The Epic of Italian Neorealism (Part 5)

In Italian Neorealism films, people exist primarily as a representation of reality, an illustration of fate. Characters in films like "Bicycle Thieves" essentially serve as symbols of post-war poverty in Italy, mirroring the chaotic markets and squalid slums depicted in the movies.

However, except for a few films depicting the Italian resistance movement, most characters in Italian Neorealism films have relatively vague personality traits. They appear more as symbols of a social phenomenon, highlighting a significant deficiency in the portrayal and characterization of individuals. This shortfall contributes to the decline of Italian Neorealism, freeing it from an inevitable fate.

After maintaining its influence for about seven to eight years and producing around seventy to eighty films, Italian Neorealism began to decline in the mid-1950s. This decline was characterized by an increasing exhaustion of themes in Italian Neorealism films after 1955. While not entirely falling into clichés at the time, one could discern a decrease in the original vitality of these films, and the societal aspects in their content were less pronounced than before.

V. The Impact of Italian Neorealism on Posterity

Neorealism inadvertently triggered a global cinematic movement lasting for decades, with the most direct consequence being the emergence of the French New Wave at the turn of the 1950s and 1960s. From a particular perspective, the French New Wave can be seen as a continuation of Neorealism. Although it physically moved from the Italian Peninsula to the banks of the Seine in France, it retained a spiritual or aspirational continuity.

This is primarily because the French New Wave was the only instance where young film critics engaged in film production based on film theory. André Bazin, the most representative figure among them, was renowned for creating the theory of cinematic realism and was the sole pure theoretical film critic. His academic contributions broadly summarized Italian Neorealism film practices, ultimately reshaping the face of world cinematic art.

Around André Bazin, radical, enthusiastic, and film-loving young people became film critics in André Bazin's "Cahiers du Cinéma." They often wrote reviews based on their extreme film tastes. These critics warmly embraced Roberto Rossellini's film, which suffered a box office failure. In loneliness and emotion, Roberto Rossellini traveled to France to meet them and engage in deep discussions. These young individuals expressed their passion for creating films, prompting Roberto Rossellini to say, "Each of you write an outline or a script and show it to me." They all submitted their assignments, and Roberto Rossellini, acting as a mentor, provided guidance. The outlines and scripts guided by Roberto Rossellini became the debut works of the famous directors of the French New Wave.

When this influence reached Germany, the New German Cinema once again restored Italian Neorealism's realism and political reality. However, unlike the previous two movements, they did not reject commercialism. While using radical and avant-garde film language and techniques, directors of the New German Cinema placed extreme importance on the narrative. They formed a new narrative style, emphasizing audience engagement.

Interestingly, the European art film movement, accompanied by the social realities of the turbulent 1960s, had an unprecedented impact on the declining Hollywood film industry. The pale Hollywood film industry in decay couldn't compete with the vibrant, experimental, and socially vital European art films. This spirit of a new wave and the impact of contemporary wave aesthetics fostered and propelled the birth of the New Hollywoo"d era.

Neorealism, or the French New Wave, also significantly impacted Iranian cinema. From early directors like Abbas Kiarostami to later ones like Jafar Panahi and Asghar Farhadi, films like "Where Is the Friend's House?" to "A Separation" and "Taxi" reflect their humanitarian sentiments. Despite being under strict censorship, these directors, emulating their financially constrained neorealistic predecessors, use simple handheld cameras and the primitive vitality of life to write their humanitarian ideals and visual poems about life and hometowns in real settings and natural light.

VI. Conclusion

The spirit of Neorealism has had a profound and far-reaching impact on world cinema. It greatly influenced the French New Wave, Iranian cinema, and the aesthetic perspectives of filmmakers. While they may not explicitly attribute their influence to a specific film, these creative methods, perspectives on the relationship between the camera and nature, the camera and characters, and the characters and nature have had a significant impact on the creation of world cinema, particularly in the realm of art cinema. Although Neorealism's creative period was short, its influence and contributions to world cinema are enormous.

• The Epic of Italian Neorealism (Part 1)
• The Epic of Italian Neorealism (Part 2)
• The Epic of Italian Neorealism (Part 3)
• The Epic of Italian Neorealism (Part 4)