Dov'è la Libertà...?

Director: Roberto Rossellini
Year Released: 1954
Rating: 3.0

A barber who killed his wife's lover (Totò) is freed from prison after twenty-two years; when he is finally released, he finds the world completely alien to him: his wife is dead, his barbershop is no longer there, women he meets are (more) fickle, dance marathons are popular and his reputation follows him everywhere. Italian comic great Totò is what makes this so good: his perpetual bewilderment at the world around him builds and builds, so when his character decides to break back into jail, it's his way of saving himself from the madness of "civilized life." Rossellini wasn't exactly a comedic director, so this plays more like light drama than laugh fest - it's funny, too, how some fantastic movies have been made about getting out of jail and this one is about disillusion with a life of "freedom."