Ossessione

Acknowledged as the first film of the Italian neo-realist movement, Ossessione (Obsession) (1942) was also the remarkably assured directorial debut of Luchino Visconti. Loosely based on James M. Cain's 1934 novel The Postman Always Rings Twice, with the setting moved from California to Italy's Po Valley, Ossessione is a dark melodrama of adultery, murder and betrayal. Gino, an unemployed mechanic, arrives at a shabby inn owned by Giovanna and her much-older husband, Bragana. Gino and Giovanna become lovers, setting in motion an inevitable series of tragic events. To understand the impact of Ossessione, one must understand the Italian film industry at the time. The Fascist government had established a Hollywood-like studio system, which turned out glossy, superficial, escapist films known as "white telephone" pictures. Ossessione, with its earthy characters, frank sensuality, and visual authenticity provided by location photography, was a dramatic contrast. Even more extraordinary were the contrasts in the director's own life. Count Don Luchino Visconti di Modrone came from one of Italy's most aristocratic families...and was a dedicated Marxist. Visconti had spent his youth breeding horses, cultivating his interest in art and music, and mingling with Parisian society. Designer Coco Chanel introduced him to French director Jean Renoir, and at the age of 30, Visconti went to work for Renoir as a costume designer and assistant director. It was Renoir who suggested Cain's novel to Visconti for his first directing project. Visconti sold some family jewels to finance the film. Anna Magnani was slated to play Giovanna, but by the time production began, Magnani was pregnant and had to withdraw from the film. Another established star, Clara Calamai, got the role. Calamai was younger and more glamorous than Magnani, but Visconti didn't want glamour. He wanted realism, which meant no makeup, no permed hair, and drab, grimy clothes. When Calamai saw the first rushes, she burst into tears and threatened to quit. Visconti responded with scathing aristocratic imperiousness. "Listen when I talk to you...or go back to your whorehouse!" he shouted. He insisted that her co-star Massimo Girotti slap her harder, and forced her to bathe in the icy river. Once, an actor was supposed to knock over a glass so that it fell and shattered. Furious that the glass didn't break in several takes, Viscount threw glass after glass at Calamai's feet, and the splinters flew up dangerously close to her face. Still, Calamai remained in awe of Visconti, whom she called "a medieval lord with a whip." Girotti also suffered under Visconti's direction. In one scene, he had to drink a glass of wine. Visconti shot the scene so many times that Girotti passed out, dead drunk. On the last day of filming, the actor collapsed again, fainting from nerves and fatigue. Visconti later admitted that his cruel behavior was calculated. "I'm interested in extreme situations, those instants when abnormal tension reveals the truth about human beings; I like to confront the characters and the story harshly, aggressively." While Ossessione was in production, Visconti allowed his family's palazzo in Rome to be used as clandestine headquarters for the Communist Resistance. Before the film's premiere, two of its screenwriters were jailed as subversives. Even though the Fascist government was on the verge of collapse, officials began to take a closer look at Visconti's work. At the first screening, the audience gave Ossessione an ovation. But Mussolini's son Vittorio, a film executive, stalked out, shouting "that isn't Italy!" The Culture Minister called it "a film that stinks of latrines." Even a heavily censored version, cut beyond recognition, had a hard time getting bookings. And when it did, local officials usually yanked it after a few screenings. Ossessione was not shown in the U.S. for many years because of a dispute with MGM over the rights to Cain's novel, and even now it's rarely seen except at an occasional museum or film archive screening. Elusive as it is, Ossessione remains an intriguing and historically important milestone in Italian cinema. And those few who have managed to see it attest to the fact that even after sixty years, it remains a powerful experience. Director: Luchino Visconti Producer: Libero Solaroli Screenplay: Mario Alicata, Antonio Pietrangeli, Gianni Puccini, Guiseppe De Santis & Luchino Visconti, based on the novel The Postman Always Rings Twice, by James M. Cain Editor: Mario Serandrei Cinematography: Aldo Tonti & Domenico Scala Art Direction: Gino Franzi Costumes: Maria De Matteis Music: Giuseppe Rosati Principal Cast: Clara Calamai (Giovanna), Massimo Girotti (Gino), Juan de Landa (Bragana), Elio Marcuzzo (Spagnolo), Dhia Cristiani (Anita). BW-135m. by Margarita Landazuri