With its love triangle, unusual plot twist and unrepentant romanticism, the political message is subtle compared to later Rand works such as "Atlas Shrugged." Like the poet Dr. Zhivago whose spirit was unconquered by the Soviet state, Kira is true to her belief in the value of her own individualism, and she never surrenders to collectivism.

Unlike "Dr. Zhivago", "We The Living" does not attempt to sugar coat the real nature of the Soviet State, and does not leave the audience with the false impression that Soviet life improved with the passage of time. "Dr. Zhivago" was made by a Hollywood sympathetic to the Soviets, while "We The Living" was not. Mussolini banned the 1942 movie which reveals the crushing effect of any totaliarian state on all but the strongest individuals.

If you thought "Dr. Zhivago" was romantic, epic and awe inspiring, you MUST treat yourself to "We The Living" which has a similar theme, but which surpasses it in every way.

The best foreign film ever made (Rating: 5.00)
Review : This movie was originally released in Italy in two parts. "Noi Vivi" ("We're Alive") and "Adio Kira" ("Farewell Kira"). Set in post-revolutionary Russia, this film was originally encouraged for production by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini because he thought it was of an anti-communist nature. He later banned it because of the film's anti-totalitarian/pro-individual rights message. I would like to think that this movie helped plant the seeds that lead to Mussolini's downfall. Interestingly enough, film makers in Mexico released a good movie during the 1990s named "Herod's Law" which was reported to have contributed to the demise of Mexico's P.R.I. government in which the film exposed the corrupt practices of the P.R.I. to cinema audiences in that country. "Herod's Law" was subsidized by the Mexican government who later sold their interest in the film. I believe Ayn Rand saw "We The Living" too before she died and she loved it. My family on my dad's side lived in Italy when Mussolini was dictator and I am involved in the libertarian movement so I appreciated this movie on two angles. While I wish the movie wasn't so long and expensive to purchase, I think, all-in-all, it is the best foreign film ever made! Everything else about this film is wonderful and belongs in any serious movie goer's collection. I hope at some point a DVD version of this movie can be done too. If more of films like this interest you, in addition to "Herod's Law" I also recommend "Bitter Sugar" done by director Leon Ichaso which takes place in Cuba and "The Official Story" which takes place in Argentina and won "Best Foreign Film" at the Academy Awards during 1984. To the cast and crew of this film: "Bravo dove mai lei sono!"

On the Brink of Neo-Realism & Onward to Douglas Sirkisms (Rating: 1.00)
Review : This movie is an underrated charmer & a hell of a lot more interesting than the mediocre novel it was based on (Rand was much better at writing razor-sharp, non-fiction essays). No one can do melodrama as well as the Italians of the pre-neo-realist period, with their operatic traditions and passionate sounding language colliding with the harsh realities of the war period and Mussollini fascism.

Here Italians get to play some unrealistic Russians, but they do it with so much conviction and passion, you don't care one bit! The message of Rand's anti-tyranny novel comes across beautifully through the cumulative force of the situations, the dramatic dialogue, and the elegant dramatic gestures used by Alida Valli, Rossano Brazzi, Fosco Grachietti and the rest of the superb cast, in showing you realistic internalizations of the many conflicts raging in people as a result of those historically based situations. The Italian actors of this period maintain a charming balance between utter naturalism and passionate going 'over-the-topisms'. The camera movements, style, and mythic distance of the film are also very impressive, not afraid to use the dreamy aspects of the cinematic illusion to full effect. As a further bonus, Renzo Rossellini's super-busy but always understated music adds that touch of surrealism & romantic existentialism that he would become famous for later in Roberto Rossellini's masterworks.

One of the reasons it probably works as well as it does is because it was made right on the brink of the neo-realist revolution without the knowledge of Rand herself, who might have unwittingly stifled its more poetic and crazy aspects in favor of more 'philosophy' had she been involved. She loved it later, some forty years later, when she discovered a print (Mussolini's government had confiscated all prints and the negative), which shows her good judgment after the fact, and that, some remanants of a true artist and a philosopher were still left in her, even when the Objectivist movement itself had turned into a cult.

Disappointment is the name of the game (Rating: 2.00)
Review : This film, obviously based upon Ayn Rand's book of the same name, is an extreme disappointment.
It might be worth [something], but nowhere near [what]I paid for it.
It leaves out almost everything that made the book a vivid portrait of extreme hardship and poverty.