A film review by Dr. Svet Atanasov, for blu-ray.com on September 11, 2013.
Winner of International Award at the Venice Film Festival, Roberto Rossellini's Europe '51 (1952) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include the Italian-language version of the film, Europa '51; an archival introduction by Roberto Rossellini; exclusive video interview with Italian film critic Adriano Apra; and a video interview with Italian film scholar Elena Dagrada. In English or Italian, with optional English SDH and English subtitles. Region-A locked.
A tragic event forces the beautiful socialite Irene Girard (Ingrid Bergman, Intermezzo, Casablanca, Notorious) to temporarily abandon her wealthy husband (Alexander Knox, Khartoum, Crack in the World) and enter the world of the poor and underprivileged. She begins spending time with single mothers who can barely make ends meet, prostitutes, and underpaid workers, and then begins reevaluating her life.
In Rome's slums, Irene quickly realizes that her previous life has been a meaningless illusion because she never cared about her friends and their feelings. Overwhelmed by guilt, Irene also begins to ponder the importance of faith.
This often overlooked film directed by the great Roberto Rossellini is essentially a contemporary replica of his excellent The Flowers of St. Francis. Predictably, the focus of attention in it is not so much on Irene's actual journey through the slums, but on her gradual character transformation and the humility and happiness she rediscovers after she abandons her posh lifestyle.
This is also a film that is seriously concerned with the polarizing division between the poor and the wealthy in post-war Italy. Indeed, the sense of guilt that initiates Irene's character transformation is only a pretext to question the values and beliefs of the wealthy, as well as to promote various leftists ideas and principles.
The tragedy that occurs in the film is a product of the division – it is inspired by the coldness and isolation the wealthy have become comfortable with. After Irene leaves her family, Rossellini points the camera to the short discussions where her decision is debated to further expose the ignorance of those who have had an active role in her life. Pay close attention to their attitude and you will see that it mirrors Irene's from the party sequence in the beginning of the film.
Interestingly enough, Irene's transformation also leads to isolation. Of course, this time it is her relationship with the poor that is responsible for it, but she is again removed from the real world and consequently forced to suffer.
Bergman is at her very best in Europe '51. The sizable transformation she undergoes is remarkable. The great Giulietta Masina plays the single mother from the slums whose life is a lot simpler and a lot more fulfilling than Irene's. The prostitute Irene befriends is played by the beautiful Teresa Pellati. Alexander Knox is the wealthy husband, while Ettore Giannini plays Irene's quiet left-leaning cousin Andrea.
Europe '51 was lensed by Aldo Tonti, one of the greatest post-war Italian cinematographers. (Marcelo Pagliero's Roma città libera, Luchino Visconti's Ossessione, Federico Fellini's Nights Of Cabiria).
Rossellini's film exists in a number of different versions: the Venice version (Europa '51, Italian-language), the Italian theatrical version (Europa '51, Italian-language), the U.S. version (The Greatest Love, English-language), and the International version (Europe '51, English-language). Criterion's Blu-ray release contains two versions of the film: the international English-language version, Europe '51, which runs at approximately 110 minutes (01.49.46), and the Italian-language international version, Europa '51, which runs at approximately 119 minutes. (Please note that Bergman spoke her lines in English). [Atanasof’s rating: **** ½ out of 5 stars]
Labels: drama, Fifties, Ingrid Bergman
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