IMDb plot summary: A wealthy woman becomes obsessed with humanitarianism when her young son dies after committing suicide.
Directed by Roberto Rossellini. Starring Ingrid Bergman, Alexander Knox, Ettore Giannini, and Giulietta Masina.
I found this film unexpectedly captivating, and I'm sure I can attribute much of that to Ingrid Bergman herself, who often brings a fascinating combination of realism and ethereality to her roles, and both serve her well here, especially in the latter half of the film. Bergman's transition from sheltered socialite who takes no interest in anything outside her own four walls to someone willing to sacrifice everything to make one person's life better is transformative but believable, and I'm not at all surprised to see that Rossellini's inspiration was partly that of Catholic saints. I like that despite the movie being heavily about morality and philosophy, it doesn't actually feel preachy -- there's some real depth to the question of what she's doing and why and the effect it's having on the people around her. It's an interesting, thoughtful film that I think will stick with me for quite some time.
How it entered my Flickchart:
Europa '51 > Poulenc: Dialogues des Carmelites
Europa '51 > Chronicle
Europa '51 < Marriage Story
Europa '51 > You Can't Take It With You
Europa '51 < Dawn of the Dead (2004)
Europa '51 > Cats and Dogs
Europa '51 < Jesus People: The Movie
Europa '51 > The Fallen Idol
Europa '51 > Evil Dead II
Europa '51 > Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Undead
Europa '51 > Looper
Final spot: #537 out of 3263, or 84%.
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