Assunta Spina ( Francesca Bertini and Gustavo Serena, 1915)

Italys film production in the presound era was famous not only for the beauty of its images but also for its powerful female stars, or divas. In Assunta Spinaa primordial tale of a fateful love triangle, based on a 1909 play by Salvatore Di Giacomodiva Francesca Bertini (who also codirected the film with exceptional skill and sensitivity) stars as Assunta, a beautiful Neapolitan laundress torn between two men. Assunta Spina was shot in fall 1914 in Naples, and during its filming the city itself became its uncredited protagonist: the picture shows the citys soul, scrutinizes its every aspect, realistically portraying the serenity and beauty of its most colorful areas, the chaotic frenzy of its neighborhoods and markets. .. and the spirit of Neapolitans, emphasizing their exuberance and passion. .. a stereotyped picture no doubt, but one that escapes cliché through the honesty of the Lasi.