Fifty years of Italian cinema (1955)

52 This work of reconstruction might have had important results cinema-wise if it had been accompanied by the life-giving oxygen of a reasonable freedom. But one could hardly expect such a thing of a totalitarian regime. The supervised artisan could take certain steps, but it was certainly not an atmosphere of encouragement for a sensitive creative artist. Many films of the period (1936-1942), therefore, were more or less academic. Among other restrictions, it was obligatory that Italian life on the screen always be shown as being void of immorality or crime. This would make it clear to all, reasoned the powers-that-be, that the regime had eliminated these undesirable elements from Italian life. And when, in the same vein, the screen was used as an instrument for propaganda, it becomes obvious that any attempts at genuine creation were compromised by political expediency. Thus it becomes understandable how the few worthwhile works of their period could only have appeared through the rare and almost fortuitous coincidences involving the wishes of the directors and the restrictions imposed by a Ministry. But these films, by their very nature, could not ring true. They were clever and pointed propaganda compromises, like L'Assedio dell' Alcazar (The Siege of the Alcazar), or ambitious variations based on literary sources : Little Old World, Pistol Shot, Giacomo I'Idealista (James the Idealist), Farewell to Youth, La bella addormentata (Sleeping Beauty), etc. These were, in the main, intelligent exercises done mostly by the young. The more mature creator, however, began to find his chains irritating and began to long for filmic liberty. There was good reason to fear for the future. The fabric of financial and technical assistance was none too strong. Young people who wanted to work in film found themselves isolated without a producer with faith enough to proceed. From this period of ferment, many of them emerged with a truer sense of values. They realized the cinema was no longer to be considered mere spectacle or amusement. Shortly before the demise of the Fascist regime in 1943, three directors gave new impetus to the Italian screen by creating, within a few months of each other, three undeniably important films. These were De Sica's Bambini ci guardano (The Children Are Watching Us) ; Visconti's Obsession and Blasetti's Four Steps in the Clouds. The first is a bitter film — the tragedy of a child in the face of his mother's adultery and his father's suicide. The second is desperate — a grim and sensual plot that culminates in a crime. The third is light and gay — the humble story of little people, imbued with much charm and grace. Completely different in treatment and theme, these three films were inspired, sincere pieces of work. The De Sica and Blasetti films appeared almost in secret — the Visconti film was held up by censorship. These three films were the first honest words spoken by the Italian cinema, and before long it would be realized that they were predictions of memorable things to come. The bitter struggle for existence which followed the fall of fascism in Italy, with half the country still occupied by the Germans, provided fertile soil in which the creative powers of the directors could grow. They were now free men, but lived with suffering. This atmosphere gave birth to that dramatic chronicle of the days of German occupation, Rossellini's Roma, citta aperta (Open City) ; to De Sica's drama of youthful despair, Sciuscid (Shoeshine). Within a very short period of time, these two films were shown and acclaimed throughout the world. The bitter truth of these films made the world sit up and take notice.