(Spoilers) This is the story of an upper class English couple (Alexander and Katherine) traveling to Italy to settle up the sale of a villa that Alex had inherited from an uncle. From the fist scenes on we see the friction in the marriage--the fact that they take separate bedrooms is not a good sign. When either of the two hints that there may be some spark left to their marriage, the other quashes it with a contrary act or comment. When Alex suggests that they have never really known each other and perhaps they can start over, Katherine says, "Let's go down to the bar." During an argument, Alex haughtily tells Katherine that, "Of course there are a few things I don't like about you. Your lack of a sense of humor, your ridiculous romanticism." Each plays to the jealousy of the other throughout the movie.
I did not feel that the actors were challenged to play beyond their comfort zone. Sanders can play a somewhat cynical, upper class Englishman without breaking a sweat and Bergman, while good, turns in a performance that is not particularly noteworthy, although just having her on screen is a plus. The dialog is quite stilted--in fact I thought the film had been dubbed into English until I did some lip reading to determine otherwise.
The movie offers a bit of a travelogue for Naples and the surrounding area. Those scenes are captured during Katherine's solo sightseeing trips after Alex had gotten disgusted and headed off to Capri to stay with some friends. The urban scenes that Katherine sees as she drives to various attractions are the most artificially inserted I have seen. It is clear that Katherine is being filmed in a studio, and then some stock footage is being shown of street scenes. The filming at tourist highlights were the most enjoyable parts of the movie for me. Those scenes would have been much better in color--I am sure that the Naples harbor looking toward Capri must be spectacular, but it's rather unimpressive as seen here.
The ending is about as preposterous as I have seen. After all of the antagonism between Alex and Katherine, less that a minute after Katherine emphatically says to Alex, "I despise you," the two are embracing and saying, "I love you."
This movie has been praised as a masterpiece and as the first modern movie. Those who think it is a masterpiece were certainly plugged in to this at a higher level than I. And is "Citizen Kane" not a modern movie? Or De Sicas's "Shoeshine" or "Bicycle Thief" for that matter?
I did not feel that the actors were challenged to play beyond their comfort zone. Sanders can play a somewhat cynical, upper class Englishman without breaking a sweat and Bergman, while good, turns in a performance that is not particularly noteworthy, although just having her on screen is a plus. The dialog is quite stilted--in fact I thought the film had been dubbed into English until I did some lip reading to determine otherwise.
The movie offers a bit of a travelogue for Naples and the surrounding area. Those scenes are captured during Katherine's solo sightseeing trips after Alex had gotten disgusted and headed off to Capri to stay with some friends. The urban scenes that Katherine sees as she drives to various attractions are the most artificially inserted I have seen. It is clear that Katherine is being filmed in a studio, and then some stock footage is being shown of street scenes. The filming at tourist highlights were the most enjoyable parts of the movie for me. Those scenes would have been much better in color--I am sure that the Naples harbor looking toward Capri must be spectacular, but it's rather unimpressive as seen here.
The ending is about as preposterous as I have seen. After all of the antagonism between Alex and Katherine, less that a minute after Katherine emphatically says to Alex, "I despise you," the two are embracing and saying, "I love you."
This movie has been praised as a masterpiece and as the first modern movie. Those who think it is a masterpiece were certainly plugged in to this at a higher level than I. And is "Citizen Kane" not a modern movie? Or De Sicas's "Shoeshine" or "Bicycle Thief" for that matter?