In the second Rossellini/Bergman collaboration on this list, a WWII refugee (Ingrid Bergman) breaks free from an internment camp by marrying a young Italian fisherman (Mario Vitale), but finds herself trapped as soon as they return to his ancestral home—a Sicilian island that hosts a live volcano. Roberto Rossellini directs with an ascetic fervor that charges the simple storyline with cosmic significance. The stark, terrible beauty of the setting throws the concept of marriage into sharp relief, offering a stage for one of the most striking conclusions in ‘40s cinema.
—Nathaniel Bell
Arts & Faith Lists:
2006 Top 100 — #70
2013 Top 25 Marriage Films — #7