Thematic trilogies are fascinating and exciting. Though characters may reappear, they are really trilogies around a theme or fascination or concern. Italian master Roberto Rossellini rose to the top of world cinema in the 1940's with his trilogy of movies focused on World War II and its immediate after effects: Rome, Open City (1945), Paisan (1946), and Germany Year Zero (1948).  The first two movies deal with the war and the occupation of Italy first by Nazis then by American soldiers. The last movie suddenly jumps into the belly of the beast and examines immediate post-WWII deprivation from the point of view of a German boy and his struggling family in a bombed out Berlin.  These movies helped create and define Italian neo-realism and shared a singular focus on war's effects on everyday people. Secret Movie Club founder.programmer Craig Hammill talks about these movies and other interesting thematic trilogies like Wong Kar Wai's Love trilogy and Steven Spielberg's 9/11 trilogy along the way.