Whatever Anton Bruckner had in mind when writing his majestic Seventh Symphony, it probably wasn't as the score to a postwar Italian love story set during the Italian-Austrian conflicts of the Risorgiamento. Though the use of pre-existing classical music as backdrop for films is to be discouraged, here it works in surprising ways. Alida Valli is the Countess Livia Serpieri, in a loveless marriage to an older, collaborationist official. At the opera (Venice's La Fenice during Il Trovatore!) she meets up with a dashing young Austrian officer, Farley Granger. (Digression: After a handful of American films -- They Live by Night, Rope, Side Street, Strangers on a Train -- Granger journeyed to Italy to work with Visconti then fell off the screen for years, only to resurface in a few schlock films in the late 60s and early 70s. What happened to him?) They kindle up a clandestine and dangerous affair -- the wealthy older woman and the manipulative wastrel. After wheedling a small fortune out of her to bribe a doctor who declares him unfit to serve, he dumps her. But hell hath no fury....Luchino Visconti, assisted by the young Franco Zeffirelli -- both were opera directors, too -- pulls out all the stops, ending with a finale reminiscent of Tosca (but with a twist). Senso is a shameless and unforgettable wallow in Italianate passion -- unabashed verismo translated to the silver screen.

"Sanso" looks nice. It has a nice, sweeping look to it and if the color print received a bit of conservation (cleaning up the print a bit and sharpening it as well),it would be a gorgeous movie. But, it's also a great example of a film which suffers because the main characters are complete moral degenerates and are therefore difficult to relate to or care for during the course of the movie.

This film is set around the time of the Italian independence movement in the late 1860s and into the early 1870s. The Italians, long dominated and ruled by outsiders, are uniting under Garibaldi and are trying to gain self-rule. In the midst of this is a terribly confusing Countess (Alida Valli). On one hand, she supports the independence movement through her cousin and his efforts. Yet, completely inexplicably, she falls for an Austrian officer--who is her sworn enemy. It seems that despite being on opposite sides, they have a common love...him. So, in essence, her ideals mean nothing and she's willing to throw away her opulent life with the Count and her country for some Germanic stud. In fact, at one point, she makes herself a traitor by giving the lover money which was gathered to support the Italian army...and all for love (or at least what this whore thinks is love).

While many reviewers seemed to like this film, I couldn't get past the characters. While there was no obvious reason for the lovers to be together, they were. And, because they were both selfish and nasty, you really don't care what happens to them. After all, she's an adulteress, thief and a traitor. He's a coward, cheats on his new lover and is a deserter. Sounds like a relationship made in heaven, right?!

The bottom line is that no matter how good the film looks and how well it's acted, it's just about some boorish jerks--and that makes it a film I could have just as soon skipped.

A troubled and neurotic Italian Countess (Alida Valli) betrays her entire country for a self-destructive love affair with an Austrian Lieutenant (Farley Granger).

Originally, Visconti had hoped to cast Ingrid Bergman and Marlon Brando in the lead roles, but Bergman was not interested in the part, and Brando was nixed by the producers who considered Granger a bigger star, at the time. This may be the biggest disappointment in retrospect. Brando would have brought the film more recognition, and Bergman is by far the bigger name than Valli. A shame.

The romance is interesting regardless. We have it going across borders, across languages. And not at the most opportune of times. It makes for an interesting case study, I suppose.