Based on the novel by Colette
Starring Ingrid Bergman and George Sanders
Italy, France, 1954
Considered by many to be a key turning point in the transition from classic to modern cinema, JOURNEY TO ITALY tells the story of a married couple who travel to Naples to sell a property they have inherited. The married couple is not happy with each other and spends most of the film openly arguing with each other. This overwhelmingly negative relationship is a little oppressive to watch, making for a potentially downbeat experience.
However, during their trip, we're treated to sights like the statues of the Naples Museum, the volcanic Phlegraean Fields, the Fontanelle cemetery and, in the film's climax, Pompeii. These settings and sequences serve not to lighten up the proceedings, but at least provide a contextual counterpoint to the harrowing relationship, placing it as just one piece of a much bigger world and rich history.
Now it's time for a spoiler, so stop reading if you don't want to know the ending. I've rarely been as relieved in a happy ending as I was in this film. It comes right at the last minute, but it's so cathartic it really underlined just how wound up by the rest of the film I had been.
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