Stromboli

An intense and powerful film that stands on the strong performance by Bergman as well as Rossellini's always intriguing camera. The director manages to retain some sympathy for these characters, holding out the hope of something better and more pure, even as they flail in search of their ideals. The volcano works to ground this most spiritual of films in the physical realm, acting as a strange and surprising conduit for grace. Remarkable.

I'd rate it higher if I felt the film agreed with me that these characters are just straight up incompatible. And I suppose it could be interpreted that way, but that's not how the thrust of the film and the dialogue framed the situation. Scene by scene I think this could be a strong film about how infatuation is not love and how neither is enough to overcome larger incompatibilities. But as a whole it wants to focus on Bergman's character and her flaws rather than the relationship itself.

Stand out moments are the tuna hunt and the transformative scene with Bergman on the volcano Stromboli in the end. Hits the right spot of otherworldly aesthetics.

ingrid bergman ve rosselini aşkı...

Even if justified on the basis of rash impulse to escape averse conditions, it's almost impossible to buy into the notion that Bergman's character would marry a fisherman.Perhaps that's the curse of beauty (or the limits of perception). Karen is a more literalised version of the female characters that would be found later in the superior films of Antonioni: women tensely at odds with their desolute surroundings. She acts well, and her scene on the volcano elevates it considerably.

Visually stunning at times but not much character development and dialogue here.

The lack of a character to root for makes the film difficult, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Rossellini shoots it magnificently, particularly during the fishing and eruption scenes. And I found myself rooting for Bergman despite her flaws. Someone on iMDB compared it to Man of Aran and Breaking the Waves, a description I think is fairly apt. I'd throw a little Bunuel in there, perhaps. An interesting and often beautiful film, although I still don't think Rossellini lives up to his reputation.

Dull and ineffectual for the most part, but Rossellini succeeds in making this still look fantastic.

# 640

This is movie is pretty scandalous for 1950. We see the worst sides of not just this marriage, but every marriage, through the woman's point of view. I found Bergman quite compelling, floundering around looking to inject some meaning or value into her marriage. She never says it, but there are several turns where she thinks "if only this happens, I'll be happy." Of course she's never happy. The ending is kind of famous, and pretty ambiguous, which is incredibly refreshing from a 1950s film.

Remarkable on a number of levels, as the beginning of the Bergman-Rossellini partnership, and the documentary elements. The Tuna hunt is unforgettable.

535

The casting of Bergman works out perfectly; her Hollywood persona really make her stand out of the Italian villagers, just like her character does. It could have been a really good movie, if it wasn't for the ending; because her realization comes out-of-nowhere and isn't built up to.

Star Rating: ★★★★

The beginning of the quote-unquote voyage to Italy, when Rossellini would transition from postwar socioeconomics to geographic alienation and existential anguish. Ingrid Bergman is wonderful as the flawed but sympathetic Karin; condescending, ungrateful, repressed, marginalized. It's a beautiful and rustic film, sharing similar spiritual concerns regarding modesty and revelation as The Flowers of St. Francis, more melodramatic than the war trilogy, but filled with the same cultural authenticity.

watched: 2014, 2023

Definitivamente preciso ver mais Rossellini.

Although Stromboli is fell of interesting themes and complex emotions the whole thing comes over as slightly drab and dull.

Ingrid Bergman could not save this poorly written movie. It gives us a close look at an isolated and backward religious Italian fishing community. The scenery is bleak and barren, as is most of the story. It has several sluggish and boring patches. She makes a few desperate overtures to leave but is rebuffed. It is not particularly memorable or very worthwhile.

watchable

This is a film that I thought was pretty damn good until the last few minutes where is quite suddenly became a magnificent and sublime experience. It recalls Paul Schrader's discussion of transcendental style with it's gesturing at something profound and more than a little ineffable.

520

An interesting character study of Karen, played extremely well as always by Ingrid Bergman. Like some other Bergman films, there's a bit of monologuing that is really unnecessary given how well she portrays emotions without saying the lines. The volcano scenes are impressive. I was a bit confused about what it wanted us to think about Bergman's character, though. Maybe that's the point, and we're supposed to judge for ourselves, but I ended up being really conflicted on her.

Saw both the English speaking one and the more Italian dub oriented release, and I'd say the Italian version feels more authentic. But either way, the drama is deep. It really takes you to the hardship of this volcanic island, and how a more outward woman like Bergman would not fit in with the conservative people of this fishing village, The claustrophobia really gets you. And it mashes so well with the landscape. Almost like hell on earth for this woman.

#559

So very flawed, peculiar, and powerful. Bergman is spectacular.