Neorealism's Reach: From Film Noir to Cinema Verité

In conjunction with Photopolis: Halifax Festival of Photography taking place in and around the city this fall, the Dalhousie Art Gallery will present a series on the impact and reach of Italian Neorealism. This post-World War Two cinematic movement -- though brief, only twenty years or so-- had a worldwide impact on existing cinemas (Hollywood, for one) along with almost every new National Cinema that followed in its wake. All films are Italian with English subtitles.

SCREENINGS WEDNESDAYS AT 8PM

October 22 - Ossessione

Luchino Visconti, Italy, 1943, 140 minutes. Visconti's unapproved version of James M. Cain's The Postman Always Rings Twice marked Neorealism's beginning in the midst of World War Two, with a downward domestic betrayal narrative and raw location shooting at a rural gas station. 

October 29- Paisan

Roberto Rossellini, Italy, 1946, 90 minutes. Six stories follow the War up to the boot of Italy in the wake of the real conflict, featuring non-professional actors, raw on-the-spot locations and poetic narratives. Rossellini's co-writers include Fellini and Klaus Mann.

November 5- L'Amore

Roberto Rossellini, Italy, 1948, 90 minutes. Two films, completely different but held together by the great actress Anna Magnani. The first is the famous one-act play by Jean Cocteau, The Human Voice, in which a woman reacts to being dumped by her paramour over the phone; the second is the controversial The Miracle which sees a peasant woman believing she has been impregnated by a saint (actually a shepherd, played by Fellini).

Thursday November 6 Lecture

Now Real was Neorealism... And Just How Far Was its Reach?

Join film curator Ron Foley Macdonald for an illustrated presentation on Italian Neorealism, its precursors, practicioners and policy, and its long and still-lingering influence in both Hollywood and Canada, and around the world. 

November 12- General Della Rovere

Roberto Rossellini, Italy, 1959, 130 minutes. Rossellini directs Vittorio De Sica (The Bicycle Thieves, Umberto D.) in this late entry to the Neorealist canon. Also set during World War Two, General Della Rovere tells the story of a scam artist who impersonates a resistance leader in prison; his transformation ultimately shatters his previous persona.

November 19 The Gospel According To Saint Matthew

Pier Paolo Pasolini, Italy, 1964, 127 minutes. Pasolini's powerful, elemental and universally acclaimed cinematic Life Of Christ marked the end of Italian Neorealism. Stark emotions, unaffected direction and dirt-poor locations have made The Gospel... one of the most remarkable of all biblical movie re-creations.