Paisa

"Paisa" or "Paisan" is a film by the great Roberto Rossellini. It is the second film in is War Trilogy series and was filmed in 1946. It is a unique film in that it isn't one story, but several, each told in a short episode. This is not to say that the stories are unrelated, because that isn't the case, it just isn't what I (along with plenty of other Americans) are used to. The six episodes that make up the film span from when the Allies landed in Italy in 1943 to the end of the WWII. Narration is done in between episodes so the audience knows what is happening at that time in the war in Italy. The title, Paisan, is (according to dictionary.com) another name for a compatriot or friend.

The first episode is a story about a troop of American soldiers who land on a beach in Italy at night. They come upon an Italian village where they ask of the whereabouts of the Germans. None of the villagers speak English and only one of the soldiers, the son of an Italian immigrant, can speak Italian. They manage to get a young woman from the village to lead them past the German land mines to a safe spot (a ruined castle). Once there, most of the soldiers scout on ahead and leave one man in charge of the girl at the castle. He speaks no Italian, except for a few words he'd picked up in the US, but pours out some deep inner thoughts to her that she gets a sense of. A small troop of German soldiers wound the American soldier, who is then hidden by the girl. The Germans investigate the castle, find the girl and say they mean her no harm (though they cast lots for who "gets" her first). She, in grief over the now dead American, shoots at the Germans. The episode ends with the American's returning and thinking the young woman killed him while the Germans, at a distance from the castle, execute the girl.

The second episode takes place in the busy port of Naples. A drunk African American soldier is taken around the city by a boy. The soldier reveals his troubled thoughts, though the boy speaks no English. The boy then steals the soldier's boots while he is asleep. The soldier later finds the boy and demands his boots back. When the boy takes him to where he lives, the man is overcome with the sight of so many homeless and poor and leaves the boots.

The third episode begins in Rome with the Germans being driven out the victorious and welcomed American soldiers arrive. It then goes forward six months to a tavern filled with women and drunken soldiers. A beautiful Italian woman takes one of the drunken soldiers home with her and wants to "be with him," but he says to leave him alone, all the Italian women are "the same now". He then tells her about a woman he first met in Rome and we see his flashback. The same Italian woman greets the new American soldier and asks him into her home for some water. They talk and really hit things off since she knows English and he Italian. She says to come back and he promises he will. The story comes back to the present where the woman is telling the soldier that the woman he loved waited for him and where he can find her now. She leaves before he wakes up and puts her address on a piece of paper. Later that day, the American is leaving Rome for good and throws the paper away. The story ends with the woman waiting in the rain in front of her house for the soldier who never turns up.

The fourth episode occurs in Florence which is half controlled by the Allies and the other half by the Germans. An Italian man and an American nurse (a previous resident of Florence) team up to try and find their loved ones in the German occupied part of the city. They go through the war torn city, crouched and being shot at. They refuse to let anyone deter them from their goal. It ends with the man running off being shot at and the nurse comforting a dying man who informs her that the man she is looking for is dead.

The next episode takes place at a Monastery in Italy (perhaps Assisi?) where Franciscan monks live. The Germans are gone and they praise God for his deliverance. Three American Army Chaplains show up, ask for shelter and are welcomed. The monks live very simple, pious lives and are horrified to find out one of the chaplains is a Protestant and another a Jew. The speak to the Catholic man about saving his friends' souls. The episode concludes at dinner where the monks are fasting to save the "lost souls" of the two men and the Catholic chaplain thanking the monks for giving his heart peace.

The final episode is a story about American soldiers and Italian Partisians fighting the Germans together, behind the lines. All the men, both American and Italian seem to get along and the American speak Italian. The Americans receive orders to cease activity and get out, however they can. The entire unit ends up getting captured by Germans, though some have died fighting or taken their own lives rather than be captured. The German officer tells the Americans that they are prisoners of war but that they don't recognize the Italian Partisians as such. The story concludes with the Italian men being bound and thrown overboard to drown.

All in all, this film is extremely depressing. None of the stories have happy endings, but I think the director was trying to show that in war, there aren't happy endings. It was very insightful to see the different ways the Italians and Americans related to one another, varying from no communication to camaraderie. All the episodes focused on the relationship of these two groups of people and showed how the war effected both. It was a good film, though not a happy one.

Nazis and Drifters: The Containment of Radical (Sexual) Knowledge in Two Italian Neorealist Films by Terri Ginsberg

This article by Terri Ginsberg was a challenging read. The author suggests that Italian Neorealist films use radical/sexual themes to portray deeper, sociopolitical themes & patriarchal/capitalism hegemony. Hegemony (something the author expects the reader to know) is when when the dominant group uses it's power over other groups in society. It can be political, economic, cultural or ideological power. Ginsberg claims that the Neorealists supported & helped exert the power of a patriarchal, capitalist society. The two films he uses as examples are Rome, Open City directed by Roberto Rosselini & Ossessione directed by Luchino Visconti.

Ginsberg begins by explaining that the best way to critically read these films is to look at the way homosexuality (verses heterosexuality) are portrayed in these films. He says that, rather then representing material sexuality, the use of homosexuality in these films is an "indicator of all that is wrong with society the signifier of the transgression of bourgeois humanist mores." However, though it shows what is wrong in society, it is shown as never being a real threat to the "system" aka bourgeois society.

Rome, Open City is the first film analyzed. In Roma, homosexuality is used in a way that suggest "psychic ambivalence," or an inability to choose a role. This fickle attitudede is in contrast with heterosexuality where gender roles are stable. In the film, homosexuality plays a role in the relationship between Ingrid (an agent for the Gestapo, a Nazi) & Marina (an actress & informant of Ingrid's). Their homosexualities are allegories for the socially & politically "sinful" activities they are involved with. The way Ingrid is first presented is significant to how the audience perceives (perhaps subconsciously) her role. She is first shown as only a reflection in the mirror Marina is looking in. This reflection shows that Ingrid has no depth is only a representation of the "imperialist exploitation" taking place, a stereotypical, heartless Nazi. Therefore, Nazism can be seen as not a material phenomenon, but as sexual perversion - bringing up the audience's negative feelings about such things. Marina is not a Nazi or a German though, she is an Italian. She is shown as being guilt ridden & vulnerable, giving her a character with more depth & more easily empathized with. She is shown as being the one seduced by Ingrid, suggestion perhaps that Italy's compliance with Nazism was a moment of weakness & not of character. Marina is also shown swaying between homosexuality & heterosexuality, since she is in love with a man as well as having a relationship with Ingrid. Marina is portrayed as delicate & feminine, while Ingrid is portrayed in a more masculine light. By showing the relationship in this way, homosexuality is seen as a ridiculous impossible love that is ultimately no threat to the patriarchal dominance.

What's interesting is that there is one other portrayal of homosexuality in this film. The gestapo, Major Bergman, is implicitly homosexual. Unlike the female same-sex relationship however, the gestapo is single & has no partner. Therefore, it seems to point to the fact that female sexuality is a greater threat to "hegemonic stability" than male sexuality.

Ginsberg also analyzes the film Ossessione. He suggests that it is an allegorical representation of Christian democracy & Italian communism. These two views are posed as the only conceivable stances to take since they are politically organized, while anything other that is politically radical is inconceivable. This is shown through the homosexual relationship between Gino (drifter) & Lo Spagnuolo (traveling performer, "citizen of the world") in contrast to the heterosexual relationship of Gino & Giovanna (a married woman). The homosexuality shown deals with a drifter & is thus showing the futility & harm of drifting aka not choosing one of the preferred paths before mentioned. Gino, just like Marina, is constantly swinging between a homosexual & heterosexual orientation. He has relationships with both a man (Lo Spagnuolo) & a woman (Giovanna). The heterosexual relationship is much more complicated than the homosexual one. It also is conjoined with the "dominant ideological structures" such as Giovanna's wife. The homosexual relationship seems to almost be a relationship between alter egos, which is destructive, pointless & unrealistic. It shows that the heterosexual, patriarchal dominant system is clearly the better choice. Gino is directionless & must choose which path to take (choice being significant in a capitalistic economy). The relationship between the two men is also shown to be amoral & wrong (allegorically) when Lo Spagnuolo admits his pseuodonym & thus his falsity, to the police. Therefore, heterosexuality, a metaphor for an organized, patriarchal economy, is the only position that is able to be expressed.

Citation:

Nazis and Drifters: The Containment of Radical (Sexual) Knowledge in Two Italian Neorealist Films. Author: Terri GinsbergSource: Journal of the History of Sexuality, Vol. 1, No. 2 (Oct., 1990), pp. 241-261. Published by: University of Texas