Italian neo realism

Some of the main characteristics of Italian neo-realism is the "emphasis on real lives [...] an entirely or largely non professional cast, a focus on the collectivity rather than the individual [...] solidarity [..] criticism of the status quo". This is all put together to emphasize the idea of escaping from the fantasy typically seen in the movies during ww2 which conveyed "happy endings" when life was not always so forgiving. Italian neo realism showed the audience the dark side of reality moving away from fantasy to reality.

The history behind Italian Neo-realism was the problematic era of ww2 and Italy was under the strict leadership of Benito Mussolini where the harshness of reality was seen in the streets and the people. In 1935 the anti-Fascist journalist, Leo Longanesi promoted the idea of the filmer going into the streets to document the reality of the situations plagued by the people of Italy.
Thus the development of the Neo realism era commonly taking place in the streets instead of sets.

Some of the cinematic techniques that were used in the Italian Neo Realism era involved the idea of music as a way to express the social problems conveying mood and tone for the films. Also the idea of taking filming to the streets to display realistic lifestyle capturing ruins or slums to show depression under the Italian neo realistic style.

Some contributers to the Italian Neo realism movement involved: Cesare Zavattini who was known as the "godfather" of the Neo realism movement. He wrote a guide on the creation of Neo realistic films playing a major role in the production as well as the influence of other filmers to pursue Neo realistic films. Also another key contributer to the Neo realism era was Leo Longanesi who wrote in an anti fascist journal in 1935 telling film makers to take footage of the reality of life in the quote," go into the streets". signifying support towards the idea of Italian Neo realism and contributing to starting the movement throughout Italy.

Some key movies that influenced the Italian Neo realistic style involved "obssessione" by Visconti which portrayed bleak interior and street shots of 3 protagonists heightening the Neo realistic affect and helped establish long takes to convey mood and tone between the characters. Also another film,"Open City" in 1946 showed the link between the Italian Neo realistic style and the resistance movement going on during ww2. This also signified the resistance against the typical "American" movies by the Neo realistic films which deterred away from the American ideas of happy endings and fantasy contrasting the neo realistic films which centered around realism.