The reception of Rome, Open City in France (1946–68): Realism for the elites, revolution for the people

In the years between the end of the Second World War and 1968, Roma città aperta (Rome, Open City) (Rossellini, 1945) became a key point of reference in a number of French cultural, aesthetic and political debates. This article analyses the film’s reception across popular audiences and cultured elites, making use of histo- rical sources beyond specialist film journals (such as articles from the generalist press, promotional booklets, educational sheets, box office records) that help to contextualize the film’s shifting cultural significance. Three moments in particular are taken into account: Rome, Open City’s presentation at the Cannes Film Festival and its theatrical release (1946–47), during which its perceived ‘truth’ was indicated as its foremost quality; the diminished visibility of the film in the 1950s within the framework of the institutionalization of the politique des auteurs; and the reactivation of the memory of the Resistance in the period leading up to the events of May 1968.