Stromboli is a movie that comes from the post World War II neo-realist school. It is not for a modern mass audience, but if you like movies like The Bicycle Thief or Wild Strawberries, this movie is worth watching. I found Ingrid Bergman's performance superb as the well educated and literate wife of an Italian fisherman, rescued from a refugee camp. Once this refined young woman finds herself on a lonely island off the southern coast of Italy with nothing in common with the local people, she is at her wit's end. She will do anything to get away. The young woman tries to befriend people but every time she does, she seems to run afoul of the local customs. She pays a visit to a local seamstress who is shunned and this causes her to be guilty by association. When she decorates her home, her husband is upset by the removal of religious objects and old family photos. Even when going to church, she is stared at by everyone in the congregation. She finds some comfort in the priest who seems to understand her predicament and counsels her to save money for a time in the future when they can get away to a place that is more hospitable for them. This is not much consolation for her. At one point, the whole village is driven off the island by the eruption of a volcano that stands only a short distance away. The filming of this natural disaster is extremely effective and viewers feel they are in the midst of the eruption. For her, it is another reason to abandon the island forever. We feel that in some ways she has grown into a more mature person as a result of her trials; however, the gulf between her comfort zone and life on the island is too wide. The ending is neither hopeful nor despairing, and we can only imagine what might happen.
