Le Général de la Rovere

Filmed in thirty-three days and edited in ten, this is the first of Rossellini's films post 'Rome, Open City' to be both critically and commercially successful on its release which irked the director no end. Although it lacks the immediacy of the earlier film and its location shooting has been replaced by studio sets whilst being sluggishly directed at times, it remains both gripping and exciting due to the splendid performances by Vittorio de Sica as charlatan Bardone and Hannes Messemer as SS Colonel Mueller whose relationship provides the linchpin of the piece.

Unlike Rossellini, de Sica had no qualms regarding commercialism and as a director excelled in neo-realism and when that genre went out of fashion, Commedia all'Italiana, at the same time creating an artiste from the raw material that was Sophia Loren. He actually logged more time as a actor, mainly to pay off his gambling debts. Had he not been a first class director/actor he would undoubtedly have been a magnificent snake-oil salesman and this, combined with his compulsive gambling, makes his casting here a masterstroke. Hannes Messemer is called upon to be cruel and calculating but is able to imbue his character with a certain nobility and is probably best known to English speaking viewers as the 'decent' German in 'The Great Escape'. As a self-sacrificing partisan Aristide Belchelli gives a fine performance whilst on the distaff side there are touching turns by Sandra Milo and Anne Vernon with Giovanna Ralli looking incredibly edible.

It has been adapted from the story by Indro Montanelli who himself served time in San Vittore and based Bardone on a fellow inmate named Bertone who was killed by firing squad. Upon the film's release Bertone's family filed a defamation suit against the director.

From being out of favour, Rossellini has regained some of his prestige by returning to his origins of war and resistance. Although he felt that by making this film he had 'sold out', this more conventional piece remains by far his most accessible and one of his most powerful.

Concerning a WWII marketeer and swindler called Bardone : Vittorio De Sica , he often uses to disguise as an officer to get money from the the families of people put in prison by the Gestapo . Once trapped , the Nazis make a deal with him . Then he is forced by a Nazi Colonel Muller : Hannes Messerner to go undercover in a local jail. To find out who the resistance leader is , he poses as a General called Della Rovere . But when the inmates start looking him for guidance , it leads to tragic consequences . He's a Hero...or a Fake ?

This General Della la Rovere 1969 magnificently played by Vittorio De Sica as a petty con man deals with the fantastic wartime adventures and intrigues of the mountebank who held the fate of the fighting undergroung in his hands . Eventually , our hero finds the line between his assumed character and actual identity diminished , awakening his slumbering conscience, resulting in a dramatic conclusion . It contains an interesting and thought-provoking screenplay from Indro Montanelli , Sergio Amadei , Fabbri and Roberto Rossellini himself . Starring Vittorio De Sica is well accompanied by a good cast , such as : Hannes Messemer , Sandra Milo , Anne Vernon , Vittorio Caprioli , Giovanna Ralli , Franco Interlenghi , Linda Veras, Modugno, Luciano Pigozi or Allan Collins , among others.

There is another inferior version 2011 directed by Carlo Carlei starrred by Pierfrancesco Faviano and Shopov . Il Generale Della Rovere 1959 displays an evocative cinematography in black and white by Carlo Cardini . As well as atmospheric and sensitive musical score by Renzo Rossellini . The motion picture was stunningly directed by Roberto Rosselini . He was a prestigious writer and director, making notorious films, such as : "Paisan" , "The Miracle" , "Amore" , "Stromboli" , "The Flowers of St Francis" , "Europe" , " Voyage in Italy" , "Seven Deadly Sins" , "Blas Pascal", "The Rise of Louis XIV" , "Agustín of Hippo" , "The Messiah" , among others . Rating : 7.5/10. Above average, well worth seeing . Especially recommended for featuring a bravura lead interpretation by veteran Vittorio De Sica .

Winner of many top international festival prizes, this was one of Roberto Rossellini's most widely seen films in America after OPEN CITY and PAISAN. It is a superbly written, directed, and acted drama about a petty conniver, Bertone, alias Grimaldi, played by Vittorio De Sica in what is possibly his greatest acting role. He is not above loving people and swindling them at the same time. He does this to survive the hard times of Mussolini's Salo' Republic period. The film is set in Genoa after the Badoglio armistice has been signed with the Allies in the south. Bertone tries to help Italians who have relatives imprisoned by the Nazis. Sometimes he can help; other times he cannot but always takes their money. When his game is finally up, he is imprisoned but offered an opportunity by the Germans. He is to impersonate a revered partisan leader already killed by the Nazis in order to furnish them information on another partisan leader in the anti-fascist underground. It is at this point that Bertone gradually undergoes a transformation, choosing patriotism over capitulation. The con-man becomes a hero. Other standout performances here are given by Sandra Milo as a prostitute, Hannes Messemer as the Nazi commandant and Vittorio Caprioli as an inmate barber.

The story of the film concerns "Colonelo" Bertone a self-appointed community intercessor and thief in World War II Italy, passing on bribes from families to the Germans in order to help their sons (or gambling away the bribes and eating their food parcels). It's definitely a film of two halves, the first half of the movie to me feeling decidedly Pasolinian. Bertone, though undoubtedly a scoundrel does his best to keep people happy, is a character that spreads a certain amount of charm in the world. For some people who have never known love or had anyone to look up to, he provides a show, his charisma is like ambrosia. Having been brought up with Protestant vales it has been a revelation to me in life how people value charm as most precious, a Veblen good, more prized when it is most demanding, how a charming person is valued above all others even when they live in a moral vacuum.

The second half of the movie is, in structure, a more conventional prison movie where Bertone, working for the Germans in order to save his skin, becomes an impostor pretending to be Generale della Rovere. Whilst pretending to be the general he begins to assume many of the general's characteristics. This part of the film is very patriotic, and contains a beautiful fresco of Italian cities on the prison wall. The ideology of this part of the movie is all about recognising the efforts of the largely Communist, Partito d'Azione and Socialist partisan resistance, bodies who were largely excluded from the post-fascist Italian government, which was dominated by the Christian Democrats, who many felt to have been tainted by association with fascism.

Pontecorvo's movie Kapò was released contemporaneously, and features a similarly caricatured version of the Teutonic gaoler and slightly ebullient view of World War II, that would become refined in future decades. That said, Il Generale della Rovere, is undoubtedly a masterpiece.

I was astounded watching this movie. It is less known compared to Rossellini's war trilogy ... but it left a deeper impact on me. One of the best anti war movies ever made .. helped by a towering performance by De Sica ...