Europa '51

EUROPA 51 is an odd film. Irene (Bergman) is the wife and mother in a rich family, in affluent surroundings. Hers seems a perfect world, but she is too self-centered to realize that her son needs attention and love.

EUROPA 51 reflects the situation in Europe in 1951, six years after the end of WW II. Work is scarce. poverty is rife, the impersonality of industry is overwhelming society, but against this general background some personal problems stick out: Irene focuses on being an adroit host and having her house spotlessly clean; her husband wrongly fears that she is cheating on him with a journalist; and their son feels ignored and throws himself down a staircase, with fatal consequences.

Irene feels very guilty about losing her son, moves away from home, and descends into the underworld of poverty, helping people in the process. This is where a memorable performance surfaces, by Giuletta Masina, the wife of famous Italian director Federico Fellini, who injects life into the whole movie, in contrast with Irene's increasingly quiet soul.

The fact that her own husband and circle of friends see her as approaching madness reflects the tragedy that tends to pursue the individual who dares to show feelings and concerns in relation to his/her fellow neighbor. In this case, Irene helps a number of people, takes genuine interest in their predicaments, but her reward is questionable: she sees her husband leave her behind the bars of a psychiatric ward, feeling intolerably lonely, but common people see her as a saint.

Ultimately, it is a film in equal measure wise and wayward. Perhaps I cannot avoid looking at it with 21st Century eyes, and I lack knowledge about the mindset of Italian society in the early 1950s. Still, I had a problem attaching credibility to this film.

That said, Bergman was never more physically stunning than in this film, and her acting is first class.

Director Rossellini shows steely determination driving forward this unusual film. Photography is quite good. Script is generally competent. Acting by Bergman and Masina is excellent, the rest of the cast, Knox included, does not shine so much.

The film's main flaw is that it is overlong by some 20 minutes, but any Rossellini-Bergman collaboration deserves attentive watching.

I suppose that when "Europa '51" was going to be filmed there was a great professional mutual understanding between Rossellini (the director) and Ingrid Bergman (main actress). It's really astonishing the way Ingrid Bergman's face changes throughout the movie. She really looks like a "human God" (specially towards the end) just by looking at her expressions. If you have the opportunity of watching "Europa '51" twice, you will notice that her character in the beginning of the story, where Irene Girard (Ingrid Bergman) is the mother of a well-off family, is totally different from the last shots. I also like how Irene contrasts with the way of living of the poor children and working-women. Although Rossellini's movie is a bit lengthy, bearing in mind it was made in Italy in 1952, many events occur with short scenes perfectly connected obtaining a gorgeous dynamism as a whole. I'm almost sure that my favorite scene is the same as the majority of the people who watched "Europa '51". I refer to the moving ending of the story. I also like how the camera moves around capturing the contrast of expressions between the sick patients and Irene. I encourage everybody to watch this masterpiece, even twice!

It's a bit melodramatic, but up until Irene's final conversation with Cassatti the Commie, *Europa '51* is a very interesting film, first about a pampered rich woman's reaction to her son's death, then about the difference between windy Marxist propaganda and real compassion.

However, at that point, Rossellini's original idea takes over: He wanted to make a film about what would happen if a truly saintly person ever showed up in the modern world. And he had a very good idea of what would happen--or at least a very insistent one. The people here obviously behave the way they do solely to make the point Rossellini wants to make, even when their behavior doesn't seem very plausible. In defter hands, such manipulation can work. Here, though, you can see the tracks Rossellini has rather clumsily laid down to move the story where he wants it to go.

"Europa '51" is one of the most unique films I have seen and for that reason alone, it's well worth seeing.

The story begins oddly. A couple have a son they describe as 'unusually sensitive'. In reality, he clearly is mentally ill as he ends up killing himself even though he is a young boy. While very rare, such things do occur and not surprisingly it radically impacts on his parents. The father becomes more stoic and distant and the mother (Ingrid Bergman) begins to notice the plight of the poor and begins spending more and more time with them helping them with their problems. After a while, the wife is home less and less (possibly in response to her aloof husband) and he assumes she must be insane and acts accordingly.

The mother's reaction to grief and guilt about her son's death is the driving force in this film. But it's also interesting how doctors, priests and the police react to the lady's philanthropy. Overall, a tough film to describe but well acted and never dull.

By the way, the mother of six in the film (Giulietta Masina) was the real life wife of the famed Italian director, Fellini. Here she is quite good in this supporting role.

Ingrid Bergman highlights in this compelling melodrama about a burgeois mother who becomes aware of the unfortunate social classes after the loss of a son. The film goes a step further and can also be read as the social portrait of the European status quo after the Great War. Some dialogs may appear evident and simplistic as far as ideology is concerned, but the impressive conclusion and the characteristic Rossellini's style makes it one of the most interesting films of his director and a valuable document about psychological war consequences which hasn't loose relevance.