Paisan

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Isaiah Y One of Roberto Rossellini's finest films, showcasing the best of Italian Neorealism Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/26/24 Full Review s r 1001 movies to see before you die. A groundbreaking film for neorealism, but it seemed dated despite its powerful 6 acts. It was on YouTube. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review William L Paisan is a distinctive vision of the experience of Italians and their relationship with allies and aggressors alike during the Second World War, told through a series of half a dozen vignettes told in Rossellini's blunt neorealist style, contrasting the sentimental romantacism of war as portrayed in many media outlets with a more brutal reality. The first of these episodes is a good example of the strengths of this kind of filmmaking style when applied to the wartime subject matter - the audience is initially lulled into a false sense of security with an idealized portrait of the conflict, as a US GI and a local Italian woman begin to establish a connection despite a language barrier, only to be suddenly disposed of by a passing German reconnaisance patrol, and the actual events of their demise misunderstood by those that find them. Rosselini's chief orchestrating theme is just that: misunderstanding, often through a language barrier, but occasionally touching on cultural divides as well, and it is often profound, as in the two lovers (a soldier and a prostitute) who initially found each other at the beginning of the war, but whose subsequent experiences render them all but unrecognizable to each other, and ultimately a failure to communicate prevents them from reuniting. When it's good, it's great, and must have been particularly stirring while the country was still in the process of rebuilding and the wounds were fresh. But the six stories are of somewhat inconsistent quality, a couple have pacing issues, and the decision to use non-professional actors in places seems to be more of a drag than a touch of sincerity. You can see the influence that the production style would have upon New Wave movements, and the stories are often quite touching, but there are creases that were never ironed out. (4/5) Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/17/21 Full Review Audience Member The episodic format was questionable but had benefits, such as being able to focus on narrow themes without shoehorning them together. Technically flawed but so was technology of the time. Resonates after the fact but hard to keep eyes open during. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Audience Member One of the greatest war movies, especially World War 2, I've ever seen. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member There's a conflict of idea and execution, the former being it's strength, the latter it's weakness. It's episodic, which is perhaps the best expression of any war. Just as I get caught up in one story, it drifts away to another. This is sometimes frustrating, yet satisfying in other ways. I was interested in what would happen to the Protestant and Jew at the monastery, but it leaves with their Italian-speaking Catholic leader having some nice words to say about the people that took them in. At it's core is the theme of communication and language barriers, which is a far more interesting point to highlight than the usual battle mission fare. The dubbing was pretty bad and it often has that Godzilla effect. The filmmaking was not always strong, and often became boring to look at it, despite the circumstances being interesting. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/12/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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