Assunta Spina

The other Italian films that I've seen from this early period of cinema history are poor imitations of theatre. In the US, the movies were more cinematic, but often confined to studios. At least in the beginning, "Assunta Spina" is outdoors a lot. One or two images of the Naples landscape are even pretty nice. It's difficult to go wrong with a shot of a boat against the horizon. Some of the outdoor footage suffers from (probably) a combination of poor lighting and deterioration of the negative.

Generally, though, the camera barely moves and the framing is always long shots. The story is a trashy melodrama about a dysfunctional couple. One is a jealous dolt, the other a clinging, masochistic drama queen. Francesca Bertini, apparently a star in her day, is a lousy screen actress--posturing histrionically and repeatedly staring into nothing in an attempt to convey emotion. It's very boring.

Italian neo-realism in film, introduced in 1943 and lasting through the early 1950's, has created a huge impact on the movies produced today. Set among poor or the working class while being cheaply filmed on location as opposed to inside expensive studio set, these Italian movies enlisted mostly amateur actors with only professional leads. Italy's film industry was basically forced to take such austere steps since World War Two caused enormous economic hardships for that country.

But Diva actress Francesca Bertini had made the claim, and with some justification, that her October 1915 "Assunta Spina" was the first to showcase a low budget, non-professional cast filmed in the exterior of Naples--all true hallmarks of Italian neorealism cinema.

The actress plays a working class laundress whose fiancee is hot-tempered. During an outdoor festival where she dances with an admirer, her fiancee cuts up her face in a fit of jealousy. A soft spot in her heart for her intended husband causes her to create a series of twists which produces both tragedy and signs of loyalty.

"Assunta Spina" has Gustavo Serena, who plays the fiancee, credited as director. However, Bertini is also listed as co-director, placing the Italian film as unique in the annuls of cinema as being one of the few, if only, movie where the two lead actors are also co-directors. Bertini claimed she was the one who solely directed the film.

What Bertini is known for in "Assunta Spina" is introducing a new art form of acting. Rising to the level of being the number one international actress, more popular than even Mary Pickford, as well as being the highest paid in the film industry, Bertini had been on screen since 1910. She gradually developed a realistic method of acting, something silent movie actors were hesitate to adapt to since their stage dramatic profession called for both physical and facial over exaggerations. In "Assunta Spina," Bertini shows a measured acting method where, despite the plot centering on a highly-charged emotional narrative, the actress sustains a composure rarely seen in silent film. Not looking at the camera, refraining from overly physical gestures and failing to contort her face in agony while undergoing the tragic events, Bertini illustrates what a realistic portrayal of an everyday composed woman looks like facing fatal events.

Once sound was introduced to movies in the late 1920's, Bertini's work in film diminished. But she still appeared in an occasional movie, with her last screen appearance being in Bernardo Bertolucci's 1976 epic "1900," with Robert De Niro.

Akin to a Puccini or Mascagni opera without the music, Assunta Spina is a work of dazzling dramatic intensity - with a heroine who is striking in her sensuality and modernity. Unlike the languid paper dolls who populate silent films by Griffith and others, Francesca Bertini plays a fully sexual woman. A vulnerable but hard-headed child of the slums, she's not above flirting with a man who's not her fiance, or - once the fiance goes to jail for attacking her in a jealous rage - prostituting herself to an official in order to save him. Not a Madonna, not a whore, but a woman. Perhaps the first real woman in screen history.

The gap between Image and Truth - between the sanctified image of 'woman' handed down from Roman Catholicism and 19th century melodrama, and the unvarnished truth of a real woman fighting to survive - is made explicit in the design and staging of Assunta Spina. An altar to an idealised Virgin Mary dominates the heroine's home; her less-than-ideal actions are seen and judged against it. A rare bit of calculated 'design' in a film that was shot almost entirely in the streets and slums of Naples. A style that anticipates Neo-Realism and cinema verite.

However, Assunta Spina lives in a much higher realm of art than either of those later trends. What lifts it up to the pinnacle is the acting of Francesca Bertini. One of those rare performers who goes beyond mere 'film acting'- fusing the physical grace of Margot Fonteyn with the operatic intensity of Maria Callas. Her vast liquid eyes seem to contain the whole film, and director Gustavo Serena (who co-directed, or so rumour has it, with the lady herself) manages to convey whole episodes solely through the body of his star. In the final duel between her two lovers, we never see a knife pass into flesh. All we see is a shudder pass through Bertini as she watches, and her hands clasp the air in mute agony.

In a word, DIVINA!

David Melville

With a relatively simple but well-told story, plus many good atmospheric details, this Italian feature is an effective melodrama that is still worth seeing. It is also worthwhile as a chance to see Francesca Bertini, who was so renowned in her day, in a role that gives her quite a wide variety of material to work with. Her fine performance would be enough to carry the story by itself, but the movie also has several other strengths.

The story itself is relatively straightforward. Assunta (Bertini) is engaged to be married to Michele, but Assunta's old flame Raffaele is too strong-willed to let her go. He makes an ever-greater nuisance of himself, building up quite a bit of tension, which sets off a turbulent sequence of events. The story is set against a believable and realistic background of life in Naples. The on-location filming includes scenes of many of the sights in and around Naples, and is an important part of the film's success. It also works well in putting the main characters into their social setting by, among other things, showing brief glimpses of Michele and Assunta at work.

This is the kind of story that works especially well as a silent film. The ways the characters say things are unimportant - what's important is their relationships and their attitudes, and the cast define these very well without sound. Besides Bertini's starring performance, Gustavo Serena is also quite believable in portraying the mercurial Michele. The story moves at a good pace, without any extraneous padding, and without rushing itself. All in all, it's a worthwhile little movie from the years when feature-length films were just starting to become more common.

Assunta Spina is typical of the early Italian melodrama genre. It shows ordinary people in their daily life overcome by a fate they can't control. The natural way of acting and the fact that many scenes are filmed outside in natural settings gives it great authenticity.

At the opposite of historical epics such as Cabiria, which intended to make people dream of being transported to other places or times, it is a film which made it possible for spectators to identify themselves with the characters and empathize with them. It is also a remarkable document on life in Naples before WWI.

Photography is often beautiful with special attention given to lighting. The final scene is particularly original in this respect. The depth of field is striking and some scenes combine views inside and outside through a window with all elements in focus and perfectly lit.

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