Paisan (1946)

Roberto Rossellini’s ambitious and enormously moving follow-up to his breakthrough Rome, Open City.

Made in the aftermath of the Second World War, Paisà is constructed as a series of six encounters which take place during the liberation of Italy as Allied troops advance through the country from Sicily to the northern Po Valley, via Rome and Florence.

Shot on location using a non-professional cast alongside actors, the semi-documentary aesthetic and epic sweep of Paisà is both both charming and devastating in its portrayal of the final days of war and the confusion that follows in its wake. Paisà forms the second part of Rossellini’s acclaimed War Trilogy and is a classic of neo-realist cinema.

1946 Italy
Directed by
Roberto Rossellini
Produced by
Roberto Rossellini, Rod E. Geiger, Mario Conti, Renato Campos, Robert Lawrence
Written by
Sergio Amidei, Federico Fellini, Roberto Rossellini
Featuring
Giulio Panicali, Stuart Legg, Raymond Spottiswoode
Running time
134 minutes

Ranked in The Greatest Films of All Time poll

Sight and Sound

Who voted for Paisan

Critics

Robert Beeson
UK
Gian Piero Brunetta
Italy
Carlo Chatrian
Italy
Tom Dawson
UK
Pierre Gabaston
France
Ulrich Gregor
Germany
Mehelli Modi
UK
Javier Oliva
Spain
Óscar Oliva
Spain
Martin Rubin
USA
Zunzunegui Santos
Spain
Roberto Silvestri
Italy
Heather Stewart
UK
Eduardo Stupía
Argentina
José Luis Torrelavega
Spain

Directors

Michelangelo Frammartino
Italy
Martin Scorsese

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