A Pilot Returns

1942. Italy. Directed by Roberto Rossellini. With Massimo Girotti, Michela Belmonte. Conceived by Vittorio Mussolini (Il Duce's son) and condemned for many years as Fascist propaganda, A Pilot Returns is now regarded by many critics as Rossellini's Grand Illusion (Jean Renoir, 1937). Though it offers a more pessimistic view of humanity than Renoir could muster, French filmmaker Jean Rouch called it "a truly moral portrait of war." Girotti, later to appear in Rossellini's Desire (1946) and Luchino Visconti's Ossessione (1943), appears opposite real soldiers, including English and Greek POWs. Preserved by Cineteca Nazionale and RIPLEY'S FILM srl. In Italian; English subtitles. 80 min.