Discover: Italian Neorealism – The Fact-Based Screenplay

Our series on key names, genres, and movements to know about in fact-based film and television moves on offer a quick introduction to Italian neorealism. This key movement emerged in the aftermath of World War II, using non-professional actors and actual locations to depict the grim realities of life in post-war Italy…

Emergence of Italian neorealism

Under its fascist leader, Bennito Mussolini, Italy experienced wide-ranging devastation during World War II. This included military defeats, economic collapse, the impact of heavy bombing campaigns, food shortages, and high levels of unemployment.

Neorealism rose from this, as filmmakers – experiencing a new creative freedom following the fall of fascism in 1943 – moved away from the escapism of pre-war Italian cinema to show the realities of life in war-torn Italy.

The filmmakers working within the neorealist movement depicted the social realities without romanticization or melodrama.

Indeed, the movement was characterized by its focus on the lives of ordinary people, especially the poor and working-class. Its themes include poverty, oppression, and injustice, as well as the resilience of faith and the human spirit in the face of horror and devastation. The main features of Italian neorealism are:

Use of actual locations: Films were shot on (often bomb damaged) locations, using natural lighting and settings rather than studio-built sets.
Use of non-professional actors: Many neorealist films feature non-professional actors to achieve a sense of authenticity.
Focus on social issues: Stories often centre on the impact of poverty, unemployment, class struggles, the role of faith, and the human condition.
Simple stories: The narratives are typically grounded in the mundane and the every day, capturing the struggles and resilience of ordinary people.
Focus on family: The films often prominently feature children or have family issues at their heart.
Documentary style: Many of the neorealist films adopt a gritty, semi-documentary style, which blurs the line between fiction and reality.

Key Italian neorealist films & directors

There is some debate over which was the first film in the Italian neorealism stable but it’s generally thought to be Luchino Visconti’s Ossessione (1943). Adapted from The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain (1934) (and remade in 1981), it set the tone of bleak reality which became synonymous with the neorealist movement.

However, the film which put the movement on the map was Roberto Rossellini’s Rome, Open City (1946), which won the Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. One of the defining films of the movement, this film portrays a cast of everyday Italians coping with Nazi occupation, capturing their desperation and bravery.

Take a look at this review of the film from The New York Times:

Another key work to know about is Bicycle Thieves (1948). Directed by Vittorio De Sica, this is perhaps the most iconic and accessible of all the neorealist films. The simple story of a man searching for his stolen bicycle so he can work and support his family becomes an exploration of dignity, poverty, and moral dilemmas. Non-professional actor Lamberto Maggiorani plays the protagonist, Antonio.

Take a look at this review of the film from The New York Times:

Other writers and directors to contribute important films to the neorealist movement include Giuseppe De Santis, Pietro Germi, and Cesare Zavattini. You will find a full filmography at the end of the article.

The end of Italian Neorealism

The final neorealism film is often cited as the De Sica’s emotive Umberto D. (1952), but Rossellini’s Journey to Italy (1954) is sometimes included in the stable. Depicting an estranged middle-class couple holidaying in Naples, the film really acts as a bridge to the post-neorealist era in Italian film.

Post-neorealism moved away from stories set amid the realities of war-ravaged Italy, as the country underwent an economic recovery and cinema became more commercial. Key post-neorealist works include Federico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita (1960) and 8 ½ (1963), as well as Michelangelo Antonioni’s trilogy of films, L’Avventura (1960), La Notte (1961) and L’Eclisse (1962), and the commedia all’italiana (Italian-style comedies).

However, neorealism remains an important movement, with themes which resonate today. It also had a wide influence, inspiring, among others, French New Wave cinema and the films of Martin Scorsese, who discussed his relationship with Italian cinema in his superb documentary, My Voyage to Italy (1999).

Filmography

Ossessione (1943)
The Children Are Watching Us (1943)
Rome, Open City (1945)
Shoeshine (1946)
The Last Shoeshine (1946)
O sole mio (1946)
Paisan (1946)
Germany, Year Zero (1948)
Bicycle Thieves (1948)
The Earth Trembles (1948)
Bitter Rice (1949)
Stromboli (1950)
Bellissima (1951)
Miracle in Milan (1951)
Rome 11:00 (1952)
Europe ’51 (1952)
Umberto D. (1952)
Journey to Italy (1954)

References & resources

If you want to read more about Italian neorealism, here are a few useful resources: