JOURNEY TO ITALY ("Viaggio in Italia", 1954)

A nice vacay can't fix everything. This month, we're following up on Stromboli with another of Rossellini's Bergman-helmed stories of withering unions, this time focused on a would-be romantic trip that turns sour when husband and wife realize they don't really like each other all that much. Join us as we follow the diverging paths that make up this tale of marital malfunction...
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JOURNEY TO ITALY ("Viaggo in Italia", 1954)
Dir. by Roberto Rosselini
Available to stream for free (with ads) on Tubi. Also available to rent on Amazon Prime or YouTube, or streaming with an HBO Max subscription.

It's not the most glamorous pretense for a romantic getaway, but shouldn't there still be SOME romance to it? Alex and Katherine Joyce are an English couple who have decided to use their recent inheritance of a family member's Italian villa as an excuse to take a leisurely trip to a part of the world known for its high passion and beautiful vistas. But they're barely at the hotel when they come to a sobering conclusion - after being married for years, they haven't had much occasion to be completely alone with each other. And now that they are... well, what's there to talk about? As the lackadaisical idleness of vacation quickly turns into agitated restlessness, the disillusioned husband and wife begin to spend more and more time apart. But as they pursue their ideal tourism schedules separately, is there any hope that they'll be satisfied which each other by the end of the trip?

Hauntingly beautiful in its dispassionate austerity, Journey to Rome is something like an anti-vacation film, a portrait of disenchantment that can't help but continue searching for magic to believe in. Let's talk about it!

*As always, this is a movie discussion group—we invite you to watch the film on your own ahead of time, and come ready to discuss.*