"Senso" is an early masterpiece by Luchino Visconti. In layman's terms, the film, set in Venice - Ardeno - Verona at the end of the 19th century, tells the story of an affair between a countess on the defeated side and an Austrian military officer from the occupying power, and the highlights of the film are the opulent sets, art and costumes, the large number of extras and the performances of the two leads. The production, with very few close-ups and mainly fixture shots, is extremely rigorous and precise. From the point of view of the current audience, Visconti uses the mob scene merely as a backdrop to show the process of their "depravity," and in that light, the director's interest may have been more in the individual's state of mind than in the history of the film. It is interesting that the two characters are diametrically opposed in every aspect of their sex, position, and status, yet they take the same poor actions. They are two sides of a coin, if you will.
