Andrea_Ratti It depicts its essence within its characters while the theme circles around faith. Much of Rossellini's pictures are somewhat a representation of this. Here the characters must escape or adapt the new federal law. Nazi forces have mobilized into Rome and the generals are tasked to sniff out any resistant leaders. This takes our main characters down several rabbit holes eventually leading into a torture; portraying the harsh brutality of World War 2. The movie undermines each character in better and worst situations. Most of them never prove within their strength. Rather they body themselves to fit in while others go against. It is the resistant characters who are trialled horribly and the general who is stern in approach. With each decision, our protagonists spiral into a lack of control. Ultimately, it leads to violence.There are tender moments however, between the lovers, a family, a couple and a priest where they find solidarity. This is its undertone and depicted gracefully through the acting. Then, after the first act, the movie climes its summit religious like. Death arrives, and the harsh reality turns into a darker bitterer atmosphere. Then, the final moments with the priest and the children direct us to a company of children with strength in their hearts and faith by their side. This is the third act in which it binds the tangent of the movie. With each directional point, it is presented with such a humane behaviour by Rossellini. Improvisational and spontaneous yet controlled by the editing. It's seamless. The acting is similarly yielded with praise, especially from the priest and the mother. We the audience encapsulates the essence and spirit that stands triumphant. Respectfully and rightfully, a great movie of history and of the human heart.

snideelf First time I've seen this. Great dialog. I liked the scene where one of the German officers who has had too much to drink just comes out and tells everyone that the Germans are just mass murderers. I did not expect that from this movie which was somehow made in 1945. I thought the end was dumb because you have a German officer telling a squad of Italians armed with loaded rifles to execute an Italian priest who refused to talk. Italians in those days were more loyal to the Catholic Church so I was hoping that the squad of Italian executioners would have just turned and aimed their rifles at the German officer and those 2 Italian collaborators wearing trench coats. That would have made for a better ending. Unless of course this movie is based on a true story in which case it had to be told the way it really happened and not the way the audience would have liked it to end. Good movie. End could have been better. You have to give people hope in a hopeless world.

Cosmoeticadotcom Rome Open City is a good film, but it is clearly a far more historically important film than an artistically great one (the predominance of hagiography and agitprop make this almost inevitable). Too many times its lead characters, be they Italians or Germans, good guys or bad guys, fall into stereotypes, and the action plunges into melodrama. Pina's senseless death is the best example, as she would truly have to be stupid to do such a thing in real life, with her son right there. But, it does set up the rest of the film's drama and narrative pieces. And there can be some rightful criticism of the film's dishonest portrayal of the Italian Resistance (which was virtually nothing in comparison to the French Resistance), culpability for the Second World War, and relative prosperity and lack of internal destruction versus other European nations. Nonetheless, the film did sweep the Cannes Film Festival and many others worldwide, and it has a number of touches that redeem its clichés, such as having Don Pietro's glasses be broken so that he can only hear, not see, Manfredi's slow death, or the literal killing of two lambs by the Nazis right before Marina betrays Manfredi, which, in its rendering is far more affecting than in its mere description. It should also be mentioned that in a brief scene, an Italian tot's naked bottom half (including genitalia) is shown, which both adds to the claims of realism, and satisfies the dramatic arc of the moment, highlighting how silly most censored scenes and moments in film are. Rome Open City does not broach greatness, but it does entertain and inspire, even almost two thirds of a century after its conception, and sometimes that's something which has even more effect than hermetic greatness. So, ciao, and it's on to Paisan!

preppy-3 This takes place during WW2 when the Nazis controlled Italy. A resistance fighter named Giorgio (Marcello Pagliero) is tracked down by the Nazis. He goes to a friend named Francesco (Franceso Grandjacquel) to get out of Italy. With the help of priest Don Pietro Pellegrini (Aldo Fabrizi) he tries to help.I can't tell anymore without ruining the movie. I'm not a fan of neo-Realsim in movies (I HATED "The Bicycle Thief") but I have to admit I loved this movie. It was quick-moving and mostly well-acted by an amateur cast. For the 1940s it was also pretty explicit--there's a German lesbian character, tortures, bombings and a woman (a main character) is shot down in cold blood (that was never done back then). It was shot in documentary style which makes it seem more realistic. The only debits were the bad music and a German official who acts like he came out of a Hollywood movie about Germans. Still, this is a classic and well worth seeing. I give it an 8.