Review of Bellissima (1952) by Evan K — 09 Feb 2016

An interesting part of this film was the scene when Maria is crying during the filming of the screen test. The camera is on Maria and her mother in the projector room when suddenly it shifts to the screen they are watching. The viewer is now presented with an extreme close-up of Maria. This is similar to the ending scene in The Bicycle Thief when the audience comes face to face with an intense, close-up shot of Bruno. This seems characteristic of neorealism filmmakers to isolate a child in a dramatic way.

Bellissima was primarily characterized by medium shots in which the figures and parts of the background were visible. However, in this dramatic shot featuring Maria, it is clear that Visconti wanted to not only visually confront the viewer but also emotionally confront the viewer. Moreover, this tactic visually cues the viewer to recognize that the climax is taking place.