White Nights (1957 film)

• Maria Schell: Natalia
• Marcello Mastroianni: Mario
• Jean Marais: Tenant
• Clara Calamai: streetwalker

White Nights is an Italian- French movie from the year 1957. The film was based on the eponymous short novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

Action

Natalia is a young woman full of contradictions, sometimes shouting for joy, sorrowful times to death. It is these opposites attract Mario magically. He falls in love with the charming woman, but sees him only as a friend with whom you can exchange ideas. So she tells Mario that she loved her lodger Tenant, but this had left the city. They did not know when he 'll come back, but when he come back, then they 'll meet him at a certain bridge in the town. Natalia then goes regularly to this bridge in the hope of her lover again apply. However, so far in vain. Mario tries Natalia dissuade them from the love of Tenant and instead to be with him. After a long period of reflection and dwindling hope for a reunion with Tenant, Natalia agrees. But it is precisely on this day versa Tenant back. Without paying much attention to Mario Natalia leaves him and returns to Tenant.

Background

The original story by Dostoevsky plays 1850 in St. Petersburg. Visconti moved the story in contemporary Italy.

Reviews

" The realized exclusively in the studio production was one exercise in artificiality 'for the earlier, location shooting' specialized Visconti neorealist and intriguing because of its sophisticated fusion of theater aesthetics and film language to a cheerful and melancholic dream game."

Awards

The film participated in the competition at the International Film Festival of Venice in 1957 and won the Silver Lion.