Planned while German troops were still jackbooting through the streets of Rome, shot only a few weeks after they were driven out, Roberto Rossellini’s stark 1945 drama tangibly captures the fear and tension of the city under Nazi occupation.
A resistance leader seeks shelter among friends in a shabby tenement block – but he’s betrayed, captured and delivered to the Gestapo.
Made on a tiny budget with a largely non-professional cast and filmed on the streets where similar events had just occurred, the rawness of the movie give it an immediacy that still hits home.
