Overview
A poignant exploration of human connection amidst the chaos of war.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- bleak
- humanist
- melancholic
- serious historical viewing
- film school study
What critics said
Critics broadly regard Rossellini's episodic portrait of the Italian Campaign as a landmark of humanist Italian neorealism and one of the major films about wartime civilian experience.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Six unconnected episodes follow different encounters between American personnel and Italian civilians during the liberation campaign.
The film observes civilians, soldiers, orphans, prostitutes, clergy, and partisans through a restrained, socially attentive wartime lens.
Each episode centers on contact between American military personnel and Italian locals with conflicting experiences of the campaign.
The retreating German forces, battered towns, minefields, river fighting, and improvised civilian spaces are presented with observational starkness.
Films like Paisan, and why
Rome, Open City
shared italian neorealist attention to civilians, wartime displacement, and morally complex encounters
Germany Year Zero
shared episodic war drama structure, documentary realism, and focus on ordinary people amid military conflict
The Battle of Algiers
shared humanist portrait of occupation, resistance, and fractured civilian life in wartime Europe
Movie Details
- Director
- Roberto Rossellini
- Release Date
- 1946-12-10
- Runtime
- 125 min
- Rating
- 7.5 / 10 (366)
Cast
- Carmela Sazio
- Robert Van Loon
- Benjamin Emanuel
- Raymond Campbell
- Harold Wagner
- Albert Heinze
- Merlin Berth
- Mats Carlson
- Leonard Parrish
- Dots Johnson
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- HBO Max Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, HBO Max
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Paisan about?
- Across six unconnected episodes, civilians and soldiers meet amid the brutal, morally uncertain liberation of wartime Italy.
- What is Paisan like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Paisan as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Paisan violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Paisan as graphic.
- What did critics think of Paisan?
- Critics broadly regard Rossellini's episodic portrait of the Italian Campaign as a landmark of humanist Italian neorealism and one of the major films about wartime civilian experience.
- Which films are like Paisan?
- Films with a similar feel include Rome, Open City, Germany Year Zero, and The Battle of Algiers.
- How long is Paisan?
- Paisan runs 125 minutes.
- Where can I watch Paisan?
- In United States, Paisan streams on HBO Max Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, HBO Max.
