene, someone plays a Bill Haley song, emblematic of modern music. Luchino Visconti was no fan of rock and roll, but probably felt that it would make for an evocative scene in this case.But anyway, "Le notti bianche" (or "White Nights") remains an important part of Italy's cinematic history. I hope to see more of Visconti's movie's in the future.