Paola, a Milan call girl, returns home to her village in the Abruzzi mountains in an attempt to go straight. Rejected by her father, blackmailed by a former lover, and lusted after by her brother-in-law, she turns to her beloved sister for support. Denied succor, like so many of Rossellini’s isolated figures, Paola awaits the arrival of her fiancé, who has offered her a new start, but instead decides that life is untenable.
Cinematography
Abruzzi mountains as oppressive cage, not escape.
Acting
Elli Parvo's face does what the script won't explain.
Director
Roberto Rossellini
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Rossellini directed remotely while divorcing Ingrid Bergman; Pagliero handled on-set duties.
Part of Italy's 'filone' of prostitute dramas — the Catholic guilt conveyor belt.
IT
