Star rating - 8/10
This
newly restored black and white classic 1953 movie from Italian director Roberto
Rossellini is a stylish treat. It stars George Sanders and Ingrid Bergman as a respectable
well-off couple whose marriage is in trouble, driving through Italy to tie up
the sale of a late relative's villa. The tension between them grows increasingly
to bitterness as the journey progresses, which must have been painful for both Rossellini
and Bergman, whose own real life marriage was in trouble at the time.
The breakdown
in relations increases with the beautiful bay of Naples as a backdrop, and
Bergman makes a poignant visit to Pompeii, whilst her husband is frankly bored
with looking at ancient stuffy relics. The acting is first class, the clothes
and fifties styling exquisite, and watching Ingrid Bergman is, as always, an
absolute pleasure.
If you
are a fan of Brief Encounter, I can guarantee
you will love this less romantic, and more modernist story of a troubled relationship
from a master director.
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