Review of White Nights

This is the very essence of cinematographic poetry. Visconti succeeds with the fantastic miracle of capturing the strange atmosphere in Dostoyevsky's short story, a rare story in his production for its mood of harmony and light - the story takes place during those nights in Petersburg around midsummer when the nights never grow dark. Here dark moods are prevailing, as there is very little daylight and almost only nocturnal settings, in dark streets in a strange town with canals, resembling Venice but being far too shabby and dismal to be Venice. In fact, the whole film was shot in the Cinecittà studios, so it's impossible to recognize this town. Its moods are very reminiscent of those in Carol Reed's "Odd Man Out", also here there is snow ultimately falling enhancing the poetry, and also the camerawork with its capturing the narrow lanes and their strange dwellers are very much like inspired from Carol Reed's film and Robert Krasker's photography. It's a masterpiece without question, many consider it Visconti's finest film, and a special treat is added by Maria Schell actually speaking fluent Italian - there is no playback or dubbing here, but it's actuallý Maria Schell speaking Italian all the way, although she didn't know the language before. This is one of those films you must never forget but always return to..