Chains

Catene

Italy

1949

94 Min

Black and White

1.33:1

Italian

Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
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PROD Goffredo Lombardo, Raffaello Matarazzo

SCR Aldo De Benedetti, Nicola Manzari, Libero Bovio, Gaspare Di Maio

CAST Amedeo Nazzari, Yvonne Sanson, Aldo Nicodemi, Roberto Murolo, Aldo Silvani, Teresa Franchini, Gianfranco Magalotti, Rosalia Randazzo

After years of working mostly on comedies and literary adaptations, Raffaello Matarazzo turned to melodrama with this intense tale of a tight-knit working-class family shattered by temptation. There’s a touch of noir in Chains (Catene), in which the virtuous yet earthy Yvonne Sanson, as the devoted wife of a mechanic (Amedeo Nazzari), finds herself unwillingly drawn back toward a criminal ex-lover. –The Criterion Collection

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Sunrise

29Mar12

What astounds me is how Matarazzo and Montuori clearly defy the economics of shooting to craft incredibly poetic moments! Rosa attempts to balance the reality behind her husband's dangerous job to execute fireworks and the romantic sensibility of their observation and experience, that comes to represent the desire and lust for lover Emilio. Incredible, especially since I, too, want to experience the fireworks!

Jerry Johnson

15Nov11

Perfectly-rendered genre melodrama that glimpses the cracks of time-period socio-sexual politics. Plus, the post-war leftist Italian critics hated it, which pretty much guarantees it's a masterpiece. The lead is a dead ringer for an old flame and falls on her sword just as beautifully.