Europe '51

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Audience Member Typically overwrought Rossellini. Ingrid Bergman's gifts are on display, and Alexander Knox never hurts a film, but this movie just pours misery on misery. I'm a socialist, and even sympathetic to communism, but this kind of propaganda does a disservice to the lower classes by picturing them as pathetic and pitiful. On the plus side, some interesting vistas of post-war Rome. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review laurent b Starting from a family drama to describe the misery of post-war Italy, Rossellini leads us from a mother's need for redemption, to her progressive metamorphosis into a Christ figure, being almost as a saint, while he denounces the hypocrisy, conformism and blindness of his contemporaries. A pure masterpiece. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review William L Radical Socialist Activist in 1951: "The initiative of the State Department must be considered in relation to the quite obvious intention of American financiers to take the place of England and control the Persian oil fields." Well, you were pretty darn spot on there, bud. Europa '51 is largely a one-note film. The narrative serves purely to reinforce a tired theme based around the premise that morality and base humanity have been drained from modern society, and that those who opt to act selflessly are perceived as deviants. There is some foresight in the reevaluation of the goals of society with the implementation of benchmarks that were considered controversial at the time or release - moderate socialism, empowered labor unions, and philanthropy for its own sake among them, and these have largely become major components of European governments. However, at its core it remains an incredibly basic morality tale (plenty of parallels to Paul the Apostle and similar Biblical/Christian narratives) with only minor adjustments to adapt it as a piece of modern social criticism. Bergman is solid, but in such an accomplished career her performance in Europa '51 can hardly be called one of her best. (3/5) Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/19/21 Full Review Audience Member It raises a lot of questions about modern society, and about love. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Audience Member There is so much going on in this one. A strange combination of themes but I have to say it works. Not perfectly but it works. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member Not quite my favorite Bergman film. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Europe '51

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