"Amore"
1948
Directed by Roberto Rossellini

Available for the first time in the original two-part version, Amore is Rossellini's homage to the incredible Anna Magnani. In The Human Voice, based on Cocteau's one-act drama, Magnani is featured alone onscreen with a telephone, playing to an unseen lover. The interest is centered not so much on her dialog but on her expressive face and her actions--the myriad manifestations of her grief and suffering. The Miracle, inspired by a story from Federico Fellini, is a small masterpiece casting Magnani as a simple peasant who must defend her belief that she has given birth to the new Messiah. Condemned by the Catholic Legion of Decency and banned in several American cities at the time of its release, this inspired film was later praised by The Vatican and upheld in a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. "Excruciatingly passionate" (Peter Rainer, L.A. Herald). Italian with English subtitles.
78 minutes.