#124

The first three episodes are very touching, intimate stories. I really loved the first half of the movie. The second half of the film is a slight letdown. The 4th is okay, but lacks that personal touch and feels more like a simple adventure story. And the last episode is fairly typical war stuff. It's the fifth that confounds me. Either Rossellini is being ironic, or it's a celebration of Catholic intolerance. The musical score is bombastic and overbearing, but the cinematography is admirable.

If you went by this film you'd never know the Italians were allied with the Germans for much of the war, and I have to admit that annoyed me. That complaint aside this is quite a wonderful, raw film about the Italian liberation, told through 6 interesting vignettes. The use of native languages was a good choice and helped convey the emotions and confusion underlying the situation. The second half wasn't as solid as the first, but the good direction made up for the less compelling characters.

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# 139

This film is a testament to the way a well-chosen location can dramatically impact the power of a film. Like The Third Man and Rossellini's previous film to this, Rome, Open City, Paisan tells its stories in the midst of piles of rubble and trash, bombed out buildings and broken down cities. Rossellini, in telling six different stories, threads them all together with the march of the Americans north in WWII. The dramatic shift in attitudes toward the other on both sides is wonderful to watch.

I guess I'm being a bit harsh. A good deal of the performances and musical cues are just incessantly bad.

Not good as a film but maybe as a documentary.

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