Fred Zinnemann's pictures are always interesting and rewarding for their sincere and thorough psychology. His characters are always convincing, and they always have interesting stories to tell. This is no exception, although it is a rather humdrum and common tale, about a young American soldier who gets a wife in Italy and brings her over to America, with complications, especially concerning relationships, since his mother is reluctant to let him go for a life of his own. She breaks down when she learns he had married in Italy. What is most interesting Is the character roles. John Ericson is no good for anything, he is too sensitive and nervous to be a soldier, he can't fight, and he constantly keeps running away from any challenge. Pier Angeli on the other hand is the stronger in both character and integrity for her weakness - she is just a frail young innocent Italian girl, with whom this immature American soldier happens to get involved, and she just accepts it and makes the best of it, and when the unavoidable challenges come, especially when she finds herself an alien in America, she deals with them in a very Italian and rational way without any unnecessary fuss. She is the gem of the film, while John Ericson is in constant need of support, but he couldn't have acted the role better. The best scenes are those in Italy just after the war when everything is in ruins, the Italians struggling against hunger and poverty to make a life after all, while the Americans just come blundering in. It's not a great picture, but it is of immense interest as a psychological documentary.
