Directed by Roberto Rossellini • 1952 • Italy
Starring Ingrid Bergman, Alexander Knox
In the English-language version of this film, Ingrid Bergman plays a wealthy, self-absorbed Rome socialite racked by guilt over the shocking death of her young son. As a way of dealing with her grief and finding meaning in her life, she decides to devote her time and money to the city’s poor and sick. Her newfound, single-minded activism leads to conflicts with her husband and questions about her sanity. The intense, often overlooked EUROPE ’51 was, according to Rossellini, a retelling of his own THE FLOWERS OF ST. FRANCIS from a female perspective. This unabashedly political but sensitively conducted investigation of modern sainthood was the director’s favorite of his films.
Up Next in Ingrid Bergman in Europe
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Journey to Italy
Directed by Roberto Rossellini • 1954 • Italy
Starring Ingrid Bergman, George SandersAmong the most influential films of the postwar era, Roberto Rossellini’s JOURNEY TO ITALY (VIAGGIO IN ITALIA) charts the declining marriage of a couple from England (Ingrid Bergman and George Sanders) on a tri...
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Elena and Her Men
Directed by Jean Renoir • 1956 • France, Italy
Starring Ingrid Bergman, Jean Marais, Mel FerrerSet amid the military maneuvers and Quatorze Juillet carnivals of turn-of-the-century France, Jean Renoir’s delirious romantic comedy ELENA AND HER MEN (ELENA ET LES HOMMES) stars a radiant Ingrid Ber...
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Autumn Sonata
Directed by Ingmar Bergman • 1978 • Sweden, West Germany
Starring Ingrid Bergman, Liv UllmannAUTUMN SONATA was the only collaboration between cinema’s two great Bergmans: Ingmar and Ingrid, the monumental star of CASABLANCA. The grande dame, playing an icy concert pianist, is matched beat for b...