Underplayed Gems

Portrait of Gina (1958)

Portrait of Gina poster
Original title
Orson Welles at Large: Portrait of Gina
Directed by
Orson Welles
Genre
documentary film
Country
United States
Runtime
26 min
Rating
7.2 of 10 from 4 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

This short documentary by Orson Welles offers a quick tour of Italy in the 1950s. It mixes local color with brief chats with famous Italian stars like Gina Lollobrigida and Vittorio De Sica. The film touches on both the attractive and less flattering sides of Italian life.

livelyfast-pacedobservationallightheartedopinionatednostalgiccelebrity-studdedanecdotal

What happens

Portrait of Gina, or Viva Italia is a 1958 documentary film by Orson Welles. It was funded by ABC TV. Around 30 minutes long, it follows a similar style to The Fountain of Youth (1958) and F for Fake (1973). It was intended to be the pilot for a television series called Around the World with Orson Welles, which is also the name of a series Welles made in 1955 for British commercial television. The film is about Italy (Welles's third wife, Paola Mori was of Italian nationality) where the filmmaker lived and worked intermittently for about 20 years (roughly 1947–1969). The film discusses both negative and positive aspects of Italian culture. Actress Gina Lollobrigida, who is interviewed at the end of the film, has refused it to be allowed a public release, reportedly because she was displeased by its portrayal of her as an ambitious young actress. Vittorio De Sica, Rossano Brazzi, Anna Gruber, and Welles' wife, Paola Mori, are also briefly interviewed, and the film moves along at a rapid speed. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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