Rome Open City

Introduction

Rome open city is one of the films in Italian, actually one of the first films by Roberto Rossellini in the 194os. It is also considered the first European film on the post war period which acquired a large number of viewers from the United States. The film is about a group of people who lived in Rome during the Nazi invasion in Rome. The city was later declared an open city living under oppression and impunity exerted by the German Nazi forces. This brought a lot of hatred as the German soldiers tried to control the city and the people who were living in it. These were main Italians.  The German soldiers try to seek the support of the church arguing that communism is evil in the society and that it does not bring any significant development. However, the church remarkably responds that those people who fight hard to bring sanity and justice to the society are the ones who walk in the Path of righteousness. The church considers the behavior by the German soldiers as distasteful and against the teachings of the church.

The film is stared and screened in secret by Rossellini who uses film stock which does not have sound equipment (Rossellini's, 1990).

The play is written by Robert Rossellini who works hand in hand with Federico Fellini and Sergio Amides. The film runs for an approximate session of 103 minutes.

The theme of communism is seen very well in the film. It is seen that the society is very united. They work as a group especially to try and combat the Germans who want to colonize them and take their land away from them. The Germans however have a very rough time in their ambition since the society is intact and the kind of resistance that is staged against them is very strong. Germans initially try to counteract the communist state by attempting to divide the staged resistance. This unity sees to it the final liberation of Rome. The German soldiers have tried to seek the support of the church arguing that communism is evil in the society and that it does not bring any significant development. However, the church remarkably responds that those people who fight hard to bring sanity and justice to the society are the ones who walk in the Path of righteousness.

The theme of resistance is also seen in the theme. Nazi forces are seen to be advancing towards Rome in a bid to cause division and so that they can fully subdue them. This is however resisted with a lot of concern by various groups of people. These include the church and the communist states. The communists are against this form of invasion since the Nazi forces want to introduce foreign policies that would only cause resentment and divisions among them. That is why they engage them in a fierce battle so that they can liberate themselves (Rossellini's, 1946). They also do not want them because they are agents of impunity who are interested in robbing them off their freedom and causing problems among them. The church also resists these forces on grounds that they are evil people. This is in contradiction to the teachings of the church which upholds the dignity of life and doing well (Monaco, 2009). The Nazi forces however are not doers of good but instead they want to bring suffering among the people of Rome. They also interfere with their social and economic welfare something which is distasteful according to the church.

The theme of partnership is very prevalent in the film. The Catholic Church and the communists team up together against the Nazi forces from Germany. The Nazi forces are very corrupt and evil, bringing a lot of deaths and destruction of people within Rome. Because of this the Catholic Church is not pleased and it therefore teams up with other communists and supporters of Rome to fight the effect of the Nazi Forces in Rome.

The theme of liberation is also seen in the film. Rome is initially under the Nazi forces that try and exert their impunity on it. The Nazi forces are very cruel making the communists and the Christians to rise up against the same. This sees the Nazi forces going out against the communists even more in an armed struggle so that they can subdue them and bring them under control. However due to the spirit of partnership that exists at the time, Rome is finally declared an open city meaning that the Nazi forces do not have any control over it. They are defeated and this leads to liberation.

The theme of enmity and revenge is seen in the film. The Nazi forces from Germany are bitter because they had lost the First World War. This made them look inferior to the whole world. They had also been subjected to a lot of harsh consequences such as disarmament and paying for repatriations of the First World War. In the second war world war and the ensuing confrontation in Rome, they do this to revenge against the other states who had decided this. They were also long time enemies with Italy which was a collaborator with such states as Britain. This is what brings the Nazi forces to step up a fight against the communist states since they themselves were a capitalist nation.

There is however love between certain individuals in the film. Anna Magnan is a woman who is in love with a resistant group leader. She tends to risk her life and that of her unborn child who is expectant.  This shows some love affairs in the film which also tends to unify the communist state even further.

The theme of impunity and torture is also evident in the novel. The communist states are unhappy because they have been denied a chance to be free. They are harassed through being killed and being flogged. They are forced to adopt policies that they know are foreign and which will not bring development to the country. The Nazi forces do this since they want to bring their ideologies into Rome, something which the communists detest. In the process, there is a war. Several people are killed and several others injured.

The theme of religion is seen in the film. The Catholic Church is very active in the social, political, economic, political and religious landscape. They are quick to correct the Nazi forces that what they are doing is wrong. Although the Nazi forces try to bribe their way into winning the confidence of the church, it becomes extremely difficult. The church stands for truth at all times. It does not hesitate to argue that impunity is wrong and that the Nazi people are evil forces who are sly and egoistic and who should be opposed at all costs.

The theme of evil in the society is also seen very well in the film. There is a lot of evil. We see the appearance of characters who are lesbians such as Ingrid. This shows how the moral values in this particular society have been corrupted. There is also extreme killing and destruction of property. Some people die while some become very poor due to the war. This brings about a lot of disparity. There is also selfishness amongst certain groups of people which want to control the entire Rome. These Nazi forces have been depicted as very evil in the film.

Special film movements make the film interesting. The cameras rotate in such a way as to capture the events of war in an artistic manner (Forgacs, 2000). The cameras also capture the landscape in such a way as to make the film appear so real since the war occurs on rough terrain. The rotation of cameras captures the soldiers who are dressed in military uniform ready for the war. The weapons used are also captured.

Various lessons and concepts are derived from the film. Such is a good film for history students. The film depicts the effects that war usually has on the society. This is the reason why it should be avoided at all costs. There effects of war are economic, social political and even religious. The war brings about a lot of enmity and as history has it, the following period of a cold war.

Conclusion

The film, Rome the Open City is an interesting film. It covers the happenings in the Second World War. It displays the Nazi Forces as egoistic individuals who want to subdue others with the intention of being agents of impunity. The church however comes in to rescue the communists by preaching hard against the Nazi Forces. The church feels that the intention of God is not to bring suffering o the people.