Viaggio in Italia
1954 / 85m - Italy
Drama, Romance
1.0*/5.0*
Journey to Italy poster

Watches

August 03, 2020

1.0*/5.0*

It is said that Rossellini was only interested in making a film about the Napoli region, the drama between Bergman and Sanders was merely an excuse to do some sightseeing at the major hotspots. Now, I've been to Napoli and the region is indeed a sight to behold, sadly Rossellini fails to do it justice.

A big part of that is the grim and bleak black and white cinematography. It takes out all the life out of the area, a truly baffling choice. The camera work and editing are pretty poor too and the 4:3 ratio feels suffocating, especially when capturing a region that has such beautiful vistas. Based on this film, Napoli would be the last place I'd want to visit.

The drama is pretty dire too, with wooden performances, a lot of spiteful back-and-forths and a weird ending that feels incredibly forced and random. There's a lot of talk about history, death and memories, if that's your thing you might get something out of this, but that's just not my cup of tea. This was probably the worst vacation ad every shot.