Stromboli (1950)

Karin, a young woman from the Baltic countries, marries fisherman Antonio to escape from a prison camp. But she cannot get used to the tough life in Antonio's volcano-threatened village, Stromboli.

Director:

Roberto Rossellini

Writers:

Roberto Rossellini (story), Sergio Amidei (collaboration) (as Sergio Amedei)

Stars:

Ingrid Bergman, Mario Vitale, Renzo Cesana

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Ingrid Bergman	...	Karin
Mario Vitale	...	Antonio
Renzo Cesana	...	The Priest
Mario Sponzo	...	The Man from the Lighthouse

Storyline

Living in an Italian refugee camp in 1948, the beautiful Karin meets Antonio, a resident of the men's camp. Though not in love with him, Karin marries him and they soon head for his home village, Stromboli. The village is on a remote island at the foot of an active volcano. When they arrive Karin despairs of the barren land and the absence of people, as many have left, mostly for the United States. She doesn't speak the local dialect and is treated with disdain by locals who see her as an exotic foreigner and a loose woman. After Antonio beats her and locks her in their house, she sets off across the mountains to seek her freedom and a better future.

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Plot Keywords:

mediterranean sea | volcano | island | ferret | rabbit | 

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Taglines:

This is IT!

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Italy USA

Language:

Italian English Spanish German French

Release Date:

15 February 1950 (USA)

Also Known As:

Of God's Earth

Filming Locations:

Farfa, Fara in Sabina, Rieti, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Berit Films, RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min 100 min (Italy)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Roberto Rossellini and his future wife Ingrid Bergman met for the first time while making this movie.

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Goofs

Though used by women, pants were not so popular on that time. Is strange that a poor refugee like the character played by Bergman wears pants almost the entire movie.

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Quotes

Karin: This is a ghost island! Nobody lives here!

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits: "I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me." (New Testament, St. Paul's letter to the Romans, Chapter 10, Verse 20)

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Alternate Versions

Several running times exist. The main difference between the 81 min. US version and the 105 min. Italian version was in the ending, with religious themes cut out.

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Connections

Featured in Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words (2015)

User Reviews

"La terra e dura qui": Setting as Character

"La terra e dura qui." Ingrid Bergman is a powerhouse in this film (perhaps out of love and devotion to the director), but she still can't match the power of the menacing volcano on this remote island off the coast of Italy. Bergman plays a prisoner of war with a checkered past stuck in a women's camp, who marries a Strombolian in order to provide herself with the security she needs. Trouble awaits her, and the first sign we get of that is when she starts to complain of being cold on the boat that is taking her to her new life. What she finds is not up to her high Continental standards, and her attitudes towards the locals and the place itself diminish her already low stature as an outsider. It is less the people however, than the general character of the place that turns her off. The volcano, unnamed by the villagers, always awaits in the background, and setting itself becomes one of the main characters (thus the importance of the title), a force to be reckoned with, much like her character.

Although this film is not noir in any way, and Rossellini himself would probably turn in his grave for hearing me say this, Bergman's character certainly does not hesitate in using her female "wiles" to get what she wants and needs. She survived a world war on what we take are wits and flexible morals, so she will also make it through this and I love her for it.

She even attempts to seduce the local priest by cooing "I knew you were the only person who could help me." Having that attempt fail, she tries with the village lighthouse keeper seen at right, and I don't even have to explain the power of her touch. As she asks for help to escape from the village, she softly touches his foot with hers, and creates an unbelievably palpable feeling of erotic energy, something unheard of in mainstream movies today. I know, that's such a cliché, but it's true.

Anyway, I won't discuss the ending, which angered me as a modern woman (even Bergman didn't seem to be buying it), but I will say that the film impressed me with its use of setting comprising plot, character, mise-en-scene, and theme. The film IS setting. It's also worth it just to see the non-actors performing a yearly tuna fishing ritual that dates back to the Phoenecians. Rossellini films are never just stories, they are historical documents. And I love him for that.

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