In what ways does Italian Neorealism influence modern filmmaking practices?
In what ways does Italian Neorealism influence modern filmmaking practices?
Italy went through some of the biggest changes in its history in the early 20th century, around the time of war. Benito Mussolini founded the Fascist Party in 1919 and by 1924 he had already come to power and his dictatorship was in place. The fascist regime was accepted by many, but there were still a significant group of people who were against it. The fascists began using film as a propaganda tool, making the Italian film industry heavily censored and controlled. Movies known as “white-telephone” films would be sentimental melodramas, or historical epics. Films supported by the regime were funded by the national bank, and were escapist vehicles, made to deflect the audience’s attention from the real issues of the day. The cinema industry was centralized, as the realities of fascist Italy were not shown from the biggest film studio, Cinecitta. However, Italian Neorealist cinema soon developed as many young new directors became keen to explore their own ideas, when the fall of fascism came in 1943. The new filmmakers wanted to create new depictions of life in post-war Italy, which mainly deals with issues of social inequality, and the emphasis on the every day man: the individual. This is where Italian Neorealism was born.
However, the movement was not only significant in the historical and ideological content, but to the new filmmaking practices and techniques involved. Many modern day directors are still influenced by Italian Neorealism, including highly regarded directors such as Tarantino or Scorsese. In fact, Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver shows distinct similarities to Italian Neorealist cinema. Firstly, the film's focus on characters and their emotions is comparable to INR films such as Bicycle Thieves, or Umberto D. Music is used to manipulate the audience in this way - reflecting Travis's emotions and psychological state. This is seen in many of the taxi driving scenes, with the slow tedious jazz music showing his loneliness. This is comparable to scenes in both Bicycle Thieves and Umberto D, where the protagonists walk down the streets to the depressing, reflective music. It could be argued that this is also a widely popular Hollywood technique, making it difficult to directly say that the Italian Neorealist movement has had an effect on the filmmakers. Other aspects of the film, such as the long takes with fluid camerawork are more alike to Italian Neorealist cinema. We see this many times in Taxi Driver, such as in the taxi office at the start of the film. Long takes are a noticeable quality in INR films, as seen for example in Bicycle Thieves when Ricci and Bruno are walking home past the tram – the scene is long and drawn out with a distinct lack of cuts. Long takes were used initially as more of a budget or time restraint solution, but as Taxi Driver did not have these problems it could be argued that the film’s use of the technique is a direct influence from INR cinema.
