Film Culture (Winter 1963-64)

-PAISA, SIXTH EPISODE Scenario and dialogue by Roberto Rossellini and Federico Fellini SIXTH EPISODE Exterior. On the banks of the Po. (Day) A placard comes floating downstream along the Po. The river is exactly at that point where it is the widest, with the mouth of the river nearby. Along the silent distant shores, coming closer and closer into view, are reeds, fields and tiny villages; their shadows, mirrored in the clear water, move only slightly with the gentle flow of the current. The white placard continues to float downstream towards the mouth of the river, approaching closer; a whirlpool spins it around, bringing it momentarily to a halt, and then it resumes its course. A close-up shot of the placard shows it to be fastened to a life preserver in which there is seen, slightly above the water, the dangling head of a dead man. Even from a distance the black and white lettering on the placard stands out clear and sharp: PARTISAN — distinct and legible to anyone looking out over the river from any point along the shore. On the banks, groups of women and children are watching the macabre spectacle. Two German soldiers standing on the shore point to the corpse. German Soldier: Partisan! Just a single word, but the meaning is clear and simple: This is the end that awaits all those who dare to rebel against the Nazi forces. Slowly, one of the women makes the sign of the Cross. And the corpse floats by, passing beyond the area where the people are gathered. No longer are there any homes or steeples to be seen along the banks; we see only a broad, monotonous expanse of tall reeds, interrupted occasionally by little islands of dry land and small canals that flow out into the river. Exterior. A marsh. (Day) Views of reeds. The tips of two canoes come poking through the vegetation, spreading it aside like a curtain. Two men look up from their little boats to scan the horizon. One of them is an American army officer in combat uniform. His clothes are torn and dirty. He has a determined look upon his face, and a strong, stocky body. He is Captain Dale, a liason officer with the partisans. The other man is dressed in ordinary civilian clothes, wearing a pair of low boots and a woolen cap over his head. He has only one eye, which makes his sun-burned face appear somewhat grim. He is Cigolani, a partisan and a boatman by trade. The two men are armed with carbines. Cigolani also has a small hatchet tucked under his belt. Standing up in his canoe, he points to the river. Cigolani: There’s another dead partisan in the Po; I’m going out there to fetch him. Dale: And Y’ll go over and blow up that mine on the beach to distract the attention of the Germans. With hardly any movement at all, the two canoes separate and break away from the shore. Cigolani rows out towards the body of the dead partisan, which keeps drifting closer and closer to shore. Dale brings his canoe into a small canal. He docks the boat on dry land, takes out a hidden stick of dynamite, slips it inside his windbreaker, and disappears among the surrounding reeds. It is evident from his quick and surefooted movements that he is quite familiar with the locale. Dale appears on the beach. Not far away from him, there on the shore, looms the round, massive bulk of a huge mine, completely encrusted with shells and algae. Dale crouches low and runs over to it; he kneels down, pulls out the stick of dynamite and then inserts it under the mine, unwinding the fuse. Cigolani has almost reached the partisan. Far off on the horizon a black spot is seen. It is a German pillbox. The Germans spot the movement on the river. A stream of gunfire pours forth from the pillbox and a hail of bullets land all around the boat. Bending over the mine, Dale lights up a cigarette, and then ignites the end of the fuse with the tip of the lit cigarette. A tiny wisp of smoke rises up into the air. Dashing quickly inland for cover, Dale comes to a sudden halt and crouches down close to the ground. FILM CULTURE 61