Paisan

"There are always opportunities for redemption."

1946 2h 5m IT

🙌

7.5

BANGER

🔥

100%

CERTIFIED FRESH

⭐

7.6

IMDB

★7.5TMDB · 367🍅100%Rotten Tomatoes★7.6IMDB · 10,856

DramaWar

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Six stories unfold in various regions, from Sicily to the northern Po Valley as American military personnel interact with a variety of Italian locals over eighteen months in the push north during the Italian Campaign of WWII as German forces retreat.

“There are always opportunities for redemption.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Carmela Sazio
Carmela
Robert Van Loon
Joe
Benjamin Emanuel
American Soldier
Raymond Campbell
American Soldier
Harold Wagner
Harry, a German soldier
Albert Heinze
German soldier
Merlin Berth
Merlin, American Soldier
Mats Carlson
Swede, an American soldier

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Roberto Rossellini
Writers: Roberto Rossellini, Federico Fellini, Sergio Amidei
Languages: Italian, German, Latin, English
Countries: Italy

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

80 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 4 languages: Italian, German, Latin, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Roberto Rossellini, shot by Otello Martelli. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Renzo Rossellini. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Editor Eraldo Da Roma shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Carmela Sazio and Robert Van Loon and Benjamin Emanuel carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "There are always opportunities for redemption.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0038823 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Roberto Rossellini directs. Otello Martelli behind the camera. Renzo Rossellini scores. Eraldo Da Roma cuts. Produced in Italy. Dialogue in Italian, German, Latin, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

180 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Dialogue crosses 4 languages: Italian, German, Latin, English.
3Directed by Roberto Rossellini, shot by Otello Martelli. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Renzo Rossellini. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Eraldo Da Roma shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Carmela Sazio and Robert Van Loon and Benjamin Emanuel carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "There are always opportunities for redemption.".
8IMDB entry: tt0038823 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Released under 23 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Otello Martelli
Original score: Renzo Rossellini
Editing: Eraldo Da Roma
Runtime: 125 min · 2h 5m
Status: Released
Original language: IT
IMDB: Paisan (1946)
Rotten Tomatoes: 100% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 7.6/10 · 10,856 votes
MPAA: Approved

Awards

Nominated for 1 Oscar. 10 wins & 2 nominations total

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
National Board of Review Award for Best Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Roberto Rossellini

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-02-03
★ 7/10
As the Allies begin their invasion of Italy in 1943, Roberto Rossellini tells us half a dozen stories that might have occurred as the largely American army made their way through the country heading for Rome. These stories are not connected in any individual way, only by virtue of their providing some interesting vignettes illustrating the attitudes of the locals they encounter and the soldier's own behaviour. As they move from Sicily on up the peninsula, we meet a population who have had different experiences of the war so far - some barely touched by it, some deeply so - and the US forces are not universally welcomed. I won't try to explain the plots of each of these episodes, but suffice to say that they each have a potency that demonstrates quite well the ravages of war on both the victors and the losers - and it's not always immediately clear whom is whom! My personal favourite involves a young, homeless and streetwise scrounger who takes advantage of a sozzled soldier only to end up back in his war-torn hometown where the seizure of a pair of boots is rather put into context. There's some philosophy here, too. The sense that all are united against a common enemy until the fractured nature of human nature re-emerges, and things like religion start to re-impose a sometimes quite questionable dogma on a previously conjoined family of beliefs and opinions is effectively presented. These are six mini-adventures. One or two of them may deal more with the romantic or personal aspects of war, but all are delivered under a fairly constant threat from bullets and bombs that culminates well with a scenario that sort of offers us the wartime equivalent of snagging! The last few pockets of resistance to the advancing forces proving dangerously effective and highly tenacious. There's something intensely plausible about these dramatisations - the Italians all speak in their own tongue; the production uses intimate photography and grand scale cinematography as well as maintaining a palpable sense of menace throughout. This is certainly amongst the best of the genre.

Production companies