Review of La Strada (1954) by Lanning : — 30 Mar 2009
No question, this is my favorite Fellini. Masina is always good, but she truly shines in this one. I've seen terms as unkind as "retarded" and as kind -- if you can call it kind -- as "simple" used to describe her character here.
Flixsters, I'm here to argue that her character is neither retarded nor simple, and is certainly not "addle-brained." Up to the point of the murder, Gelsomina is what I would call innocent.
The word "sophisticated" used to mean something quite unlike what it means today. Nowadays, when we say someone is sophisticated, we are generally being complimentary. We mean that this person is quite worldly wise.
Originally, however, if you were labeled sophisticated, the connotation was not flattering. If you were called sophisticated, it meant that you were viewed as, roughly, being "ruined by the world.
" Your innocence was far behind you. You were damaged goods, and irreparably so. So up to the point where Quinn murders Basehart, Gelsomina is innocent in the ways of the world, lacking in life experiences which disabuse us of our innocence.
But from that point on she is ruined by the real world, sophisticated in the truest sense of the word, irreparably damaged by that experience. It is her psychic state post-murder that might -- might -- be termed "addled.
" Quinn is great in this one, and Basehart is astonishing. If you only ever see one Fellini, flixsters, this is the one I'd strongly recommend.
This review of La Strada (1954) was written by Lanning : on 30 Mar 2009.
La Strada has generally received very positive reviews.
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