Review of La Strada (1954) by Neeti M — 20 Dec 2010
A film with one foot in neorealism and one in something entirely different, something entirely Fellini. This was the Italian auteur's real kickstart, the movie that both announced his arrival to the international film circuit and stated loudly and clearly that his style was something very new.
The "main" character, Gelsomina, starts as something of a clown, and Fellini's casting of Giulietta Masina (his wife, who manages to give a Harpo Marx-esque performance) ensures that we look at her like the rest of the world does: as a child.
But as the second act commences our perspective begins to be forced in another direction; Gelsomina is abused in more ways than one, and her loyalty to Zampanò (played with extraordinary intensity by Anthony Quinn) begins to stray away from innocent infatuation and starts to become disconcerting.
The third act sets the film on fire; Fellini opens his story up right at the point where most other directors would close it off and allows Quinn to kick a hole right through his character, enshrouding the morals that have been established previously in doubt and transforming the story's focus.
The final image is haunting, echoing the tiny moments of insignificant detail Fellini sprinkles his film with- moments of disturbing clarity.
This review of La Strada (1954) was written by Neeti M on 20 Dec 2010.
La Strada has generally received very positive reviews.
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