Paisan

film by Rossellini [1946]

Also known as: “Paisà”

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July 19, 2026

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Paisan (1946) is an Italian Neorealist film directed by Roberto Rossellini. It is composed of six episodes that depict the war in Italy, from the Allied invasion to the country's eventual liberation. The film, along with Open City (1945) and Germany, Year Zero (1947), is considered part of Rossellini's "war trilogy".12

Paisan gained international recognition for its realistic portrayal of life during wartime and its use of natural settings and non-professional actors, which were hallmarks of the Italian Neorealist movement. The film's focus on the struggles and resilience of ordinary people during the conflict significantly influenced subsequent filmmaking.12

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Federico Fellini
Early life and influences
…addition, Fellini contributed to Rossellini’s Paisà (1946; Paisan) and Il miracolo (1948; “The Miracle”, an episode of the film L’amore), in which he also acted, playing a tramp who impregnates a simple-minded peasant when she takes him for the reincarnation of St. Joseph.
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…addition, Fellini contributed to Rossellini’s Paisà (1946; Paisan) and Il miracolo (1948; “The Miracle”, an episode of the film L’amore), in which he also acted, playing a tramp who impregnates a simple-minded peasant when she takes him for the reincarnation of St. Joseph.
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Taviani brothers
…by Roberto Rossellini’s Neorealist film Paisà, they began to study and work in cinema. Their first efforts, often undertaken in collaboration with Orsini, were a series of documentaries on a variety of subjects. Un uomo da bruciare (1962; A Man for the Burning), made with Orsini’s collaboration, was their first…
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…by Roberto Rossellini’s Neorealist film Paisà, they began to study and work in cinema. Their first efforts, often undertaken in collaboration with Orsini, were a series of documentaries on a variety of subjects. Un uomo da bruciare (1962; A Man for the Burning), made with Orsini’s collaboration, was their first…
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film
Film directing
…in Roberto Rossellini’s Paisà (1946; Paisan) and Ettore Scola’s Le Bal (1983; The Ball), which abandon traditional plot construction and a single story line in favour of separate short episodes that are thematically or historically linked.
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…in Roberto Rossellini’s Paisà (1946; Paisan) and Ettore Scola’s Le Bal (1983; The Ball), which abandon traditional plot construction and a single story line in favour of separate short episodes that are thematically or historically linked.
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