Pina's Pregnancy, Traumatic Realism, and the After-Life of Open City Author(s): Millicent Marcus Reviewed work(s): Source:

Italica, Vol. 85, No. 4 (Winter, 2008), pp. 426-438 Published by: American Association of Teachers of Italian Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40505836 . Accessed: 10/01/2013 14:01
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Pina'sPregnancy, Traumatic Realism, and the After-Life ofOpen City

to studyattempts accountforthe haunting power and the in ofthemostwrenching enduring legacy shot-sequence Roberto Rossellini's I am speaking thescenein which of Pina Rome, OpenCity. is felledby Nazi gun fireas she chases afterthe truckcarrying Francesco his comrades and seized during raidon their the tenement inRome'sPrenestino Thisscene, whosepower building neighborhood. to shockand disrupt remains unabatedover the years,even when audiencesare amplyforewarned theserialdeathsthatwillbe visof itedupon OpenCity's its resistance has characters, cometo transcend narrative and context to stand, synecdoche, theentire for cinematic by movement whichRossellini's filmwas credited withfounding. The iconic ofthescenewas in evidence the1995Cinecitt at exhibit power the of wherea of marking 100th anniversary thebirth Italiancinema, In that videoloopwas entirely to same dedicated itscontinuous replay. CarloLizzanidevoteda feature to recreentitled film, Celluloide, year, of that matter ele(a atingtheproduction OpenCity choiceofsubject vatedthemaking a film thestatus a primary of to of historical event, on theorder a military of a or battle, legislative polittriumph, a major ical scandal), whichtheshooting editing Pina's deathscene in and of was given pride of place.1Perhapsthe strongest for argument the iconicpowerofthissceneis thecommemorative issuedbythe stamp, Italian government markthe fiftieth to of anniversary the end of the WWII, which featured image of Pina's death as the defining emblem war.To underline synecdochal of the value of thatimage,a it beneath read "II cinemaneorealista" below thatlabel, and caption "Italia."Several film Scola madea brilliant short enEttore yearslater, titled'4:3-97,featuring youngJewish a boy who escapes the Nazi of in wherehe round-up theRomanghetto hiding a movie-house, by in viewsa montage films which of Pina'sdeathscenestands thefirst as of Italiancinematic Within fiction the achievement.2 example postwar of Scola's short of the film, course, youngJewish boy's escape from Nazi persecution up an ironic sets to counterpoint Pina's fatein the wake of the Germanassault on her tenement, the messageis but nonetheless ofsurvival itaffirms undying one the powerofa single shotsequenceto conjure an entire and era,bothhistorical cineup and of who matographic, toinspire generations filmmakers willvenerate and developthat legacy. 4 Italica Volume Number(2008) 85

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and After-lifeOpen of Traumatic Pina'sPregnancy, Realism, the City427 of Before makinghis own sequel to Open Cityin the narrative was to enshrine his Roma be analyzedfarther Pasolini Mamma (to on), withpromise ourown for of account Pina'sdeathscenein versesrich of film and collective memory.The poem in question, study recalls secondpartof the della serataa San Michele," "Continuazione in and that an Odyssey had begunin Trastevere concludes an outdoor near "Subito entro: scosso in district Testaccio.3 cinema theSan Michele of a nel Pasolini writes da un interno clamore/decisotremare ricordo" thathad enticed him theworn-out theemotions by poster generated is Pasolini ina heightthe evenbegins, Before film intothearena. then, for whatJameson the calls of enedstate psychic primed preparedness, of "il caldo viso modeofreception"4 theposter's image by "nostalgia to such contrast the"grige that ovaledell'eroina" offers a striking perin he the to sone"gathered watch film the"arenasenzavita.""Subito," mi e "alle primeinquadrature/ travolge severallines later, repeats du of .... l'intermittencecoeur."The sudden intrusion this I rapisce of to French memory Proust phrasewithitsreference theinvoluntary it The the enactsgrammatically veryexperience describes. poetis inthat of control: of deed thepassiveobject a process evocation he cannot e "Mi nellescurevie della memoria he is abducted memory. trovo by dove l'uomofisicamentealtro." nellestanze/misteriose Kidnapped the on rooms themoviescreen, poetis siand and led alongstreets into tracesembedded takenon a journeyalong memory multaneously withinhis psyche."Eppuredal lungo uso fattoesperto/non deep the of its perdoi fili" as thepoetnavigates topography thefilm, fa. . la Casilina. . . ecco l'epicopaesaggioneorealista") ("ecco miliarity his enableshim to thread way acrossthe memory map of his own and deeply mind. this But elegiacstroll past"i fili comforting, leisurely, i muretti cannot remain indefii selciati, pini, i scrostati" del telegrafo, As moves of in nitely thecorridors nostalgia. Pasolini'sreminiscence of details the"paesaggio neoantiquarian alongthelistofpicturesque nazista" "forme delladominazione to realista" progressing theabstract arrived its The at a theversesundergo radicalshift. poemhas finally breaks into a scenefrom where specific the destination: point Open City flnerie whereidyllic Pasolini's verses, alongthepathsoffondrecolof first lection giveswayto thesuddenviolence thefilm's catastrophic event. l'urlo della ormai, Quasiemblema Magnani assolute disordinatamente le sotto ciocche nelle risuona disperate panoramiche vive e nelle occhiate e mute sue il della siaddensa senso tragedia. lchesidissolve simutila e il aedi. ilpresente, e assorda canto degli

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becomesthe With Pina's deathscene,"l'epicopaesaggioneorealista" to and the map is torn, thepoetis reduced stagefor tragedy, memory silence. moof How can we explain transcendent the impact thisparticular for shouldqualify an in whenso many other ment OpenCity, episodes If recall? martyrdom of equivalent placein thepantheon filmographie scene of thenwhy is the fataltorture alone were the explanation, not of or Manfredi, theexecution Don Pietro equallysearedintoour let to In collective consciousness? attempting addressthisquestion, us the lead in analyzing remarkable follow acting Wagstaff's Christopher herself of performance AnnaMagnanias shepropels
and the truck, through passageleadingto thestreet, thenat thedeparting if sense.Normally, you in witha wildfury is extraordinarytheliteral that in runand rerun struggle a fight a film a or times, beginto see you enough this times rerun scene how No howitwas choreographed. matter many you seemsoutofcontrol.5 at whatever speed,Magnani

seemto exceedthe at In other actions thispoint the words, character's out and break ofthefilm's boundaries thework they of pushagainst and frame justas PinashovesawaytheNazi guards representational and senselessto be conrushesout towarda deaththatis too swift Barthes' frame. and within narrative vehicle itstechnological tained its the whichrisesfrom scene, of the "punctum" "element (an concept which me and shootsout ofit likean arrow, pierces ... thataccident in to me [butalso bruisesme, is poignant me]" as he writes pricks in thanthismoment Camera could notfinda better Lucida6) example waves shock the which indeedpierces spectator, producing OpenCity, of And that on thetraumatic. itis withtheverynotion trauma, verge that as understood etymologically a wound,7 I wouldliketo openmy of to own investigation thisscene's"excess"withrespect therest into nature therepresentation of film. I believethatthetraumatic the For the of explains inordinate impact Pina's death a deathwhichcan be the in and considered, retrospect withthe appropriate irony, scena madre neorealism. of whenthepsythat Defined "thedisruption breakdown occurs as or within from either withstimuli, chicapparatus suddenly is presented in or orwithout, aretoopowerful be dealtwith, assimilated the to that usual way,"8 traumaoffers interpretive openingsinto the multiple in scene. As spectators, come to this narrative we development a and vulnerable condition absolute of unpreparednesswe areentirely defenseless before assaultthatis to takeour heroine the away.The in in is shock, mid-film, dramaturgical nature we have been lulled whichseemsto be intotherhythms theconventional melodrama of as for unfolding Pina prepares herbelatedweddingwithFrancesco,

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and After-Lif Open e of Pina'sPregnancy, Traumatic Realism, the City429 withitsquainttouches lolife aroundher, and tenement percolates of and populist bonhomie. Pina has "carried" vaudeville cal color, gags, the she from moment first thefilm appearedon screen, cursing lustily the womenstorming from crowdof neighborhood as she emerged and a local bakery, layingproudclaimto thetitle"Sora,"whose diwithin "extended her the of resonance locates squarely alectal family" The character'scharismaleads us to Rome's activistproletariat. with list wishes:to celebrate identify hermodest ofpersonal strongly in than herwedding Church (rather inFascist Hall);tohealtherift City at and withheralienated sister Lauretta; to arrive war's end witha is of unit.So powerful themomentum thistradiintact family newly - we tionaldramaturgy are so "wired"to accedeto itslogic thatits ourability assimilate. reto We in mid-film simply is beyond rupture of our film-viewing maintraumatized it,the"psychic apparatus" by in the downand we experience secondpartofOpenCity selvesbreaks disbelief. a state stunned of from the "traumatic realism" MichaelRothI haveborrowed term which on focuses theliton Holocaust fine book representation, berg's between competing the demandsfor of caught erary genre testimony, truth the one hand,and self-conscious, on referential documentary, reflections theimpossibility on of modernist evenpostmodernist) (and of focus Rothberg's is The on itstask, theother.9 "traumatic" study ineventso extreme to as in matter a historical herent itsverysubject means.Whatreby defycontainment any normalrepresentational then thevery is of realist" a exceptionality approach, quires "traumatic - an that of theobject representation exceptionality willhave strategic inof The on film, implications thelevelofform. "referent" Rossellini's clandestine familiar military stead,is all too woefully occupation, of torture, have long been the stuff historical resistance, betrayal, of it In narrative. thecase of OpenCity, then, is theconvention cinethe thatis traumatized, vehicleof realistic itself maticrealism reprehalt to that sentation is brought a screeching in thefaceofPina'snardeath. uncontainable and unassimilable technically ratively as of to theetymology trauma wound,we maylook to Reverting the of of reading Freudto determine nature this"inCathyCaruth's realism. Caruth of within context cinematic the arguesthatthe jury" in directness simplicity, and of symptoms trauma"reflect, startling events."10 occurrence violent of buttheunmediated Trauma, nothing unshielded previously acof is then, the experience the psyche, by in and as defense mechanisms, thefaceofhistorical extremity, quired to on the such,itreveals rawpowerofhistory impinge theindividual It thatthe trauma-inducing mind.11 could be argued,then, sceneof conventional development deand whichruptures Pina's death, plot ofcontainment, enactson thelevelofform, fiescinematic techniques

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the collective inflicted injury upon the Italiannationalselfby the eventsof 1943-45. other In the becomesa "sympwords, sceneitself tom"in thepsychoanalytic - a memory nightmare erupts that or sense intoconsciousness remains themind'satbut unintelligible, resisting context. to a and cognitive tempts placeitwithin coherent accessible imButI wouldarguethat to is more thetraumatic there something ofPina'sdeaththan wouldbe warranted thesimple disruption pact by Pina ofthemarriage s of plot,and thebravura Magnani' performance. but is notonlya bride-to-be, downon theeve ofhernuptials, she cut - and is also a mother-to-be12 so herdeathbecomes deathenabyme, a beon levelsforwhichbiologyis onlythemostliteral reverberating In filmhistorical this therefore, scene presentsa terms, ginning. in the The slaying theprotagonist-with-child draof striking paradox. to sense discussedabove servesviolently disabuseus of maturgical and with to any preconceptions regard OpenCity'snarrative formal It new to emerge.13 thestageforsomething radically agenda,clearing the I that is in Pina'sdeathscene, wouldcontend, we maydiscern true from birth a originating development pangsofneorealism, cinematic ordeal. thewartime theconditions trauma rupture and of wrought by breakThis is the scene in whichthe impulsesbehindRossellini's and we findtheir mostacuteand explicit expression, through project film couldgo so far to saythat, as indeed, daring OpenCity's historical beginshere. the we To takethemeasure Rossellini's of achievement, mustrecall "industrial" stateof Italiancinemain 1945,when entrepreneurship to was reduced a minimum, producers to werewilling backonly and mostexthesafest A film thecountry's commercial bets. documenting would Resistance recentexperiences occupationand of cruciating to leave in notbe highon thelistofbankable proposals an Italyeager its immediate inhered past behind.Rossellini's couragein OpenCity inhisdeterminationmemorialize immediate - hisfilm had that to past to a radically commitment referential mission, despitetheindustry's of the intent Rossellini and fluff. is well known, original As escapism entiand co-screenwriter Amideiwas to makean episodefilm, Sergio underthe tledStorie ieri, di based on an array true-life of experiences stories Nazi occupation Rome.As the script of evolved,theseshort suwith wereamalgamated a feature-length into narrative, a fictional tales of Resistanceactivism perstructure unitingthe interwoven of and amongleadersoftheCLN, theclergy, eventhechildren Rome. All ofthemajor in characters thefilm havetheir basisinhistorical portraiture: leaders Celeste Manfredi a composite partisan is of Negarville and Giovanni of combines attributes SS comAmendola, Bergmann is mander and and military Dolemann, Don Pietro modchief Kappler But eled on Resistance Don Papagalloand Don Morosini.14 the priests in most and where point thefilm representation documentation closely

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and After-Life ofOpen Traumatic Pina'sPregnancy, Realism, the City431 based on theshooting is down of converge thesceneofPina's death, womanwho was protesting detention the Teresa Gullace,a pregnant menrounded-up work to ofherhusband alongwitha groupofother This was fortheNazi war effort. atrocity stagedas a publicspectacle soldier, eagerto make of Gullacean objectlessonfor by a German to Withthis who would dare issue a challenge Nazi rule.15 anyone to Nazi object or s Rossellini'aim is to un-dothat lesson, rather, scene, it rather itand re-signifyas a showofheroic memorialization, re-stage and thanas one ofintimidation deterrence. a this that reLateinthefilm's production, sceneunderwent change this of lessdireconsequence. real-life flected another incident, time far the where Pina outside barracks than Rather positioning on a sidewalk Rossellini herrunning has weredetained, and Francesco hiscomrades him of emobehindthetruck carrying away in a gesture fargreater Itwas desand cinematic effectiveness. AnnaMagnani's tional impact the her the chaseafter vaninwhich loverwas leaving movieset perate Pina as the moving, Amideito reposition whichinspired in a huff ofNazi gunfire. changein thesetting The rather thanthestatic target for camera of and blocking thesceneopenedup possibilities multiple with fire and ofthem!)16 cross-cutting a machine-gun (five perspectives to that buildstension theabsolute breaking point. rapidity was historical elements whichOpenCity on Likemanyoftheother in Gullacealready"existed" thecolthedeathofPina/Teresa based, of lectiveconsciousness local audiences,so thatthe filmsequence of a a sparkofimmediate would have activated recognition,moment even at some veryinchoate dj vu thatwould have underwritten, claimsofthefilm. level,thetruth Addingto thefilm's psychological of Aldo Fabrizi force testimonial is thecontributionactor who,inplayhis in experiing Don Pietro thisscene,was reenacting own real-life of to ence as witness theshooting Gullace.17 as Forgacshas asBut, must tutely pointedout, the beliefin Open City'sreferentiality be was thorthatits "historical memory" by tempered the knowledge that and oughlymediatedby the popularnarratives iconographies fraught past.Of special up sprung aroundthishighly spontaneously of to relevance our studyis thevisual memorialization Gullacein a killedby the entitled "Italian mother Leonardi, sculpture Leoncillo by Germans."18 City crystallizing Open maythusbe seenas thevenuefor them at and consolidating thevariousaccounts circulating thetime, film. form transmittable ofRossellini's and intothedefinitive, highly cannotbe limited Our analysisof this shot-sequence, however, to thedynamism horror Pina's frantic and of rushtowardtheNazi of vehicle. The final frames thesequenceare necessarily morestatic, withiconographie thewoman's and theyare filled weight. Holding assumesthepietpose,witha gender-role bodyin hislap,Don Pietro It reversal considerable of us Pina's own irony.19 reminds thatin life,

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akintothat theVirgin of was recalling Mary, specifiiconography more to her the"Madonnadel parto"whenshe announces pregnancy cally in questecon"un un Manfredi matrimonio po' in ritardo, capirete, Andin witha knowing lookand a sigh. her dizioni"patting abdomen the Mass in thelocal parishchurch, her a sceneafter death,during Pina's confirms of recitation the "Ave Maria" strongly worshipper's with the Madonna, despite her status as a "fallen identification woman." to of The symbolic importance children the Utopianmessageof rethe Romoletto leaderofthechildwarriors, is wellknown. Open City himwithMarcello, and founder thecity, together of callsthemythic and secular modelsofFrancesco's selfheirto thecombined militancy the activist Don Pietro's stance, boysherald Italy's inspired religiously at childremains the of But rebirth. thethought Pina'sunborn postwar of the even as we witness procession the of our consciousness edges backintoRometo "rewho march youngboysat theend ofthefilm The faith. of fora future socialjusticeand religious claim"their city banof as ofthechildren bearers this muchtouted Utopian symbolism of awareness thebaby that nermustbe tempered our traumatic by does notgetborn.20 witha closely This historically-induced "miscarriage" joinsforces as of our to tradition reinforce reading OpenCity a related rhetorical self.The toposof thefemiItaliannational of harbinger thepostwar characters whichmakesof female nized bodypolitic, personification of the nation, for goes at least as farback as allegories the course 6: lamentin Purgatory Ahi servaItalia,di dolor Dante's anguished in ostello /nondonnadi provincia, /navesenzanocchier grantempesta womanhas cometo signify fallen wherethesexually ma bordello," In and moralintegrity.21OpenCity innocence Italy'sloss of political withanother function Pina sharesthisallegorizing Marina, character, and who has beencorrupted theNazis' lureofdrugs, caresses, fur by of aboutthearrest her to the cause and tobring coats, betray partisan the womenpersonify damfallen Bothofthese former loverManfredi. but at juncture, it is Pina, the aged Italiancondition thishistorical collective the redeems Italian who Resistance self, activist, allegorically it and as and in hercapacity mother bride-to-be,is she who promises in of of tohealthebroken family Italy theaftermath war. such has and sceneofherslaying precluded Butthetraumatic iconic intothe a consolations, providing set of imagesso deeplyengraved tribof the Italian popularmindas to constitute "emblema" Pasolini's of If in discussed. thepsyche creutetoOpenCity thepoempreviously and with ativeartists in closecommunion boththepersonal thecolis lective unconscious I believeit is), thenwe could expect (as postwar ofthistraumatic to Italian filmmakers be aliveto theevocative power thatsuch auAnd it shouldcomeas no surprise cinematic memory.

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and After-Life Traumatic ofOpen Pina'sPregnancy, Realism, the City433 wouldtapintothat and to as teurs Visconti Pasolini memory reactivate and judgingtheprogress thepostwar it in theservice updating of of of Italianself.The mostobviousclue to sucha continuity purposein is thecasting "la Magnani"as themother a of of their filmographies who would have reached age ofPina's childhad the son or daughter the allowedherto survive war.I am speakof thenarrative OpenCity Roma(1962), s s ofVisconti'Bellissima (1951)and Pasolini' Mamma ing with Open City, forman on-going which,together allegoryof the the the reconstruction Italiannationalselffrom Liberation through of economico" the1960's. of periodto thethreshold "II miracolo of s MaddalenaCecconi, is LikePina,theprotagonist Visconti'film, and like her from Prenestino the a popolana, neighborhood, hailing and she impetuous, a dreamer. OpenCity predecessor, is courageous, of fortheprotagonist Bellissima Butthisis wherethesimilarity ends, and resourcefulnesstheservice the to of herconsiderable energy puts as iftheexperience theOccupaof mostvapid petit ideals, bourgeois a makhad tionand Liberation passedoverherwithout leaving trace, of embodiment theRestorationtheimpulseto reinhera literal ing values. Maddalena's statethe old orderof pre-warestablishment Maria is drivein Bellissima to land her5-year-old relentless daughter to and endsheis willing pushherlitrolein a film, tothat thestarring entle girl to the limitsof the child's physicaland psychological of whennot herself tobehaviors an unseemly, while durance, stooping of sort. pursuit social advanceself-degrading, In hersingle-minded the ofherchild, Maddalenahas jeopardized little at ment theexpense underinordinate bond health, presplacedthemother-daughter girl's of to the sure,threatened stability hermarriage themuchmoreclearthe to and headedand nurturing Spartaco, brought family theverge at ruin.But in a flashof insight the end of the film, of financial of the Maddalenacomestounderstand bankruptcy hervaluesand the the she by damagethat has causedherdaughter objectifying childand Maddalenarenounces her gain.At thispoint, exploiting formaterial contract offered refusesto sign the longed-for her ambitions, by of the and Cinecitt, at lastachieves moralstature Pina. of secular Bellissima couldbe seenas thestory a belated, conversion, of Maddalenaby theconclusion the whichbrings di a presa coscienza Pina the that film thelevelofconsciousness had characterized from to intent culture Products a postwar of of start OpenCity, upon the very Maddalenaand herpeerssufof soullesspursuit material well-being, offered are an ferfrom addiction they preyto theescapist pastimes cinemaand soccerare whatseemupperthesociety spectacle: of by mindsas theyemergefrom nightmare war. In the of mostin their in to Maddalena'sdeterminationlandMariaa part thefilm-within-theItalian cindirected Alessandro a Blasetti, film, melodrama by postwar to for ema as a wholecomesunderindictment Visconti itsfailure by

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embrace consciousness-raising for the of mission neorealism, theincinematic status "Restoration" thepre-war of dustry's quo. Butbythe back end ofBellissima, Visconti turns indictment on itself using that by of to revealthedangers thecinema's own medium-specific properties as It boothofCinecitt, Maddafilmic fascination. is in theprojection to who lenawatches screen ofherdaughter, had beenreduced the test of a chorus tears and before Blasetti's camera, whohad provoked cruel comesto that flunkies, theprotagonist laughter amongthedirector's and the damage thatshe has the of understand folly herambitions reveal Maddalena to The of projection wrought. mechanisms cinematic onto a daughter the cruelworkings her own psychicprojection of whomshe had turned intoa mereimage,to be objectified, exploited, on and ridiculed thedenizensof Cinecitt. Acting thisnew selfby roomand using into Maddalenastorms thescreening understanding, the of reminiscent Pina's as she brokeaway from gestures strongly herway the Nazi guards follow to Francesco's truck, protagonist fights s But him his toBlasetti confronts with callousness. Maddalena' reand of effect bothapin call ofPina'saction thisscenehas theparadoxical whilereminding of the us the character's dignity, propriating earlier In films. allegoribetween their distance historical/cultural respective cal terms Italypersonified Pinawas one that the gave riseto heroic by in actsofself-sacrificethecause ofnational By popularrebirth. 1951, a ontowhich has becomea merescreen thechildbornofthat promise of hoped-for can project own narcissistic its Restoration image Italy the and financial gain.And thebestthat cinemacan do is to glamour of industry's expose thevacuity thosevalues,and unmaskthe film in their complicity propagation.22 her where mothwill Tenyears later, Magnani againappearina film condition oftheItaliannational erhoodbecomesa powerful signifier inRoma becomesthethird Mamma theend ofWWII.Pasolini's since whichinvokesthe in thiscinematic stallment commentary, running of to of Italyhas postwar memory Pinaas a measure theextent which In collective rebirth. thecharto of failed fulfill Resistance the promise to determined buyherwayoutof acter MammaRoma,a prostitute of revisPasolini the"oldest and profession" intothelowermiddle-class, but reits theallegory Italyin thepersonaof thesexually of fallen, But in deemablewomanthatMagnanihad portrayed OpenCity. the withMaddalena Mamma Roma character farmorein common has as of than Cecconi Bellissima with Pina,convinced theformer prostitute and is that lies monetary socialsort. redemption in successofa strictly and to up Byrelocating a better neighborhood, moving theeconomic rather thanofherown flesh, foodchainas a marketer vegetables, of of in economico" the1960's. Mamma Romaclaims part the"Miracolo her us Butit is in hermothering thatPasoliniinvites to comcapacity of in (sheis,after the"mamma" all, pareMagnani'scharacter hisfilm

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and After-Lif Open e of Traumatic Pina'sPregnancy, Realism, the City435 conclusions about Roma) to thatof Pina,and to draw thenecessary MammaRoma's16yearold son, fallfrom Ettore, grace. Italy's postwar his the would have been bornjust after Liberation, making chronic an efforts "improve" to and hismother's him, misguided delinquency, on of comment thefailure Italy'smuchtoutedhopes for allegorical dies in and renewal thewakeofFascism war.WhenEttore at collective rebirth the we of theconclusion Mamma Roma, realizethat longed-for dead on arrival. Ettore and is a still was,in a way, birth, that Mamma Roma had literally Unable to raise him frominfancy, where in of out Ettore torelatives thecountryside Guidonia, "farmed" thatcould of accessto anyform education he had grown without up that have preparedhim forlife in citt.It is withsome difficulty of and Ettore leavethefarm, intheprocess to MammaRomaconvinces "Vuoi him,she revealsher sociological agenda. literally uprooting And la passa' la vitaqua? Te piace proprio zappa?" she asks Ettore. avreimesso al mondoun latershe'll tellherparishpriest, "Allora, her a a expressing absoluteconfiglio mandarlo fareil manovale," fora lifeof meniallabor.Mamma Roma equates horizontal tempt borderwithverticalmovement across the city-country movement in from land the Ettore that removing little acrossclasslines, realizing skills survive to devoidofthenecessary formed as a fully adult, young him she in theurbanenvironment, is condemning to a social limbo hisdoom.Becauseshewillnotaccepta prowilleventually that spell for condition herson,MammaRomablockstheone occupaletarian within the to wouldlead Ettore ideological tional redemption paththat whooffers MammaRomathe film. is theparish It of priest allegory the ruin:Ettore should advice thatwould save herson from vocational must built be ThenewItaly thepostwar of in work construction. years da da con from scratch ("cominciare umilt, dove dovetecominciare, itsyouth, schooledin the advisesMammaRoma)by zero" thepriest itselftransformed the partisan values of a parentalgeneration by in Mamma incarnation Bellissima, But struggle. likeMagnani'sformer of Romaseemsuntouched thehistorical experience war herpetit by and her dreamsof successremain values surviveintact, bourgeois and measures status wealth. of boundto surface the and without maternal is thatEttore unskilled Upon learning non remarks niente si "su the the to motivation enter work force, priest il di niente voi volete costruire futuro vostrofigliosu costruisce with of or construction an edifice a city the niente" comparing physical we of formation theself.In retrospect, can thesolid and value-laden all has Pasolini beensetting suchan analogy along, see that filming up for a seriesof backdropsrichwith significance the Ettore against shotsequence, courseof the youngman's innerlife.In a stunning the Pasolini'scamerafollowsEttore through landscapesurrounding builtin theimmediate ofCecafumo, theapartment postwar buildings

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of usual lethargy periodon theoutskirts Rome.Ettore's givesway in thisscene to whimsical the ruinsof an ancient movements among buildset contrast thesterile, Chirico-like De to aqueduct, in striking of thehousing We soon cometo realizethatthis"new ings projects. simua mere on of city" growing theperiphery Romeis a pseudo-city, a itseekstoreplace, foundationlacrum thehistorically of rooted polis of lessconstruction on theempty built prospostwar premise material - in other like an and ersatz ruin, Ettore words, instant perity prestige than himself. imageis morerevealing Pasolini'sindictment the No of of oneoftheCeccafumo crowned thearchitecture by recurring skyline, in of whatappearsto be a a dome,gleaming theartificial splendor in times thefilm of foil.23 through eight coating aluminum Appearing the achieves thef ocalization MammaRomaherself, skyline of powerful force theprojection thecharacter's as of hopeswhich symbolic petty into as modulate defeat. Viewed first thesignofsecular at redemption in of Mamma Roma becomesan assiduouschurch-goer pursuit reof the and spectability socialcontacts thedomebecomes object Mamma death. of after learns Ettore's she Roma'stragic attheendofthefilm gaze di as The new city really necropolis, is a "una citt catafalchi" Mamma Romahadbitterly signaling monologues jokedinoneofthetwofamous domepresidof herreturn thestreets. thefinal With to image thetin-foil the recalls of Pasolini ironically ingovertheskyline the"New Rome," march backinto of whosechildwarriors frames OpenCity, concluding In the on townwith cupolaofSan Pietro hovering thehorizon.24 so doin parodierelationship its to ing,PasolinisetsthedomeofCecafumo ofof nature theredemption Vatican the model, suggesting counterfeit in is strictly "economico" nature. fered a "miracolo" which by left IfthedeathofPinaand thenon-birth herchildin OpenCity a of conscioustraumatic memory deeplyembeddedin Italiancollective have Italianfilmmakers been able to draw on thatimness,postwar which died,and she to idealsfor agery conjure theeraofResistance up of moment to measurethedistance sincethefoundational traversed the that madehertheiconof 1945.Though reinvents persona Magnani in the childofOpen neorealism subsequent and films, though unborn of and Citydoes indeed come to lifein Maria of Bellissima Ettore the Mamma never achieves levelofrevothe character Roma, maternal that nor consciousness personalselflessness made lutionary political of the Pinathemythic mother there-founded From perspective of city. miscarthe Visconti's Pasolini's"sequels"to OpenCity, "historic and film of as of the riage"within narrative Rossellini's served a harbinger thepostwar rebirth was never be. that to MILLICENTMARCUS

Yale University

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and After-Life ofOpen Pina'sPregnancy, Traumatic Realism, the City437

1For a detailed see and analysisof Celluloide, my essay,"Celluloide the Carlo Lizzani' Filmof theStory s Behind of Cinematic Memory: Palimpsest in Roberto Rossellini's ed. Sidney Gottlieb (New York: 'OpenCity," OpenCity," Cambridge University Press, 2004), 67-84. pp. 21haveincluded DVD ofScola's short a of film, alongwitha closereading of Toronto Filmin theShadow Auschwitz (Toronto: it,in Italian of University Press, 2007), 161-167. pp. 3PierPaolo Pasolini, Poesie(Milan:Garzanti, 1970),pp. 70-73.All quotes For edition. calling attention Pasolini7verses s comefrom 73 ofthis from my p. whoseRome I am indebted David Forgacs, to tothis (London: Open City poem, to reference it. BFIPublishing, 51.madea strategic 2000), p. 4 one to effects coinedthephrase describe oftherhetorical Jameson Though LateCapitalism orthe in cinema Postmodernism Cultural ofpostmodern Logic of to N.C.: Duke UP,1991), 20,it can be attributed anyfilm (Durham, experip. in of either terms itsobject of to encethat time, up promises conjure an earlier values. orofitsformal representation, 5 An Cinema: Aesthetic ItalianNeorealist Approach Christopher Wagstaff 126. ofToronto Press, 2007), (Toronto: p. University 6RolandBarthes, on trans. Lucida: Camera Reflections Photography, Richard Howard:NpwYork: and Wane.1981). 26-27. Hill r>. 7Forthisdefinition NarraUnclaimed see Cathy Trauma, Caruth, Experience: 3. and (Baltimore: UP, tive, History Johns Hopkins 1996), p. 8 D. E. ed. Terms Psychoanalytic & Concepts, Burness Mooreand Bernard Fine Association, 1990), 197. (New Haven:TheAmerican p. Psychoanalytic of tion 2000). Press, University Minnesota (Minneapolis: 10 Caruth, Unclaimed Experience,59. p. 11 Ibid,p. 58. 12 the of for of On reading Open significance Pina'smotherhood a feminist and thought-provoking "Resistance see AnnCannon'soriginal essay City, Jo citt on Reflections Rossellini's and resisting heroes Roma, aperta," spectators: 17 The Italianist (1997), 145-157. pp. 13 the of effect Pina'sdeathsceneon an audienceprimed On destabilizing see cinematic developments, MarciaLandy, forconventional "Diverting plot in in and Melodrama Neorealism OpenCity," Clichs: Masculinity, Femininity, UniGottlieb ed. 'Rome RossellinVs (New York: Cambridge OpenCity,' Sidney Press, 2004), 89-91. pp. versity 14 detailedaccounts thefilm's of and of For conception theevolution the Rome and Neorealist Italian see Wagstaff, Cinema, 138ff, Forgacs, pp. screenplay, 13-22. Oven City, pp. 15 Rome p. OpenCity, 16. Forgacs, 16 Ibid., 55. p.
17 ItalianNeorealist Cinema, 139. p. Wagstaff, 9 Michael TheDemandsofHolocaustRepresentaRealism: Traumatic Rothberg,

NOTES

18 Rome OpenCity, 18. p. Forgacs,

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19 am 1 to for calledmyattention thereleto grateful AlanR. Perry having vanceofthisiconography, identities theinversion themale-female of despite in Rossellini's alluoftheChristological mise-en-scne. a thorough For reading nelle del martire: retorica sacrificio bioLa sionsin Open see II santo City, partigiano commemorative grane (Ravenna: 2001), 43-^47. Longo, pp. 20In Jo becomes Ann Cannon'sreadingof Open City, Pina's pregnancy of withsymbolic "Not onlyis she themother Marcello, fraught importance. but one of the leadersof the youthResistance movement, she is also the mother theunborn ofthepartisan heroand one ofthepotential of offspring on heirs thenewandbetter of which Francesco envisions theeve oftheir Italy See "Resistance and heroes resisting spectators/' 147. p. wedding." 21 unconvenMarciaLandycitesthistopos,and comments Rossellini's on iconoclasm tional use of it, in her analysis of the film'smultifaceted of of Clichs," 94).Fora detailed toposin study thehistory this ("Diverting p. and literature the visual arts,see my essay,"The ItalianBody Politicis a and in Woman: ItalianFilm,"in Sparks Feminized NationalIdentity Postwar Dana E. Stewart AlisonCornish and (Turnout: 2000), 329-347. Brepols, pp. 22 a moredetailed in see For ofBellissima thisregard, mychapter analysis in and Visconti's Bellissima: Diva, theMirror theScreen" After The "Luchino Fellini: National in Cinema thePostmodern (Baltimore: Johns HopkinsUP, Age 2002), 39-58. pp. VianoofMaurizio of 1993), 90-93, Press, pp. (Berkeley: University California an and Pasolini' strategic s fers acuteanalysis thisrecurrent of optical image, in it. choices filming 24 theconnection at For between Pasolini's and skyline Rossellini's theend ofOpenCity, Viano, see Ibid.
23In A CertainRealism: and Practice Making Use of Pasolini's Film Theory ed. and Seeds:MedievalLiterature Its Afterlife: Freccer, Essays in HonorofJohn

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