Desire

Paola, a Milan call girl, returns home to her village in the Abruzzi mountains in an attempt to go straight. Rejected by her father, blackmailed by a former lover, and lusted after by her brother-in-law, she turns to her beloved sister for support. Denied succor, like so many of Rossellini’s isolated figures, Paola awaits the arrival of her fiancé, who has offered her a new start, but instead decides that life is untenable.

Director: Marcello Pagliero, Roberto Rossellini

Cast: Massimo Girotti, Carlo Ninchi, Elli Parvo, Roswita Schmidt, Lia Corelli, Francesco Grandjacquet, Jucci Kellerman, Spartaco Conversi

Audience-only score — full critic data not yet in the ReelXO vault.