Dismissed by critics on its release in 1953, yet reclaimed as the masterpiece that pointed the way to the French New Wave, this is a fascinating contrast in styles and careers at the crossroads.
The idea of a holiday in a foreign place for a couple to rediscover each other not necessarily being the answer to marital woes is an interesting one, although as the English couple facing a crisis, neither Ingrid Bergman nor George Sanders looks comfortable with the film's deliberate disavowal of traditional action, but Roberto Rossellini doesn't always seem sure how to break from the linearity and neo-realism of his past, either.
It's understandable that this film took a good few years before it was re-evaluated by audiences as a minor classic, and viewers unfamiliar with the rambling style of the New Wave should treat it with equal caution - it's not exactly pacey.