Cinema
Attack and Retreat
Italiani brava gente
Giuseppe de Santis · 1964
Synopsis
During the Second World War, an Italian regiment is sent to the Soviet Union to support the German troops. Soldiers from all over Italy, with no political awareness, discover Ukraine and its inhabitants. They carry out the Germans' orders reluctantly, and the Germans treat them with contempt, and their trust wears away as the terrain and the climate grow harsher.
Context
The film was made by Galatea and Mosfilm after nearly four years of work, from 1961 to 1964, and difficult negotiations over very different versions of the screenplay. The screenplay is by Ennio De Concini, Augusto Frassinetti, Sergei Smirnov and the director. Arthur Kennedy, Peter Falk, Raffaele Pisu and Tatiana Samoilova are in the cast, along with thousands of extras. The Italian title takes up a formula about the supposed goodness of Italian soldiers during the war.
Who it is for
A black and white war film, which exists in several cuts of very different lengths.
Prizes and reception
The first fiction co-production between Italy and the Soviet Union, long little seen, and since shown at festivals such as the one in La Rochelle.
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