Le Notti bianche (Luchino Visconti, 1957)

This is the first film I’ve seen by Visconti, so you must excuse my lacking knowledge about his style and themes in general. I did however find a couple of things in common with other Italian neo-realistic films, so I do have some experience of this type of cinema. Regardless, there were also several aspects that were different from other classical neo-realist films, so I find it to be an interesting transitional film for this period. There are elements that are similar to contemporary and later films, particularly those of Fellini, especially Le Notti di Cabiria (1957) and La Dolce Vita (1960). I thought it had some interesting themes and dealt with them in a mature way. It’s a story of a man who meets a woman by chance in the streets, he looking for love and companionship, she waiting for her lover who’s been gone over a year. It deals with naïve love and disillusionment.

One of the things I loved most about this film was the dialogue. There are so many memorable lines, one in particular that I will probably remember and quote for a long time. I’ll not mention any of those here so not to spoil the film for those who haven’t seen it, but suffice to say, the screenplay was excellently developed. The two main characters interact in a fascinating way, swapping stories and are at all times directing each other in different ways. At times it seemed that the film was almost purely text. However, there are some wonderful visual moments without any dialogue that convey how the characters feel, particularly the opening and end are really great on this. Of course, the legend Marcello Mastroianni is great in this, you can never really get too familiar with him. The cinematography is crisp and clean, and gives a strong sense of the title (White Nights in English). It works as it should, and is at times gorgeous. Visconti also has a great sense for framing, and there are many memorable scenes because of this, highlighting the drama.

Like I mentioned when writing on The Bicycle Thieves, this films also has it fair bit of social criticism. It portrays a still war-torn city with poor people living on the streets. There is a wonderful moment where the two characters declare their love for each other, and it starts snowing, making them even happier. At the same time, we see some homeless lying in the street, who are probably not so happy about it snowing. It’s a good tool Visconti is using here, as the viewer cannot get attached to the romance of the characters due to the critical nature of the film. After a couple of minutes, it stops snowing and Marcello’s character says “It’s stopping already?” Visconti immediately pulls us back from the romantic fiction, and also purposes as a foreshadowing. It works as a great critique on classical romantic cinema, as the scene is at the same time very similar and still far removed from these types of movies. There’s a similar technique used in the excellent Letter from an Unknown Woman (Max Ophüls, 1948), which I recommend to anyone who are interested in similar themes.

Le Notti Bianche is probably not the best film I’ve seen by Italian filmmakers, and I hope it’s not the best I’ve seen by Visconti. However, it is a fine little gem that I have not heard too much about, so for anyone who is interested in this era of Italian filmmaking, I would say that this is a must-see.