Stromboli (1950) was Ingrid Bergman’s first film with Roberto Rossellini, as Karin, a Lithuanian refugee who marries an Italian fisherman and moves to the volcanic island of Stromboli.
Filmed on location with a largely non-professional cast, the film follows Karin’s struggle to adapt to a harsh, isolated life. Bergman played Karin with a raw honesty that divided critics at the time, but the film is now recognised as a landmark of neorealism.
The film also marked a turning point in Bergman’s personal life, as her relationship with Rossellini became public. Stromboli remains a bold and challenging work, and a testament to Bergman’s willingness to take artistic risks.
Image: Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca, Wikimedia Commons, public domain. Credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bergman_%26_Bogart_Casablanca_still.jpg