Senso

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In Senso (1954), Visconti turned his attention to the problem of divorce - a particularly contentious subject in Italy - where state law was the same as that of the Church. Countess Livia Serpieri (Alida Valli) is a patriot, her husband is a collaborator. But she abandons both her husband and her cause in the pursuit of a love affair with an Austrian officer. The style of the film is itself an operatic re-creation of a human drama.