Released in the United States in the early 50's under the title of WOMAN, this obscure early Rossellini film was made at the end of the war and completed by Marcello Pagliero. It is a sensational little tragedy about a prostitute who returns from the city to her home town where she is variously loved, spurned, and lusted over. The grim, fatalistic atmosphere bears a good deal of resemblance to the much better known contemporary masterpiece OSSESSIONE, by Luchino Visconti. In fact Massimo Girotti appears in both films. Elli Parvo is quite riveting in the main role.







An exquisitely stunning call girl (Elli Parvo) falls in love with Giovanni (Carlo Ninchi), a simple, generous man, a horticulturist, who nurtures plants and flowers in an expansive greenhouse. Unhealthy plants spring to life in his hands, as does the sad, deeply conflicted Paola, who yearns to tell him of her plight, but pretends that she is an unemployed seamstress. She decides to return home, rather than face embarrassing discovery, but the long, slow walk to a village in the Abruzzi mountains is for naught. Her father will not speak to her, shamed by her loose, lascivious lifestyle, and her sister (Roswita Schmidt) betrays her trust, once her brother-in-law, Nando (Massimo Girotti), unabashedly lusts for her, beyond discretion. Many of Rossellini’s films include an evil-eyed, scar-faced demon, and, in this case, Riccardo (Francesco Grandjacquet) fit the bill, as he, too, lusted for Paola and blackmailed her for a single night of sex in exchange for “secrecy”, as Giovanni the admirer turned into Giovanni the fiancé. Alas, Paola, overcome with explosive fear and shame, creates her own fate. The image of Giovanni finally arriving in town to “save” Paola from her past and present was spell-binding, as he passes a crowd of onlookers at the foot of a bridge and continues to town, with Riccardo’s devious directions, to meet the love of his life at the postal office.

The making of Desiderio would be a fascinating documentary, to be seen in all its incarnations, the original shots and takes by Rossellini, the two Paolas (the first was Oretta Fiume), and the directorial differences (Pagliero-Rossellini) in style and mood. Renzo Rossellini’s music, not omnipresent, as is Rossellini’s style, but there to lead your emotions, foreboding or revealing, is fine-tuned to his brother’s unique genre. Rossellini recruited non-actors for all minor roles and always shot directly on location, thus the Neo-Realistic technique.

Roberto Rossellini started the film in July 1943 as "Scalo merci" with Oretta Fiume in the leading role. The production was halted several times because of the war (during which time Oretta Fiume was replaced by Elli Parvo) only to be shelved in early 1944. In the spring of 1944, Marcello Pagliero took over the project. He modified the screenplay and changed the settings altogether (railway men became woodcutters). The final product, presented to the public in May 1946, includes many of the scenes shot by Rossellini.







Una ragazza, che la città ha spinto sulla via del vizio, torna al proprio paese quando un amore sincero sembra finalmente illuminare la sua vita. Ma il peccato è ormai in lei e, senza volerlo ella accende di sé tutti gli uomini che avvicina tra i quali il cognato. Un altro uomo, per averla, arriva al ricatto minacciandola di rivelare il suo passato al fidanzato che sta per giungere. L'intervento del cognato e una scenata con la sorella aggravano la situazione e la ragazza, per non essere disprezzata dall'uomo che, ama, si toglie la vita.
Le riprese del film cominciarono nell'estate del '43 col titolo di Scalo merci, con la regia di Roberto Rossellini. Il film fu interrotto e ripreso a guerra finita con la regia di Pagliero che ne modificò la sceneggiatura. Distribuito nel luglio 1946, fu ritirato dalla circolazione e drasticamente ridotto dalla censura a 73 minuti.





loju