The Age of the Medici

Probably the most lavish and cinematic of Rossellini's later history films, but also one of even more limited interest to me. To an even greater extent than the others, it feels like something specifically designed for Italian history students. It probably doesn't help that the actors playing Cosimo Medici and Leon Battista Alberti looked almost identical and I kept getting confused about which one was which, not that I'm sure it mattered that much in the long run since none of it felt relevent.

I understand what it is trying to do and Rossellini absolutely succeeds in his aims. I also appreciate its scope, its beauty, its texture. But it does nothing for me at all. What Rossellini is setting out to do has a lot of merit but it is completely opposite to what I like in my films. It's a history lesson full of didactic and expository dialogue that doesn't even attempt to have any emotional content whatsoever, and whilst that is the intent it is not an intent which gels well with me.