One of Italy's most famous and respected cinema movements is on display in Turin in the exhibition 'Roma, Citta Aperta: 70 years of Neorealism'.
"The splendor of truth in post-war Italy" is the subtitle
of the exhibition that will continue at the National Museum of
Cinema in Turin until November 29.
This golden period in cinema history is documented in the
exhibition through more than 180 photographs and documents, 15
posters, promo materials, and 23 monitors that will show clips
including scenes from the classic film 'Roma, Citta Aperta'
(Rome, Open City) interspersed with exclusive interviews from
film directors who will explain their relationship with
Neorealism.
Rome, Open City by director Roberto Rossellini, hit the
screens in 1945 and dazzled audiences with its new, gritty mode
of telling stories about a very particular moment in history.
The exhibition traces the influence on Neorealism from
earlier cinematic works, and includes its main figures -
Rossellini, Vittoria De Sica, Luchino Visconti, Giuseppe De
Santis, and Carlo Lizzani - as well as the principal
collaborators.
Those included such screenwriters as Suso Cecchi D'Amico
and Cesare Zavattini, and directors of photography like Aldo
Tonti.
Finally, the exhibition concludes with the legacy of
Neorealism on contemporary filmmakers including Marco
Bellocchio, Martin Scorsese, Bernardo Bertolucci, Bernard
Tavernier, Edgar Reitz, Abderrhamane Sissako, and Robert
Guédiguaian.
National Museum of Cinema Director Alberto Barbera has
curated the exhibition, with the help of Grazia Paganelli and
Fabio Pezzetti Tonion.
"When I was a child, I asked my father what neorealism is
and he said there exists an aesthetics of beauty and we try to
find that in human beings," recalled Renzo Rossellini, who is
involved in the exhibition.
They describe neorealism as a revolution in Italian
filmmaking at a time the country was struggling with such issues
as poverty, death, and marginalization in the postwar period.
This was the side of Italy that was dramatized in famous
works including Ladri di biciclette (released in the United
States as The Bicycle Thief) that dealt with themes such as
injustice in suburban slums.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
