by Daniel White
Reviewing Ingmar Bergman's Autumn Sonata, I referred to Ingrid Bergman as "brave." It took a certain amount of courage to leave Hollywood at the height of her success to work with Italian director Roberto Rossellini. I can't think of another star who would have pulled such a ballsy move.
As for the rest, the infamous affair, the son born out of wedlock, Bergman was a glorious fool not to choose an abortion or some silly subterfuge. She displayed remarkable honesty in the face of public scorn. I respect her, more than any other of Tinseltown's leading ladies from the Golden Age.
Rossellini directs her in Journey to Italy. Filmed in 1953, but not released for over a year, initially it was a critical and commercial failure. It has since been proclaimed a masterpiece, instrumental in the evolution of film. Championed by the French New Wave, Akira Kurosawa and Martin Scorsese, Journey to Italy has some major movie cred.
The story of a marriage in crisis, Ingrid is wed to stuffy George Sanders. Tooling around Naples in a shiny, pretentious Bentley, the English couple are in Italy, attempting to sell George's dead uncle Homer's villa. Sniping and sarcastic, the two drift farther apart. While George retreats to Capri, hoping to spark up a love affair, Ingrid immerses herself in the local culture.
There is a reconciliation of sorts, amidst a religious procession, but like the real life Roberto and Ingrid, I suspect George and Ingrid are destined for divorce court.
Ah, but Miss Bergman looks great, and isn't that what really matters? Looking chic and sexy in clothes designed by Fernanda Gattinoni, she retains her Hollywood glamour while mucking about Neapolitan lava pits and catacombs. That's what I call a movie star! Journey to Italy is currently available on YouTube in a beautiful, pristine print courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
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