“Any film by Chaplin”: Isabella Rossellini names her favourite movies of all time
Undoubtedly among the finest actors of her generation, Isabella Rossellini is true cinematic royalty. Having worked with the likes of David Lynch, Robert Zemeckis and other major figures in the industry, Rossellini has delivered numerous notable performances, but perhaps none more moving than her powerful work in Blue Velvet.
Last year, she made another fantastic addition to her filmography in the form of Alice Rohrwacher’s La Chimera, one of the standout entries at the 2023 edition of the Cannes Film Festival. It revolves around the story of a young archaeologist who enters the shady world of artefact smuggling while searching for a strange historical curiosity that is supposedly connected to the afterlife.
As a part of the promotional campaign for the film, Rossellini sat down with Letterboxd to discuss some of the cinematic masterpieces that have played a major role in shaping her identity as an artist. The legendary actor began with Charlie Chaplin’s 1928 gem, The Circus, while simultaneously affirming her love for his entire body of work.
Rossellini gushed: “I love Charlie Chaplin, so for sure, Chaplin. Any film by Chaplin. My favourite film of Charlie Chaplin is The Circus because I love animals.”
In addition to her admiration for Chaplin, Rossellini also opened up about the influence her father, the great Roberto Rossellini, had on her. Among the foremost pioneers of neorealism in Italian cinema, Rossellini’s work completely changed the visual language in which Italian filmmakers were working at the time. That style soon became a global phenomenon as more and more directors worldwide adopted it.
Singling out Paisan from his intimidatingly amazing filmography, she said: “I cannot say not to watch my father’s films, Roberto Rossellini. He’s considered a milestone in cinema. From my father’s films, I think my favourite film is Paisan. It is the end of the Second World War, and Father tells about the liberation, thanks to the Americans, of the Germans occupying the country.”
Rossellini devoted the majority of the segment to singing the praises of none other than Agnès Varda. Known for her incredible work that had a definitive impact on the trajectory of the French New Wave, Varda was among the revolutionaries who brought new ways of thinking about cinema to the table in the 1960s.
For Rossellini, there’s one particular Varda film that will always have a special place in her heart, and that’s the 1988 cinematic essay Jane B. par Agnès V., featuring Varda and Jane Birkin. Deviating from the conventional frameworks of documentary filmmaking to create an intimate portrait of an artist, it’s one of Varda’s most beautiful works.
The Blue Velvet star elaborated: “She made films, but from a woman’s perspective, and I’m interested in that. I keep on thinking of the film that she has made with Jane Birkin, and I always identify a little bit with Jane because we’re about the same age. Agnès Varda captured the wonderful spirit in this documentary she made. It’s not a documentary with talking heads describing her. They just play around like two girlfriends.”
Check out the full list below.
Isabella Rossellini names her favourite movies of all time
- The Circus (Charlie Chaplin, 1928)
- Paisan (Roberto Rossellini, 1946)
- Journey to Italy (Roberto Rossellini, 1954)
- Jane B. par Agnès V. (Agnès Varda, 1988)
