Paisá

This masterpiece of Italian neo-realism established the aesthetic of the highly influential cinema movement, using a cast of unknown and largely non-professional actors to portray Italy’s WWII experiences. The second chapter in Rossellini’s World War II trilogy, which began with Rome, Open City (1945) and concluded with Germany, Year Zero (1947), starts in 1943 with the Allied invasion to Sicily. Paisa features six chronological sequences that take the viewer on a journey across Italy, often hailed as Rossellini’s greatest achievement.