LA STRADA

“There is no end. There is no beginning. There is only the passion of life.”- Federico Fellini

Movies are amazing not only because they entertain and amuse us, not only because they make us think and soul search, not only because they are art, but because they are also important social documents. I am sure that in the future many films will be used as an integral part of educational programs, in sociology, history, politics, anthropology and many other subjects at school and University. This function of film as a document of certain people at a certain time and place, behaving in a certain way, and interacting with each other in peculiar ways is an amazing function of film that is being underused even today. I am sure that many school subjects would be enhanced if they were accompanied by viewing of films from not only the early decades of the 20th century, but even of films from the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s!

We watched a classic Italian film from the 50s last Sunday and this was the third time I had watched it and enjoyed it as much as the first time that I ever did. It is Fellini’s “La Strada” of 1954. The film is a masterpiece of understatement and of the grim realism of the 50s of Italian cinema. Forget your tourist brochure, picture card and holiday snapshot views of Italy, this version of Italy is of a country that has almost bled to death in World War II, and which is trying desperately to survive. The desolate black and white wintry landscapes and the bare trees of the countryside compete with the miserable common people depicted in the film, in an effort to live and bloom again.

Fellini has constructed a fine drama, but also a social document and a takes a hard, critical view of the conditions that the populace has been forced to live in. The film is superficially simple and the story is not embellished with a subplot. Gelsomina a simple young woman from a poor family (played to perfection by Giulietta Masina) is sold by her mother to the itinerant strongman Zampanó (a young Anthony Quinn) who requires an assistant in his busking act. Gelsomina and Zampanó cannot stand one another, but also are bonded together in their struggle to survive and in their search for happiness. Their lot falls together with a travelling circus and a tightrope walker, “Il Matto” (the Madman, played by Richard Basehart) helps Gelsomina discover her purpose in life and where her happiness lies.

The film ends in tragedy, but the beautiful moments that embellish it, make of it a poetic and glorious document of optimism and beauty. Gelsomina does not have much to say, but she has to act with her eyes, her face, her hands, her body. Quinn plays the tough guy convincingly and he has his much needed epiphany later rather than sooner. Richard Basehart is young and plays with much gusto, while all supporting players are very good. The film score is perfect and the elegiac theme so suited to Gelsomina is quite beautiful.

The film won best Foreign Language film Oscar for 1954, and well-deserved it was! Watch it if you get hold of it, it shouldn’t be very hard to find.