Rome, Open City (1945)
An Italian resistance movie from 1945 which is quite similar to The Red Meadows - and also a Cannes winner. It was interesting watching these two close together, with a very similar storyline on the same subject but told from different cultural viewpoints. It goes through the same motions of a resistance movement as it tries to stay hidden from the Gestapo, but fall to betrayal from within. Complete with a sinister Nazi commander and some grueling torture scenes. Whereas the Danish movie centered around every day people fighting in the resistance, the main character here is a Catholic priest who helps the resistance and keeps his faith despite being beaten by the oppression. The general message from both films is of course to praise the resistance movement against tyranny. All that considered, this was just a little less engaging. Maybe due to cultural and language barriers, but mostly simply from the fact that with the exception of the last part, it is a bit dull. We don’t see the resistance movement actually doing much, and it is just a little more exciting seeing the planning and execution of blowing up a factory.
Rating: 3