Italian neorealism

Italian neorealism

A still shot from Rome, Open City, by Roberto Rossellini (1945)
Years active	1943–1952
Location	Italy
Major figures	Roberto Rossellini, Vittorio De Sica, Cesare Zavattini, Luchino Visconti, Giuseppe De Santis, Suso Cecchi d'Amico, Federico Fellini, Bruno Caruso, Michelangelo Antonioni
Influences	Poetic realism, Marxism, Christian humanism
Influenced	French New Wave, Cinema Novo, Iranian New Wave

Italian neorealism (Italian: Neorealismo), also known as the Golden Age of Italian Cinema, was a national film movement characterized by stories set amongst the poor and the working class. They are filmed on location, frequently with non-professional actors. They primarily address the difficult economic and moral conditions of post-World War II Italy, representing changes in the Italian psyche and conditions of everyday life, including poverty, oppression, injustice and desperation. Italian Neorealist filmmakers used their films to tell stories that explored the contemporary daily life and struggles of Italians in the post-war period. ^[1] Italian neorealist films have become explanatory discourse for future generations to understand the history of Italy during a specific period through the storytelling of social life in the context, reflecting the documentary and communicative nature of the film.^[2] Some people believe that neorealistic films evolved from Soviet montage films. But in reality, compared to Soviet filmmakers describing the people's opposition to class struggle through their films, neorealist films aim to showcase individuals' resistance to reality in a social environment.^[3]