Europa ’51
Often described as a neorealist film, Roberto Rossellini’s second collaboration with Ingrid Bergman, Europa ’51, is more a Hollywood melodrama with a breakaway neorealist moment. More than that it’s a vehicle for the rehabilitation of Bergman by getting her to suffer on screen – her forte. It’s the story of a high society woman who’s so busy drinking cocktails and chit-chatting with friends to notice that her son is in need of love and affection. At a drinks party one night, son Michele attempts suicide by throwing himself down the stairs. He survives, only to die later of a complication. Irene (Bergman) is thrown into crisis. Motivated mostly by guilt, she starts to … Read more
