Assunta Spina (1915) User Reviews (10)

Handsomely Produced Vehicle Shot in Naples for One Italy's Top Silent Divas

[richardchatten · 7/10 · 6 December 2017]

The beautifully tinted restoration of this drama of passion and jealousy provides in equal measure a magnificent record of Italy's imposing silent diva Francesca Bertini and of the sun-drenched splendour of Naples as it looked over a hundred years ago; used lavishly throughout as a backdrop.

Bertini often plays to the camera - hand on hips, head raised imperiously - and the characters are inclined to interact with each other laterally as they would on a proscenium; but director Gustavo Serena also makes frequent excellent use of composition in depth considerably aided by the sumptuous and atmospheric cinematography of Alberto G. Carta. All in all it looks tremendous.

Marriage, Italian style.

[brogmiller · 7/10 · 2 January 2022]

'Diva' was used to describe operatic sopranos of the late nineteenth century who were viewed as Goddess-like by their devotees. The term was then applied to the stars of Italian silent cinema, the most notable of whom in its heyday were Lyda Borelli, Pina Menichelli and Francesca Bertini. Of this trio Francesca is considered to be the actress with the greater emotional range and the ability to take on a wider variety of parts.

Judging by her performance here in the title role her reputation was fully justified. Although Gustavo Serena who also plays her jealous husband is credited as director there is reason to believe that she was at least co-director if not more. Hers is an intense and full-blooded portrayal and although operatic in keeping with the times, is far more naturalistic than those of her contemporaries and one is not surprised to learn that she was strongly influenced by Asta Neilsen. She fully convinces as a loving wife who is prepared to 'stand by her man' even though he has shamelessly disfigured her.

The reasonably recent restoration has been colourised with no less than four colours which renders Alberto G. Carta's images of Naples even more impressive. A new score has been added and although idiomatic as regards the setting, is not nearly passionate enough for the material.

Francesca resisted the blandishments of Hollywood and continued acting throughout Europe until the very end. In 1976 at the age of 84, she was persuaded by Bertolucci to appear as a nun in '1900'.

This is the first version on film and is infinitely more effective than Mattoli's of 1948 despite the powerful presence of Anna Magnani.

Not exactly a morality model.

[daviuquintultimate · 5/10 · 5 January 2024]

Michele - Assunta Spina's fiancée - is very jealous and quite a criminal: he thinks that Assunta has an affair with another dude, so he inflicts a slashing in her cheek with a knife. Michele is arrested, and his mother accuses angrily Assunta to have ruined her son's life. Wait, what? Who committed the assault (and battery) and who was the victim?

Moreover Assunta develops a sort of Stockholm syndrome, and (thinks that) she still loves her harasser; but, though she lies to the judges trying to save him from the condemnation sentence, the witnesses are too many, and Michele ends up in jail. During the two years of Michele's detention, Assunta realizes that her love for him is fading (it's never too late), and she begins a relationship with another man, Federigo.

When Michele is released from prison and wants to reunite with Assunta, she says to him: "I'm not worthy of you!" (again: what?!). As soon as Michele comes to know about Federigo, he kills him. Assunta lets herself be blamed for the murder. Why? Is she still in love with Michele? Nobody can tell.

I will not condemn all the films in which "the Cavalry charged, and the Indians fell": they are just products of their age (and some of them are great films), but in the present times, when femicide and male chauvinism are far from being lost, I felt that "Assunta Spina" is particularly unapt as a morality model. Apart from that, in any case the film in question is not a big thing, anyway.

An Opera Without Music

[dwingrove · 8 April 2003]

Akin to a Puccini or Mascagni opera without the music, Assunta Spina is a work of dazzling dramatic intensity - with a heroine who is striking in her sensuality and modernity. Unlike the languid paper dolls who populate silent films by Griffith and others, Francesca Bertini plays a fully sexual woman. A vulnerable but hard-headed child of the slums, she's not above flirting with a man who's not her fiance, or - once the fiance goes to jail for attacking her in a jealous rage - prostituting herself to an official in order to save him. Not a Madonna, not a whore, but a woman. Perhaps the first real woman in screen history.

The gap between Image and Truth - between the sanctified image of 'woman' handed down from Roman Catholicism and 19th century melodrama, and the unvarnished truth of a real woman fighting to survive - is made explicit in the design and staging of Assunta Spina. An altar to an idealised Virgin Mary dominates the heroine's home; her less-than-ideal actions are seen and judged against it. A rare bit of calculated 'design' in a film that was shot almost entirely in the streets and slums of Naples. A style that anticipates Neo-Realism and cinema verite.

However, Assunta Spina lives in a much higher realm of art than either of those later trends. What lifts it up to the pinnacle is the acting of Francesca Bertini. One of those rare performers who goes beyond mere 'film acting'- fusing the physical grace of Margot Fonteyn with the operatic intensity of Maria Callas. Her vast liquid eyes seem to contain the whole film, and director Gustavo Serena (who co-directed, or so rumour has it, with the lady herself) manages to convey whole episodes solely through the body of his star. In the final duel between her two lovers, we never see a knife pass into flesh. All we see is a shudder pass through Bertini as she watches, and her hands clasp the air in mute agony.

In a word, DIVINA!

David Melville

Realism In Acting Emphasized in Actress Bertini's Performance

[springfieldrental · 6/10 · 21 June 2021]

Italian neo-realism in film, introduced in 1943 and lasting through the early 1950's, has created a huge impact on the movies produced today. Set among poor or the working class while being cheaply filmed on location as opposed to inside expensive studio set, these Italian movies enlisted mostly amateur actors with only professional leads. Italy's film industry was basically forced to take such austere steps since World War Two caused enormous economic hardships for that country.

But Diva actress Francesca Bertini had made the claim, and with some justification, that her October 1915 "Assunta Spina" was the first to showcase a low budget, non-professional cast filmed in the exterior of Naples--all true hallmarks of Italian neorealism cinema.

The actress plays a working class laundress whose fiancee is hot-tempered. During an outdoor festival where she dances with an admirer, her fiancee cuts up her face in a fit of jealousy. A soft spot in her heart for her intended husband causes her to create a series of twists which produces both tragedy and signs of loyalty.

"Assunta Spina" has Gustavo Serena, who plays the fiancee, credited as director. However, Bertini is also listed as co-director, placing the Italian film as unique in the annuls of cinema as being one of the few, if only, movie where the two lead actors are also co-directors. Bertini claimed she was the one who solely directed the film.

What Bertini is known for in "Assunta Spina" is introducing a new art form of acting. Rising to the level of being the number one international actress, more popular than even Mary Pickford, as well as being the highest paid in the film industry, Bertini had been on screen since 1910. She gradually developed a realistic method of acting, something silent movie actors were hesitate to adapt to since their stage dramatic profession called for both physical and facial over exaggerations. In "Assunta Spina," Bertini shows a measured acting method where, despite the plot centering on a highly-charged emotional narrative, the actress sustains a composure rarely seen in silent film. Not looking at the camera, refraining from overly physical gestures and failing to contort her face in agony while undergoing the tragic events, Bertini illustrates what a realistic portrayal of an everyday composed woman looks like facing fatal events.

Once sound was introduced to movies in the late 1920's, Bertini's work in film diminished. But she still appeared in an occasional movie, with her last screen appearance being in Bernardo Bertolucci's 1976 epic "1900," with Robert De Niro.

Drama Queen

[Cineanalyst · 2/10 · 28 July 2004]

The other Italian films that I've seen from this early period of cinema history are poor imitations of theatre. In the US, the movies were more cinematic, but often confined to studios. At least in the beginning, "Assunta Spina" is outdoors a lot. One or two images of the Naples landscape are even pretty nice. It's difficult to go wrong with a shot of a boat against the horizon. Some of the outdoor footage suffers from (probably) a combination of poor lighting and deterioration of the negative.

Generally, though, the camera barely moves and the framing is always long shots. The story is a trashy melodrama about a dysfunctional couple. One is a jealous dolt, the other a clinging, masochistic drama queen. Francesca Bertini, apparently a star in her day, is a lousy screen actress--posturing histrionically and repeatedly staring into nothing in an attempt to convey emotion. It's very boring.

Naturalistic realism - A great piece of Italian early cinema.

[ilpohirvonen · 8/10 · 6 November 2010]

If the Italian early cinema is known for its epic antique spectacles, Assunta Spina means a nice change. But it is obvious that it's not the only different film compared to the mainstream in the era. The Italian early cinema took a lot of influences from literature and people started to describe the lives of the common people; workers and lovers. Assunta Spina is one of these film and a very good one. In 1914 World War I begun in Europe, at first Italy didn't take part in it, but in May 1915 it joined the Allied Powers. One of the consequences of WWI for cinema was that Italy and France lost their places as the leading developers of it and the United States started making more and more films. Italian early cinema is part of the era when Italy was among the biggest cinema countries in the world and Assunta Spina is one of its most well known products.

Assunta Spina is basically a love triangle story. Assunta is a young woman, who is married with Michele but also loved by Raffaele. Love, hatred and jealousy culminate in tragical consequences. As said before the story is very simple and the narrative is minimalistic. But the gestures and expressive behaviour is magnificent. The gestures used in cinema were already very well known; to beckon, fists held high, hands on face etc. Assunta Spina is naturalistic realism and the expressions feel very natural or if not natural at least touching, beautiful and far away from exaggerating, which is common for many Hollywood silent films.

In 1915 Naples, the fateful love of Assunta for Michele, an impulsive and jealous butcher.

[a-cinema-history · 8/10 · 6 October 2013]

Assunta Spina is typical of the early Italian melodrama genre. It shows ordinary people in their daily life overcome by a fate they can't control. The natural way of acting and the fact that many scenes are filmed outside in natural settings gives it great authenticity.

At the opposite of historical epics such as Cabiria, which intended to make people dream of being transported to other places or times, it is a film which made it possible for spectators to identify themselves with the characters and empathize with them. It is also a remarkable document on life in Naples before WWI.

Photography is often beautiful with special attention given to lighting. The final scene is particularly original in this respect. The depth of field is striking and some scenes combine views inside and outside through a window with all elements in focus and perfectly lit.

a-cinema-history.blogspot.com/2013/10/

Tells A Simple Story Well, With Good Atmosphere

[Snow Leopard · 28 July 2004]

With a relatively simple but well-told story, plus many good atmospheric details, this Italian feature is an effective melodrama that is still worth seeing. It is also worthwhile as a chance to see Francesca Bertini, who was so renowned in her day, in a role that gives her quite a wide variety of material to work with. Her fine performance would be enough to carry the story by itself, but the movie also has several other strengths.

The story itself is relatively straightforward. Assunta (Bertini) is engaged to be married to Michele, but Assunta's old flame Raffaele is too strong-willed to let her go. He makes an ever-greater nuisance of himself, building up quite a bit of tension, which sets off a turbulent sequence of events. The story is set against a believable and realistic background of life in Naples. The on-location filming includes scenes of many of the sights in and around Naples, and is an important part of the film's success. It also works well in putting the main characters into their social setting by, among other things, showing brief glimpses of Michele and Assunta at work.

This is the kind of story that works especially well as a silent film. The ways the characters say things are unimportant - what's important is their relationships and their attitudes, and the cast define these very well without sound. Besides Bertini's starring performance, Gustavo Serena is also quite believable in portraying the mercurial Michele. The story moves at a good pace, without any extraneous padding, and without rushing itself. All in all, it's a worthwhile little movie from the years when feature-length films were just starting to become more common.

Bertini: Successful Italian Diva

[classicchocolate00 · 8/10 · 20 September 2013]

Assunta and Michele loved each other, but Raffaele who had a secret crush on her disturbed the party. The jealous man, Michele misunderstood, was disappointed to Assunta, scratched her face. She was disappointed to his act, but still loved him in her inside. After all, Michele was imprisoned. I am unsure, but one man(I cannot recall his name and occupation) in the court told Assunta that he found the way to release him. She was grateful to him. Several days after, he was discharged early. She, however, was pleased him to come and afraid of him as well. Michele wished her to greet him after being discharged. He was angry and knew she lost interest in him. He was determined to kill the man(He was not Raffaele), killed him. Then he disappeared. Unfortunately she told a police officer that she went to the police station or the court herself instead of Michele.

Raffaele is a villain, but Michele can be a villain. He was too jealous and problematic. And it is not direct, but it is quite bad that Raffaele disturbed the party even though indirectly. Owing to his direct interruption, she was ruined. Assunta Spina is a beautiful quite innocent lady, indeed.

It is splendid splendid film. Francesa Bertini was a talented Italian actress. Other performers' act satisfied me. The cinematography is quite gorgeous as well.