Fari nella nebbia

An interesting film from the period in Italy when there was a call for more realist type of filmmaking (rather than escapist) which eventually resulted in Italy's great Neo-Realist era.

Cesare (Fosco Giachetti), a long-distance truck driver separates from his young wife Anna (Mariella Lotti) after an argument during which she complains of being too lonely. Angry and withdrawn he goes about life mechanically until one day he meets Piera (Luisa Ferida) and he falls in love. But will this new love last?

There is some good location shooting, mostly along the Ligurian coast between Savona and La Spezia which is mixed with some studio shots for the interior scenes. Overall, it's a competently made film.

One interesting aspect of the film is the presence of Luisa Ferida. A leading actress during the Fascist era, she followed the Mussolini clan along with her lover and fellow actor Osvaldo Valenti when the republic of Salo' was formed in Northern Italy after the Nazis had rescued Mussolini from prison. Three years after this film was made, Ferida and Valenti were executed by the Partisans after a summary trial for alleged association with a Fascist torturing gang. This association was later disproved. It appears that the Partisans seeking revenge for years of persecution at the hands of the fascists were a little too-trigger happy on several occasions and the Ferida/Valenti charges were just concocted to justify the execution.