Chapter Five

Chapter Five concentrates solely on the film Rossano was most proud of, even at the height of his career. This was originally two 2-hour films, Noi Vivi and Addio Kira, but later transferred into one 3-hour film entitled Noi Vivi (We the Living).

Photos of Rossano and his co-star Alida Valli, courtesy of Duncan Scott Productions.

I discovered We the Living early on in my research because one of the first magazines I'd purchased had an in-depth interview in 1959 with Rossano where he highlighted his pride over that film. 

It was first restored in the 1980s and English subtitles were added. This was a film that I wasn't looking forward to watching because it sounded quite depressing. But, after viewing it, I was bowled over by the story, the acting and the powerful theme of Man v the State. I completely understood Rossano's pride in respect of this film. 

A large majority of my research came from the website www.wethelivingmovie.com and my thanks go to Duncan Scott for being so generous in allowing me to use that material and allowing me to use these photographs.

Unfortunately, there are no photos of the Venice Film Festival in 1942 but Noi Vivi and Addio Kira came out as all-round winners. But, here is a photo that gives us an idea of what this would have looked like. This is the Piazza San Marco, in Venice, during the festival in 1947. Just a few years later, Rossano would be filming Summertime in this very piazza.

The man who helped with the 1980s restoration, Duncan Scott, had interviewed Rossano at that time and Rossano was over the moon that this film was being restored and released outside of Italy. 

I interviewed Duncan for the biography and he expanded on the chat he had with Rossano and very kindly sent over the transcript. The relevant parts of that are, of course, in the book. When I told him how much I enjoyed the film, Duncan said they were doing another restoration using HD and all the various new technologies available to them. I decided I wanted to get involved in that and offered to help where I could. My involvement resulted in me being listed as an Executive Producer on the new restored film. I feel as proud as punch to be part of a film that Rossano was so proud of.

In June 2022, We the Living was shown at Il Cinema Ritrovata festival. Fittingly, this takes place in the city of Rossano's birth, Bologna. It was shown twice during the festival and received a generous round of applause at each screening. Duncan very kindly mentioned that the biography of Rossano was being written and that, too, received a round of applause.

Il Cinema Ritrovata is a film festival that takes place every summer in Bologna and they show only classic and restored films. Everything from silent films through to restored modern films such as The Blues Brothers. Every evening, in the Piazza Maggiore, they screen a film for free. The night I went, they were showing a silent film and had the Bologna Philharmonic Orchestra playing live to accompany the movie. Well worth a visit if you enjoy old films.

Above is a photo of me and Duncan after the screening in Bologna. Also, a shot of Duncan being interviewed in the cinema prior to the event.

On 12 June 2023, We the Living had its world premiere at the Film Forum arts cinema in New York. Never, in a million years, did I think I would be involved in film in any shape or form, and certainly not one celebrating its 80th anniversary. What a fantastic day that was. My guest for the event was Rossano's nephew, Carlo, his wife, Nina and daughter, Brenda. These photos were taken at the reception. The cinema was packed and it received good reviews from those who attended.

After the world premiere in New York, the film had its European premiere in Belgrade, Serbia. It is now being screened in several cities around the globe and interest is increasing. One of the most surprising things was that Kyiv in Ukraine were keen to show it. Duncan and his wife, Barbara, were very brave to travel to the city for the screening. Duncan delivered a talk about the film and it was seen by a number of young people there. The message Duncan received from Kyiv was that people were willing to risk an air strike to see this film. Amazing.

Of course, the backdrop to the We the Living story is the Russian revolution and much of what you see in We the Living is happening again now. Many countries that border Russia want to screen this film. Interest is also coming in from other European countries as well as Australia and South America.

I'm trying to get to as many screenings as I can to continue the adventure and I was over the moon to attend the London premiere in December 2023 in Leicester Square. Here I am with Katarina who oversaw the Belgrade screening. Duncan couldn't get to this one but he did do his talk via Zoom.

For information on this film, please visit: www.wethelivingmovie.com.

The paperback of We the Living is widely available. Because of the way the movie was filmed, they had to stick rigidly to the story. It's well worth a read and transports you into Russia just after the revolution. The characters are very real and the sub-plot, taken out of the film, adds a new dynamic to a already dramatic story.

When the film was originally released, it was called Italy's Gone With the Wind. A love story set against the adversity of the revolution rather than the civil war.

In the summer of 2023, I watched a documentary that covered historical locations buried beneath Italian cities. One episode focussed on Naples and the many tunnels that stretch out beneath that area. In one section, the presenter showed old American jeeps and army equipment left there since the Second World War. Many Italians sheltered down here during the hostilities. There were some names carved into the walls as there always is but one huge bit of graffiti was evident. Noi Vivi.