The Assisi Underground

The Assisi Underground (1985) was co-written and directed by Alexander Ramati. The film is a fictionalized version of true events--the work of Catholic churchmen and churchwomen in Assisi who protected Jews, and helped them escape to safety.

Ben Cross stars as Padre Rufino, a Catholic priest who was assigned the difficult and dangerous job of protecting Italian Jews in the region. (Once Germany took over control of Italy, the Nazis began the same reign of terror against the Jews that they had carried out in other conquered nations.)

Fr. Rufino is portrayed as a sincere, simple man, who enjoys cigarettes and good wine. He struck me as a good parish priest, but not a erudite theologian or scholar. When his bishop-- played by James Mason--gives him the task of saving the Jews, saving the Jews is what he does.

Maximilian Schell plays army Col. Müller, who is a physician and also the German commandant of Assisi. Müller senses that the Jews are in Assisi, and that Rufino is somehow involved. However, as a Catholic and as a physician, Müller is less worried about killing Jews than he is about saving lives and saving the treasures of Assisi.

This is a flawed film. Most of it consists of Germans searching and Jews hiding. There's a scene involving Italian smugglers that probably had more meaning in the uncut version. (The DVD contains a shortened version of the movie.) Also, someone must have told Ramati, "There's no real action in your film." So, at one point, we see stock footage of allied bombers, and then explosions near a train carrying disguised Jewish refugees. German soldiers are blown up in their gun emplacements, and go flying into the air. Then that scene ends, and we return to the basic cat and mouse plot.

The Assisi Underground is a good film about a fascinating topic. The basic facts are true, and the motivations of the characters stuck me as realistic. Some of the parts are formulaic, as when the Rabbi observes that the Torah scroll contains the first five books of the Hebrew Testament, and the Bishop observes, "Don't forget, those words are part of our tradition as well."

Still, the acting is strong, what we see of Assisi looks beautiful, and the film is worth seeing. Note that this movie carries an IMDb rating of a ridiculously low 5.7. How can this be? Did the people who ranked it so low see the same film I saw? (Well, maybe not. Maybe they saw the longer version and got bored.) Anyway, don't let the low rating discourage you from seeing the movie. It's not a great film, but it's a good film and well worth seeing.

Actual but slowly told story of how the Catholic Church helped to save several hundred Italian Jews from being executed by the Nazis during the 1943 German occupation of italy . Based on real events about a simple priest who turns into the rescuer of the persecuted by Nazis , he is Padre Rufino (Ben Cross) who's assigned by his superior Bishop Nicolini (James Mason) to hide fugitives against Gestapo Capt. Von Velden (Karlheinz Hackl) . Clandestinely within the shield of a convent , the brave friar helps shelter and escape Jews from the Nazis in World War II Assisi . At the beginning, a reluctant , stiff abbess (Irene Papas) opposes that the Jews remain refugees in the convent due to their sacred vows, but later, all the dangerous initiatives of the valiant priest are supported. In a desperate bid for freedom the friar masquerades in set-ups in order to outwit the German plans in occupied Assisi . An eventual capture leads him to prison where he'll face inevitable tortures . At the ending the scenes where the kind priest , the nasty Gestapo captain and the good Nazi officer (Maximiliam Schell) , finally confront each other is a high point.

An enjoyable and sensitive film about sacrifice and freedom fighters , a good-will gesture from the famous producers Yoram Globus , Menahem Golan : Cannon . This story is inspired on actual facts and based on the nonfiction novel by director Ramati himself , in similar style to ¨The Scarlet and the Black¨ by Jerry London based on the novel titled ¨The Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican¨ by J. P. Gallaher¨, played by Gregory Peck as priest Hugh O'Flaherty . An agreeable and attractive story about a good friar and a local bishop set up a pipeline for hundreds of Jews to hide and getaway from Nazis . This interesting story drags in some place but is well realized and contains atmospheric cinematography by Giuseppe Rotunno , though a perfect remastering being extremely necessary because of the film copy is worn-out ; as well as an adequate musical score by Dov Seltzer. It's an appropriate production by Yoram Globus , Menahem Golan, and John Thompson , acceptabily filmed by Alexander Ramati , though boringly told at times , and entirely on location in Assis. The theatrical versions runs 115 min , being edited from 178 minutes , a nice idea from the producers.

This true story of how an Italian Catholic priest helped smuggle Jews out of German-occupied Italy was professionally directed by Alexander Ramati . In fact he directed other two stories about unfortunate people attempting to escape : ¨And the Violins Stopped Playing¨(1988) based upon the novel by the director, Alexander Ramati, with Horst Buchhold , Didi Ramati, it is the true story about a group of Romani's (gypsy) in occupied Poland during World War II as they confront the atrocities and tragedies of a forgotten holocaust , this ethnic group was targeted for extermination in a campaign that was second only to the campaign against the Jews and ¨The Desperate Ones¨ (1967) also starred by Irene Papas and Maximilian Schell about Polish refugees trying to enter Afghanistan. Rating : 6/10 . Decent and good feeling movie that will appeal to WWII buffs.

Second time watching. What bravery. I kept asking myself if I could ever do that. I am sure with Gods grace I could. What a terrible time in history. The realism was even more so since I have been there.

It may be a howl in the wilderness, but The Assisi Underground certainly helps balance the skewered image of the Roman Catholic Church in the Second World War that emerged only in the last 35 years.

Based on a true story, The Assisi Underground tells of the perils and ultimate triumph of the network of saving Italian Jews from the SS that ran between Florence and Rome for several years. Under the guidance of Assisi's good bishop Nicolini, Franciscan friar Rufino Nicacci risked his life to hide hundreds of Italy's Jews in monasteries, friaries and convents throughout Umbria. The most famous was the operation in St. Francis' holy and peaceful city of Assisi, which was occupied by the Nazi's until being declared an open city later in the war. For his efforts, Padre Rufino was awarded the honorific title of "Righteous Gentile" - the highest honor that can be bestowed on a Gentile, by the State of Israel after the war.

It was due to his efforts and many Catholics like him, that in Italy 75% of the Jews were saved, where in other European nations it was 75% who perished.

What the movie does not show, due to limited running time, is how these networks ran throughout Italy including the Vatican and the pope's summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, which according to Jewish historian Pinchas Lapide, not only sheltered thousands of Jews, but supplied them with fake i.d.'s, passports and visas allowing them to flee to safety. What the movie does show is how the Jews of Italy were thoroughly inculturated into the populace (as opposed to Aryan theories of the Jew being a pollutant of the pure German 'Volk') and how prized they were to their Italian Catholic neighbors. All this is played out against the beauty and mystery of the magical city of Assisi, which both the antagonists and protagonists dearly love. This includes the sympathetic, anti-Nazi Wehrmacht officer played by Maximilian Schell who turns a blind eye to the network operating underneath his very nose.

While some actors are amateurish and certain scenes are poorly staged and acted, for the most part the costumes, production design and cinematography are spot on. And who can ask for a better cast? Aside from "Chariots of Fire"s Ben Cross - always excellent - there is James Mason (Bishop Nicolini), Maximilian Schell, Irene Papas (superior of the Poor Clare monastery) and some very good performers in supporting roles. Best is the SS captain Von Velden, who subtly alternates between psychotic allegiance to the tenets of the Reich with slight hints of compassion for the friar he is convinced is running the operation.

Take a break from the current Catholic-bashing so very fashionable in academic circles and see a true, exciting, and well told story of what the Church DID do and why there was never any Holocaust in Catholic Italy. I hope people will do this.

I don't know how this film played when pruned to 115 minutes, but I just saw a 3 hour + version on cable. It is, like so many films of people in Europe sheltering and hiding Jews during WW II, a very moving and inspiring story. I had no idea how many of Italy's Jews were saved, primarily by the Catholics, especially the church itself.

The film is slow, and the real hardships that many Jews must have experienced in Italy is barely touched upon, but it still is a story that is fascinating.

There is the very real appeal of Assisi and Perugia, Italy. I was reminded of the wonderful scenes in San Gimignano in "Tea With Mussolini."

I found Ben Cross's performance uneven, but mostly fine as the padre, but Maximillian Schell steals the movie from everyone with his layered portrayal of the German Catholic doctor who is in control of Assisi.

In a film of this length, I wanted to see more than just the group in Assisi, but obviously the Golan-Globus budget didn't allow for more locations.

In all, I'm very grateful the film was made, and am glad I saw it, especially in the long version.