Journey to Italy

After both Stromboli and Europa '51 had met with a less than rapturous critical reception this Rossellini/Bergman collaboration saw their careers and their marriage at a low ebb. So this film about an English couple (George Sanders and Ingrid Bergman), whose marriage is in crisis, travelling by car to Naples, could be seen as semi-autobiographical. On its release, the film was attacked for being clumsily made and sentimental but those of a more romantic inclination find it beautiful. If one accepts the narrative simplicity and that the journey is both physical and spiritual, the film offers many rewards.