neo-realism

Neo-realism is an influential movement of the late 1940s and 1950s that originated in Italy. Inaugurated by Jean Renoir, but associated with Italian post-war directors (Rossellini, Visconti, and De Sica). Neo-realism refers to films made outside the studio, with shooting on real locations, sometimes the absence of a script and/or non-professional casts and actors, all designed simultaneously to cut costs and increase the impression of spontaneity. Neo-realistic films often deal with contemporary social and political issues. See also "naturalism."