In Roberto Rossellini's first film of a war trilogy, Rome Open City, he chronicled the effect of Nazi occupation on the denizens of Rome. Here he's more concerned with the interaction between the occupying American soldiers and Italians. Paisan is an unusual film for its time in that a good part of the dialogue is in English spoken by off-Broadway actors imported to Italy to play American soldiers; and even more innovative is the fact that Paisan features six separate episodes that are tied together by the theme of miscommunication brought about by war and the ensuing ironies inherent in a story that features a clash between two very different cultures.Perhaps the most devastating episode is the first one. The American reconnaissance patrol only has one translator to sort out the conflicting voices in a small Sicilian village and we learn early on that the Americans will have a hard time understanding their reluctant Italian hosts. After employing a local girl, Carmela, as their guide, the Americans end up in the ruins of a deserted seaside castle—they leave a private, Joe, a regular guy from New Jersey, with Carmela at the castle where they attempt to communicate despite not knowing each other's language.Things take a tragic turn when Joe is shot by a German sniper and the Germans occupy the castle. Carmela shoots at the Germans in revenge for Joe's death and she herself is captured and thrown off the cliffs by the Germans. The ultimate miscommunication occurs after the Americans return and ironically (and incorrectly) conclude that Carmela was the one who killed Joe.As we head north, the second episode is set in the port city of Naples. It is remarkable in that it features an African-American actor (Dots Johnson) playing a non-stereotyped part as Joe, an Army MP (this is 1946 when it was unheard of for a black actor to obtain such a "normal", non-offensive role). When we first meet Joe, he's intoxicated and confesses to Pasquale, a young street urchin he's befriended, that he doesn't want to go home (owing to the racism of the times back in the US). After waking up from his drunken stupor, he discovers that Pasquale has stolen his shoes and after running into the kid again the next day, he's determined to find the boys' parents and have them return his shoes.The irony in this episode becomes clear when Pasquale brings Joe to where he lives and tells him that his parents were killed by allied bombs. In an epiphany, Joe finally has sympathy for Pasquale, realizing that his own personal struggle with racism pales in comparison to the boy who sadly lost his parents—he thus drives off and drops his useless obsession in attempting to recover the shoes.We now move to Rome in the third episode. Fred (Gar Moore) is a G.I. who meets a prostitute, Francesca, who brings him back to a room. He reminiscences about a woman he had met six months earlier when the Americans first liberated the city—Fred has idyllic memories of this woman and wishes he could see her again. Through his description, Francesca ironically realizes that Fred doesn't recognize her and she is the woman Fred met six months ago. Her attempt to reveal her true identity goes awry when she hands an address to the building superintendent and asks her to give it to Fred when he wakes up. Fred later discards the address thinking it's just the address of another brothel ruining any chance for romance between the two in the future. Again, it's the ineluctable effect of war that leads to heartache and disappointment. The fourth episode involves two characters, American nurse Harriet (Harriet Medin) and a partisan Massimo (Renzo Avanzo), who seek to enter a besieged section of the city of Florence, defended by partisans who are trying to beat back the Germans. Harriet's motive is to hook up with the partisan leader Lupo whom she has known in the past and perhaps is in love with. Massimo simply wants to re-connect with family members. As they move from street to street, dodging bullets, they are constantly advised to turn back by other partisans. The irony is that their motives appear selfish, considering that at the end of their sojourn, one of the partisans is shot on the street by a sniper, directly as a result of their foolish desire to satisfy their own whims.The fifth and perhaps most enigmatic episode involves three US Army chaplains, a Catholic, a Protestant and a Jew, who visit a recently liberated Roman Catholic monastery. The Jewish chaplain notes that the priests in the monastery are cut off from the reality of war. Ironically, the priest's spirituality is marred by petty prejudice as they are shocked by the presence of the Protestant and Jewish chaplain. During the meal, only the Americans eat, while the bigoted priests fast in the hope their non-Catholic guests will repent and perhaps someday convert. Leave it to Captain Bill Martin (William Tubbs), the Catholic chaplain, to surprisingly toast his hosts, whom he apparently forgives and still admires for their devotion to faith.The last episode must be compared with the first where the Americans completely misread the Italians and--through suspicion brought on by the realities of war--arrive at an erroneous conclusion signaling the gulf between the two cultures. It's the last episode, ironically, where Italians partisans are now working directly with American OSS agents--despite the tragic ending where the Germans drown the partisans and the Americans die also in a show of solidarity, the interaction between Italians and Americans have come full circle. Rossellini emphasizes the bond between the two peoples as they fight a common enemy.Paisan is a must-see which mixes documentary footage and a Neo-realist narrative to great effect.

I found this Italian film in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, I had no idea what to expect, but a few of the foreign language titles featured in the book have been worthwhile, I hoped this would be another, directed by Roberto Rossellini (Rome, Open City; Europe '51, Journey to Italy). Basically the film is told in six episodes, each focusing on six characters, including resistance workers, nurses and the Allied forces, from July 1943 to the winter of 1944, from Sicily to the north and Venice. These stories include Carmela (Carmela Sazio) guiding an American reconnaissance patrol through a German minefield, orphaned street urchin Pasquale (Alfonsino Pasca) who happens upon and steals the boots of bitter and drunk African-American soldier Joe (Dots Johnson), and drunken American soldier Fred (Gar Moore) finding prostitute Francesca (Maria Michi) who don't at first recognise each other. Also included are American nurse Harriet (Harriet Medin) and desperate partisan Massimo (Renzo Avanzo) risking their lives to get across the Arno river, three American chaplains: Catholic and Italian speaking Captain Bill Martin (William Tubbs), and his two colleagues are a Protestant and a Jew, and finally three members of the OSS (Office of Stratetgic Services) operating behind enemy lines to rescue two downed British airmen in the Po delta. I could tell whilst watching that the cast is made up of unprofessional actors, which accounts for awkwardness of dialogue and performances, it certainly adds to the realism of the documentary style of of filmmaking, but I will be honest and say that I lost track most of the time throughout anyway, and it's not the sort of thing I'd see again, but there were moments that got my attention, overall it is an alright neorealist war drama. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay, and it was nominated the BAFTA for Best Film from any Source. Worth watching, at least once, in my opinion!

It's six vignettes of the Allied invasion of Italy. There is humor, romance, poignancy, drama and most of all there is tragedy. Together the six stories stitch together a mosaic that is hopefully as enduring as one of the great artwork of history.An American recon squad enters a Sicilian village. One of them comes from a Sicilian background. Local girl Carmela guides them past German mines taking shelter in an old ruin. Joe stays with Carmela as the rest of the squad explores and they are surprised by a small squad of Germans. Carmela Sazio is very stiff as an actress. She's an amateur and there's value in that. However her character has a lot of emoting to do and she has trouble doing it.A group of street performing kids in Naples find drunken negro soldier Joe. Pasquale takes him around and they have an adventure. The poor kid steals from him. He turns out to be an MP and later he finds Pasquale. He is angry and drags Pasquale back home. The poverty of his home convinces Joe to leave him the boots. The kids are terrific and in this case, it's unlikely to get better actor than this amateur kid.In a liberated Rome, American GI Fred spends the night with prostitute Francesca. He has been searching for a woman he met 6 months ago and she realizes that she's actually that woman. This is a great story but I'm not sure it's set up right. It would be great to see them 6 months earlier.Half of Florence is liberated. All but one bridge has been blown and the partisans are struggling against the Germans. American nurse Harriet is desperate to get across to find her love. She is joined by Massimo looking for his family. The location shoot of them sneaking around an abandoned Florence is amazing.A monastery escapes damage from the war and is visited by three American chaplains. Catholic Captain Bill Martin translates but the monks are shocked to find the other two are a Protestant and a Jew. The monks intent on converting the two disbelievers.It's the closing stage of the war in Europe, American OSS and Italian partisans are struggling behind German lines in the Po delta. Supplies are dwindling and the fight is deadly. They rescue two downed British airmen. They are ambushed and captured. This is the most brutal of the stories and it ends the movie with its most brutal scenes.

Early in the film, the girl from the church who guides the Americans sounds just like the girl from Godfather II who Michael marries while hiding in Sicily. They're both young and Sicilian. If it were just their voices, I could never tell the difference. Not just voice, but their attitude and demeanor are the same. I've never been to Sicily, but this seems to confirm what a young Sicilian woman sounds like. This authenticity really adds to the goal of Italian neo-realism; the goal of capturing real human behavior and shying away from an actor's "fake" portrayal.Rossellini uses actors and non-actors in the film. It is difficult to separate the two. I think I can safely say all the characters with no dialogue are non-actors. They are extras, hired, dressed (maybe in their own clothing), and placed where need be. The rest with dialogue are harder to distinguish as either actor or non-actor. All the lines seem to be delivered in an amateur way. Even those that may be actors seem to make efforts to seem as stiff and natural and real as would a non-actor appear to be. Close-ups may be the only give away. And this is not always sure. There is a close-up of the Sicilian girl that really shows her emotion and deliberation of what she is about to do. Again, am I deceived? Is she actor or non-actor? At this point, it seems not to matter except for the fact that all the characters are seamlessly woven into the story. There are none who give an obvious performance. There are none who stick out or are identifiable were it not for the credits, which I don't pay attention to anyways. What remains is praise for Rossellini's vision and execution.