The imagery in this scene has sustained as some of the most iconic imagery of the Italian Neo-realist era of film during the 1940’s to the 50’s. It is due to this that I chose to deconstruct this scene from Roberto Rossellini’s Rome, Open City (1945). The iconic scene which depicts the death of one of the central characters Pina, maintains a very fast and frantic pace which I have attempted to understand how this is communicated through the shot set up and coverage.
The initial shot very much centres Pina as the prominent figure as the other women surround her, one even resting on her. This depicts her in a very strong manner to begin with and supports the notion of her being some sort of crux as a figure to both her family and her community. The shot also follows a German soldier as he walks back and forth which enhances the freneticism of the events that are about to ensue, communicating a sense of unease.
The next shots very much victimise the Italian characters which can be seen as Francesco is taken away by the German soldier. By constructing the shot to include a background that visualises hoards of surrounding German soldiers standing upright while having Francesco’s demeanour remain very flaccid and defenceless, Rossellini’s attitude and depiction of both cultures are certainly conveyed in my reading of the film. The camera is also moving quite quickly along with Francesco enhancing the tension and pace of the scene, which I find quite interesting as I feel the most common way of increasing the pressure of a scene is to have faster edits not increasing the speed of the camera motion.
This can be said for Pina as well as she runs out of the building chasing the truck; she is framed as being quite minute in the scheme of the shot as she runs out by herself. The shot remains quite wide and also includes quite a bit of room below her feet and above her head, showing the German soldiers on the side as well. This further draws compassion to her character as she is clearly shown as being harmless further bringing attention to the ruthlessness in which she is killed.
The final shot bears very strong religious connotations even if you were to ignore the fact that one of the characters displayed is a priest. As Don Pietro Pellegrini holds Pina it very much is configured in the way Jesus and Mary are portrayed in the Pietà , which is a figure that resonates with Italians in particular.
Overall in the whole scene, the way the two nationalities are shown to move are very good signifiers to the way the characters are depicted in the rest of the film, as the Italians are shown to be quite passionate and loving which is clearly shown here as they are very emotive in their body language as they flail around their arms and throw themselves around, especially with Pina and her son. This is in contrast to the Germans who remain quite composed and erect in posture which further vilifies them.
It is very clear to me that the way Rossellini presents the characters in terms of the way he frames them, he is very much making a film that is an ode to Rome that recognises the struggles and oppression of his people.