Open city

The story of a group of workers and a local priest in the Rome of 1943/44, declared an open city by the Nazis. Manfredi, a Resistance leader, is hunted by the Gestapo and given shelter by a friend's fiancé. The film was secretly planned by Rossellini during the German occupation of Rome but production was not begun until after the entry of the Allies. Its realistic blend of documentary and fiction heralded the postwar renaissance of Italian cinema and the development of neorealism. (Does not circulate)