‘I girasoli‘ (‘Sunflower‘ in the English release), Vittorio De Sica‘s 1970 film, is a film that is impossible to judge outside of its historical context. Actually I should say its historical contexts. The film is a war melodrama, the story of an interrupted love and of the search beyond all hope for an Italian soldier who disappeared in the Soviet Union during the Second World War. The fate of Italian prisoners of war at that time was a lesser known and rather less convenient episode for all parties involved, so tackling it in 1970 can be considered an act of courage. However, the way the story is told is very problematic and certain details are completely implausible. It is very likely that many compromises were made by the screenwriters and by the producer Carlo Ponti who, after making ‘Doctor Zhivago’ in 1965, wanted very much to make a film in co-production with the USSR studios. He achieved his goal, but the result is debatable. The love story related in the film is powerful and emotional, but the falseness of the reflection of the historical context shadows it. ‘I girasoli‘ remains in the categories of cinematic curiosities and of the films made in the last decade of De Sica‘s life and career that – for the most part – failed to repeat the success and freshness of the post-war neo-realist masterpieces.
The first part of ‘I girasoli‘ is the one that I liked most. At least a decade after the end of World War II, Giovanna has not come to terms with the disappearance of her husband, Antonio, who has gone off to fight on the Eastern Front. The two had had a short and passionate love story, one of those that happen especially in times of war, and they had married rather spontaneously to earn the extra 12 days of leave given to freshly married soldiers before departing to the battlefields. Antonio’s tracks were lost in the terrible battle of Stalingrad, and since his body was never discovered, the woman fiercely believes that he is still alive. From here begins the part that seems more than implausible, not to say false, of the story. Giovanna will go on a journey to great Russia to find Antonio. I will not tell too much in order to avoid spoilers. I will only say that nothing is being said about prison camps or the Gulag, nor about the atrocities of the war or about the punishments that in Soviet Russia were applied to those who ‘made pacts ‘sympathized’ with the enemies. A second love story is being added to the first, much less interesting or believable (despite the presence on the screen of the beautiful Soviet actress Lyudmila Saveleva, whose talent I admired in other films).
Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni starred in 17 films together. ‘I girasoli‘ is one of them, and seeing the two in the roles of lovers on screen is one of the great pleasures that this film offers to its viewers. The rather complicated connection between the two works perfectly and their magnetism (combined with humor) as actors and as lovers is formidable. The film also has special visual qualities, with some memorable scenes such as the one with the sunflower field that gives the film its title (although the metaphor is a bit forced), but also or especially the scenes shot in the train stations. Arguably, all the key scenes – breakups and reunions – in this film take place in train stations. Also included are documentary sequences using Soviet propaganda films against the backdrop of a red flag – a likely homage to Sergei Eisenstein. Unfortunately, the feeling of falsity – both in the historical account and in the scenes that take place in the USSR after the war – dominates the second part of ‘I girasoli‘. Vittorio De Sica seems to have forgotten the very lesson he had passed on to generations of filmmakers influenced by Italian neorealism. For a film dealing with political or historical themes to succeed, artistic truth must be anchored in historical and social truth.