265. Viaggio in Italia/Voyage in Italy (1953)

Running Time: 83 minutes
Directed By: Roberto Rossellini
Written By: Vitaliano Brancati, Roberto Rossellini
Main Cast: Ingrid Bergman, George Sanders, Maria Mauban, Anna Proclemer, Paul Muller

ROSSELLINI WEEK: THE CONCLUSION

In 657 movie reviews, this is the first one I almost forgot to write. I watched "Voyage in Italy" last night and intended to write the review when I got home from work today. Then, of course, came the news out of Boston, of the bombings and after being glued to the television for a little while, I fell asleep for an afternoon nap. Well, I'm wide awake now and it's time to wrap up "Rossellini Week".

NOTE: Speaking of the Boston situation, I'd like to take just a moment to send thoughts and prayers to everyone affected by today's events.

When the film begins, we meet the Joyce's - Katherine (Bergman) and Alex (Sanders) - as they're driving across Italy. You see, Alex's uncle has recently died and this English couple have come to Naples to sell a an inherited villa. Once they find the place and are given the grand tour, Alex expresses his desire to wrap up the trip as quick as possible. Being a workhorse (although I don't think it's ever said what he does exactly), he hopes to get home soon, so as not to let his work suffer. The Joyce's, once settled in, meet up with some old friends, by chance and Katherine gazes on with jealousy as Alex chats it up with a friend of a friend...a female, friend of a friend. As the day's progress, Katherine and Alex start to realize that they're just not right for one another any longer. Small tiffs lead to even bigger arguments and one thing leads to another and Alex decides to distance himself of the whole situation, by heading to neighboring Capri and spending a few days. Katherine takes the time to take in some of the sites of Pompei and Naples; visiting museums and even visiting Mt. Vesuvius. She's worried about Alex and the state of her marriage, but the audience can assume that even she'd admit, that with him gone her Italian vacation goes a lot smoother. Alex eventually returns and old problems resurface. Will the Joyce's make it out of Italy as man and wife, or will the knot come untied?

Seeing as how I nearly totally forgot to write this review and was headed to watch my next movie, I'm in movie watching mode and not movie writing mode, so I hope to wrap things up quickly, as it pertains to "Voyage in Italy". What started out as a perfectly acceptable premise - a ditch of the neorealism and talks of sainthood for Rossellini and fresh start, with a fresh movie and a fresh idea, turned sour pretty quick. Hey, I'm all for marriage in peril movies. I'm not sure why, but it's always been a topic that has intrigued me on film. Maybe because I have a perfect marriage and am astonished to watch movies about couples that don't. So, needless to say, I was ready for this one. I was hoping that this would be the movie that would bust Rossellini out of his slump and seemingly endless attack on my personal tastes. Well, I wasn't quite right. But, hey, it wasn't a total loss and it could've been worse...remember "Open City"?

Anyway, what started out as a marriage in peril movie, quickly turned into a "Vacationer's Guide to Traveling in Italy". Rossellini took advantage of some of the sites of Italy, more specifically Naples and therefore we get scenes with Ingrid Bergman touring museums and volcano sites. I'm not knocking the sites of Italy either, because I actually enjoyed seeing those statues and watching the smoke billow out of holes at the Vesuvius tour, but it took away from the real plot and that was a man and wife whose marriage was falling apart. THE BOOK is bold enough to compare "Voyage in Italy" to "Contempt", but this was barely half as good as that film. Like I said, not terrible, but it had the ability to dash even my slimmest of hopes. What should have been a film that was heavily dialogue driven, was actually a picture that relied more on visual aids and real life touring locations. I wish I could've wrapped "Rossellini Week" on a positive note, but sadly, I cannot.

RATING: 5.5/10  Better than average, but barely. And, by the way, while I did mention that Ingrid Bergman shined in "Europa '51", she didn't in this and really made me realize how much I dislike her as an actress.

RANKING ROSSELLINI

I'd normally take this time to say a few words about Rossellini. I'll say a few, but I'll keep it extra short, because I simply don't have that much to say. Obviously Rossellini was a director that repelled me, rather than appealed to me. It's obvious that others have seen his films, accepted them and praised them, but obviously my reactions were not the same and my main reaction right now is joy...joy that I'm finished with the works of Rossellini. I thank THE BOOK for introducing him to me, but I'm also thankful that his films, as far as THE BOOK goes, are finished.

1. Paisan (This was the most watchable, but honestly, "Voyage in Italy" and "Europa '51" are probably higher quality films)
2. Voyage in Italy
3. Europa '51
4. Open City 

MOVIES WATCHED: 657
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 344

April 15, 2013   10:37pm