Orson Welles
Lo straniero

Orson Welles' The Stranger is a shining and perfect example of Cinema, strictly with a capital C.

O.W., it's cliché to say, is truly one of the greatest filmmakers of all time.

His touch, his blend of cinematographic techniques—from zoom to long take, from cinematography to soundtrack, from editing to dissolves—everything is mixed and calibrated in a masterful way.

A "technical" cinema viewer, that is, one who pays close attention to these aspects, is inevitably satisfied and, why not, enchanted by this celluloid miracle.

The Stranger tells the story of an investigator on the trail of a fierce Nazi played by Orson Welles himself. The war has just ended (the film is from 1946) and the Nazi is believed to be in America, under a hidden identity.

I won't tell you more; although the story unfolds in a linear fashion, with a plot twist at just the right moment and an ending in the belfry that is a piece of film history, I will say that the film is somewhat didactic; sometimes the dialogues are a little predictable and O.W. didn't really convince me with his acting performance. The investigator, on the other hand, Edward G. Robinson (https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_G._Robinson) is much superior, but then again, Robinson was a damn good actor, while Orson was primarily a director.

Therefore, although the film is not exceptional in terms of its plot, dialogue, and acting, it is nevertheless extraordinary from a technical standpoint.

The cinematography is wonderful, a black and white that plays a lot with chiaroscuro, I dare say "Caravaggesque." The soundtrack is classic for films of that era, following the sequence from moment to moment: sometimes threatening, other times perilous depending on the situation but never excessive and pompous, never too tragic and intrusive, and I assure you that at the time soundtracks were almost always like this and, frankly, they were a pain in the ass.

In conclusion, The Stranger is a lesson in cinema. Many great directors that followed learned from Welles but, probably, the students couldn't surpass the MASTER.