Europa 51 (1952)

Europa 51: Directed by Roberto Rossellini. With Ingrid Bergman, Alexander Knox, Ettore Giannini, Giulietta Masina. A wealthy woman becomes obsessed with humanitarianism when her young son dies after committing suicide.

“Europa 51 has a big heart, this much is clear. Itu0026#39;s a story where Rossellini and his collaborators want to pose a basic question: what does someone have to do, like literally do with their own hands and wills and TIME, actually taking time and energy out of their days, to make a difference for people? The question may be surrounded by an, arguably, heavy-handed set-up, where Ingrid Bergman plays an ambassadoru0026#39;s wife in Italy, and their son, a bit of a spoiled mamau0026#39;s boy (or, no, maybe heu0026#39;s just the sensitive sort, you pick, but either way not dubbed particularly well), dies accidentally. Bergmanu0026#39;s Irene canu0026#39;t stand herself for what has happened – all her time being a dilettante and not spending enough time with her son made this happen – and she can barely go on.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSomeone, a friend who has Communist ties, tries to convince her that perhaps itu0026#39;s time to make a change amid this time of Societal Upheaval (in caps) as political sides are being more sharply drawn. She sees how people suffer, and a day at a factory basically makes her completely light-headed (a montage of images, if memory serves, makes this clear). She wants to help. Maybe if she puts her energies to positive use, to help others, she can… what, find some solace? Alleviate her guilt? Or that now she canu0026#39;t be a mother to her son – and thereu0026#39;s not much effort between her and her husband to find love again – so why not be a Mother to others? Itu0026#39;s a little more difficult than that, of course, which is the riding factor of conflict in the narrative.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBergman plays this character with all of the beats just right. Early on in those first scenes with her and her son you might wonder whether the writing isnu0026#39;t totally clear – IS she being a bad mother, or is he just whining, or is it a little u0026#39;muchu0026#39; determining either, who knows – but she plays it just right, this woman in her life who has it all and doesnu0026#39;t have to worry about much. This includes hearing conversations about class struggles (this before she sees them first hand) and can barely comprehend it. How Bergman channels grief is even better, showing us a face that has the life totally drained out, and she is always *listening* as an actress too to whatu0026#39;s around her, and is a strong listener which is key. Ironic then that many of these, almost all of them, are speaking Italian and are dubbed over – this includes Giuletta Masina, who plays a local housewife.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eNot all of the writing is superb here, at least for me. Itu0026#39;s surprisingly melodramatic in its last quarter as Irene is looked at as being completely crazy (possibly, borderline, criminal) in how sheu0026#39;s helping these people, which includes keeping one man evading prosecution in her home. I have to wonder if this story could work today, though a filmmaker like Scorsese, one of Rosselliniu0026#39;s disciples, sort of made his version with Bringing Out the Dead – a protagonist who is haunted by death and wants to make a difference. It is a very hard thing to be saintly, or just be a decent person when there are many, many indecent things and people that go about in this world, certainly in this context post-war, post-fascist-cum-Communist Italy.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThereu0026#39;s a lot to digest here, even if some of it may come off as dated or simplistic. But, once again as with Stromboli, the combination of a director with a clear, very moral message, and an actress giving it her ALL (and itu0026#39;s a case where Bergman does give one of her best performances from this period, even if the film isnu0026#39;t), that you can watch it and be wrapped up in this womanu0026#39;s drama.”