INE NEO REAL ISM
EMA ART CENTER FILM CLUB
Italian Neorealism (Italian : Neorealismo) is a national film movement characterized by stories set amongst the poor and the working class, filmed on location, frequently using non-professional actors. Neorealist films mostly contend with the difficult economic and moral conditions of Italian post–World War II, representing changes in the Italian psyche and conditions of everyday life, including poverty, oppression, injustice and desperation. The Italian Neorealist style was developed by a circle of film critics that revolved around the magazine Cinema, including directors, such as Luchino Visconti, Michelangelo Antonioni, Federico Fellini, Roberto Rossellini, and Vittorio De Sica. Largely prevented from writing about politics, the critics attacked the “White Telephone” films that dominated the film industry at the time. As a counter to the popular mainstream films, including the so-called “White Telephone” films, some critics felt that Italian cinema should turn to the realist writers from the turn of 20th century.
SEASON 07 | SPRING 14
CI
EVERY FRIDAY 7 PM @ LAT | FREE
FEATURED FILMS
DE SICA 01 THE BICYCLE THIEF 1948 | 93 MIN | 01.31 Ricci, an unemployed man, gets at last a good job that acquires a bicycle. But soon his bicycle gets stolen while he is working. He and his son looks for the bicycle. Ricci finally finds the thief but without proof, he has to abandon his cause. But he and his son know perfectly well that without a bike, Ricci won’t be able to keep his job.
02 TWO WOMEN 1960 | 100 MIN | 02.07 Cesira and her daughter, Rosetta, flee from the allied bombs in Rome during the WWII. During their journey and in the village, the mother does everything to protect Rosetta. But on one occasion they both get raped by soldiers hiding in a church. This cruel event is too much for the always powerful fighting Cesira and she suffers from a breakdown.
FELLINI 03 LA STRADA 1945 | 104 MIN | 02.14 Gelsomina is sold by her poor mother to Zampanò, an itinerant strongman. She follows him on the road and helps him during his shows. She meets “The Fool”, a funambulist. She feels like going with him, but he puts confusion in her mind by pointing out that perhaps Zampanò is in fact in love with her.
04 NIGHTS OF CABIRIA 1967 | 110 MIN | 02.21 Cabiria is a streetwalker living in a poor section of Rome where she owns her little house, has a bank account, and dreams of a miracle. We follow her nights: a boyfriend steals 40,000 lire from her and nearly drowns her, a movie star on the Via Veneto takes her home with him, at a local shrine she seeks the Madonna’s intercession, then she meets an accountant who’s seen her, hypnotized on a vaudeville stage, acting out her heart’s longings.
ITA A ROSSELLINI
05 OPEN CITY
1945 | 103 MIN | 02.28
During the Nazi occupation of Rome, the resistance leader Giorgio Manfredi aka Luigi Ferraris is chased
by the Gestapo. His friend Francesco, the widow Pina’s fiancé, together with the priest Don Pietro Pellegrini
help him to get a new identity and leave Rome. How-
ever, Manfredi is betrayed by his lover Marina Mari and arrested by the Germans SS troops.
06 PAISAN
1960 | 134 MIN | 03.07
The film is divided into six different episodes. They are
set in the Italian Campaign during The World War II when
Nazi Germany was losing the war against the Allies. A major theme is communication problems due to language barriers.
07 STROMBOLI
1945 | 81 MIN | 03.14
Karen, a young woman from the Baltic, marries a fisherman Antonio to escape from a prisoners camp. But the life in Antonio’s village, She soon discovers that his home island of Stromboli is very harsh and barren, and the people traditional and conservative. They act with hostility towards this strange, foreign woman.
ALIANO ANTONIONI
08 L’AVVENTURA
1960 | 143 MIN | 03.21
The Story begins with a trip with a group of Sandro, Anna,
and Claudia. When Anna disappears during a tour, Claudia and Sandro fall in love. However, Sandro betrays Claudia
with a local prostitute. Sandro has a breakdown on a desolate beach, but Claudia silently forgives him.
VISCONTI
09 LA TERRA TREMA 1948 | 165 MIN | 03.28
The film tells about the exploitation of fishermen. The
eldest son of the family convinces them to mortgage their house to catch and sell fish themselves and make more
money. Everything goes well until a storm ruins the boat,
leaving them with nothing to keep their business going.
10 ROCCO AND HIS BROTHERS 1960 | 177 MIN | 04.04
Rosaria moves to Milano with her five sons. In the beginning, the family has a lot of problems, but everyone manages to find something to do. Simone does boxing, Rocco works in a dry cleaners, and Ciro studies. Simone meets Nadia, a prostitute, and they have an affair. Then Rocco, after coming back from his military service, begins a relationship with her. A bitter feud ensues between the two brothers, which will lead as far as murder.
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