L’amore in 35mm

“I’ve made films in episodes because I feel more at ease like that.” —Roberto Rossellini, 1952 Rossellini’s appreciation for episodic storytelling, which his later forays into television allowed him to explore with more freedom, first began in feature-length filmmaking. Part one, titled “Una voce umana,” is based on a play by Jean Cocteau and features the filmmaker’s then-lover, esteemed actress Anna Magnani, known only as the woman on the phone, speaking to a former flame. In part two, “Il miracolo,” a woman is sure she is pregnant with the child of a saint. Two years later, “Il miracolo” was released in the US as part of another anthology, The Ways of Love . Upon that film’s release, Rossellini was charged with blasphemy by the archbishop of New York City, though the international version was lauded as the best foreign film that year by New York critics.