Journey to Italy (1954)
Roberto Rossellini
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Date
- 16:00 / Cancelled 16:00 / Sold out Sunday, 16:00
Location
Grand AuditoriumCalouste Gulbenkian Foundation
Pricing
10% – Cartão Gulbenkian and Cartão Gulbenkian Mais
Katherine and Alexander Joyce, a wealthy British couple, travel to Naples to sell a property inherited from an uncle. During the journey, they realise that they don’t really know each other and end up going their separate ways: Katherine immerses herself in Neapolitan culture and its fascination with death; Alexander prefers the island of Capri and the attention of other women.
Memories of former loves increase the tension between the couple, whose estrangement seems irreversible. A box-office flop when it was first released, Journey to Italy is now considered an important milestone in the history of cinema, marking Rossellini’s departure from neorealism and influencing directors such as Jean-Luc Godard.
Curator's text
Two wealthy English people travel through Italy in their Bentley. The cold and sarcastic North meets the warm and unsettling South. The Joyce couple,the characters played by George Sanders and Ingrid Bergman, experience marital discord, illustrated by ominous signs, such as a story taken from Joyce (James), a sibyl, a volcano (as in Stromboli), and the ruins of Pompeii. From a biographical point of view, it is impossible not to bear in mind the failed relationship between Rossellini and Ingrid Bergman (failed even in artistic terms, both confessed, with obvious exaggeration). Stylistically, Journey to Italy is an older sibling of the Nouvelle Vague, and French filmmakers of that generation recognised the intensity and freedom of the film, starting with the opening sequence, where the point of view (i.e., the screen) is the windscreen and glass of a car.
Power and Glory
This event is part of the film cycle ‘Power and Glory’, which includes films by Rossellini, Rohmer and Wiseman, curated by Pedro Mexia. Learn more
Credits
Original title
Viaggio in Italia
Director
Roberto Rossellini
Duration
85 minutes
Genre
Drama
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