Rocco and His Brothers

A brief early moment in Luchino Visconti's Rocco and His Brothers shows four of the five Parondi brothers gazing at the storefronts of Milan as they pass by in a trolley. They're dazzled by what they see but as time wears on, the bedazzlement fades away like the flame of a match.

Throughout their years in Milan, the brothers, mainly Rocco (Alain Delon) and Simone (Renato Salvatori), become deeply disillusioned by the lives they lead. They seek for meaning and find nothing. The brotherly become frayed (never severed though) and eventually they become violent.

A sport three of the brothers partake is boxing. In early Hollywood films, boxing was treated as an allegory for a character's battle with their conscience. It's fitting since the three brothers take up the sport when their personal lives take a downturn. It's sort of Visconti's homage to Hollywood's Golden Age.

In a similar vein to The Bicycle Thief, Rocco and His Brothers is an Italian neorealism film. The difference between the two films is that Rocco and His Brothers is a trifle more optimistic than The Bicycle Thief. Sure, the film shows some of the characters' plights, but what Visconti shows isn't as emotionally powerful as what De Sica showed. (A lot more risque in some scenes though.)

Rocco and His Brothers, though not as great as some of Visconti's other work, definitely gets its point across. Personally, Visconti was at his best when he made lavish epics like Senso and The Leopard, though he was also good when he toned down the extravagance. Shows the man had range.

My Rating: ****1/2

The Leopard

I'm not much on foreign films in all honesty. It's mostly because I want to, you know, watch a movie, not go through the hassle of reading subtitles as well. Mind you, it also depends on the film's quality.

Usually when I do finally see a foreign film, it's usually made by one of three directors I like: Federico Fellini, Akira Kurosawa or Luchino Visconti. In this case, I saw Visconti's The Leopard. It intrigued me because two of its main stars weren't Italian; one was American (Burt Lancaster), the other French (Alain Delon). This doesn't mean I'm viewing it as a bad thing. In fact, The Leopard contains some of their best work.

Lancaster's work here reminded me that of his work in Atlantic City. Both films have his characters witnessing change in a society they knew by heart, their statuses slowly becoming meaningless. Once towering figures now shifting to a lesser role. Also with both roles, you can see the wear and tear the changes have made on them just by looking at their faces.

Knowing Visconti, I could sense his meticulous eye for detail would be used here. Boy, is it ever. The ball scene alone will make your eyes dazzle. (Such care in details can also be seen in Senso.) The plot is interesting because it doesn't particularly focus on one topic. No matter. Just bask in what Visconti has to offer.

The Leopard has to be one of the most gorgeously shot films made. That is thanks to cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno. In fact, everything in The Leopard is to die for. The acting, Visconti's direction and eye for detail, Rotunno's cinematography, Nino Rota's score...everything. If you don't believe me, see it for yourself.

My Rating: *****

Senso

Back in the 1950's, a popular genre was going around: the melodrama. It was a favorite genre for Douglas Sirk, but it wasn't restricted to just the United States.

Luchino Visconti, a somewhat forgotten name of Italian cinema by today's standards, directed Senso back in 1954. Already aware of Visconti's sense of style with Le Notti Bianche, I watched the movie he did prior to the latter title. It's a tale of romance, war and politics. Normally not something I'm big on, but it's pretty good.

The two stars of Senso are Alida Valli (famous for The Third Man) and Farley Granger (famous for Rope and Strangers on a Train), both unconventional stars of the 1950's. Visconti wanted to have Ingrid Bergman and Marlon Brando for his movie. I think the movie's fine with Valli and Granger. After all, they manage to add depth to their characters' personalities.

Senso I wasn't too crazy about, but I did love several things about it: the cinematography, the score, the costumes, and Valli and Granger's performances. Not among the great I've seen, but pretty damn good.

My Rating: ****1/2

Le Notti Bianche

Many people claim they fall in love at first sight, but how many actually try to pursue that love?

Mario (Marcello Mastroianni) longs for companionship. Natalia (Maria Schell) longs for her lover to return to her. Their paths cross and a courtship blooms.

One aspect of Le Notti Bianche I liked was the camera shots used. Long shots were used to established a sense of Mario's loneliness while medium shots were used once Mario met Natalia. That, in my opinion, is excellent cinematography at work.

As I watched the movie, I kept thinking that I had seen some parts of Le Notti Bianche in another movie. I found out that Two Lovers, a movie I admire deeply, was a loose remake of Le Notti Bianche. Once I thought it over, I realized that several scenes in Two Lovers mirrored those in Le Notti Bianche.

That doesn't mean I liked Le Notti Bianche less. It's devastatingly beautiful. Mastroianni, who I've only seen in Fellini movies, is slowly becoming one of my favorite foreign actors. Luchino Visconti is officially a director I seriously need to catch up on.

My Rating: ****1/2