Review of La Strada (1954) by Pat R — 10 Dec 2003

[b]Warning: Spoilers.[/b].

I have to admit, I got weepy near the end. When Zampano realized what he had done to the dim-witted Gelsomina, how he had crushed her innocent sense of awe by killing The Fool, it just was... so tragic.

Now, sadly, I haven't seen too many Fellini films, but you can blame that one my reluctancy to return my netflix and my local blockbuster's lack of a foriegn film section. So when I was browsing a local store's DVD collection, and saw Fellini's name on the cover of [i]La Strada[/i], I decided it was worth the money to blind buy the DVD. Hell, I mean, how bad could the guy who gave us [i]8 1/2[/i] do?

Thank the heavens and Hi-C (but not the crappy green-flavor), he did freakin' well. It's a relatively simple story, and it's not as abstract as [i]8 1/2[/i], but it works.

It does seem kinda syrupy at times, a tad too sentimental for its own good, but that doesn't mar [i]La Strada[/i] too much.

Gelsomina is a slow, child-like woman that was sold to a "traveling artist" (he just does one crappy trick involving a chain) Zampano by her poor mother. Zampano is a callous, oppressive man, who dominates over the fragile Gelsomina. They tour Italy together, performing at weddings, carnivals, etc. Gelsomina grows attached to Zampano, despite his behavior towards her. As a less-than-suble symbolic image suggests, without Zampano, she's literally a horse without an owner.

After Gelsomina tries fruitlessly to escape and return to her home by the sea, she is awe-struck by The Fool, a tight-rope walker she later befriends. The Fool is a playful character, as his name so bluntly states. He's such a polar opposite from Zampano who is so hardened by life, he barely shows any emotion until the last scene-- a stark contrast to a man who plays a miniature violin indeed. But, later on, when they all meet up and join the same circus, you realize that tjere are a lot of parallels between them.

For instance, they can both be cruel. The Fool constantly taunts Zampano, just because he likes to. He constantly makes bad decisions, and because of it, he contributes to his own demise.

Zampano mistreats someone, and while it doesn't kill him, he loses his only chance at love.

This idea of self destruction is rampant throughout [i]La Strada-- [/i]all the main characters end up hurting themselves. For instance, Gelsomina has plenty times to escape Zampano, but chooses not to. This masochistic facet of her keeps her attached to Zampano, no matter what he does to her.

Now, this movie as another point: finding a purpose in life. Gelsomina, after being subjected to Zampano's cruel treatment, comes to believe that she's worthless. She can't cook, she isn't bright, she can't follow instructions all too well either. After Zampano is put in jail for attempting to kill The Fool, she laments to him that she wishes she had never been born-- a harsh statement, to put it lightly. The Fool cheers her up, and convinces her to return to Zampano, because, honestly, he would not keep her if she was useless. This strange reasoning keeps her going throughout most of the remainder of the film. This is also the one reason why she sticks with Zampano-- if she [i]doesn't[/i] have a purpose, at least he might like her!

We learn later, at a convent no less, that she does have a purpose-- she plays the trumpet [i]beautifully[/i]. Earlier in the film, Zampano does not allow her to do so-- it's a subtle sign that he learns to care for her, just as she does for him. They leave the convent, and head out to travel on the caravan to a festival. On the way, as fate would have it, they meet up with the Fool, who has a flat tire. Zampano, being the surly bastard he is, punches the Fool while Gelsomina begs him to stop.

He does, and The Fool walks around for a little bit, keels over and dies. Gelsomina is heartbroken, and her joy for life, which she had briefly lost but regained, was gone forever. Winter rolls around (and as I've hinted before, some of the symbols here are kinda obvious) and Gelsomina hasn't spoken for days.

When she does, it's nothing more than, "The Fool is hurt!"-- which acts like salt in Zampano's wounds. He is constantly reminded of his wrong-doing because of Gelsomina, and because of it, decides to leave her. While stopping off at the ruins of a building, covered with snow, Zampano sneaks off while she's sleeping, leaving her a dying fire, a blanket, money, and the only joy left in her life-- the trumpet.

The movie flashes forward a couple of years, where Zampano is in a circus again, performing his stupid chain-and-hook trick. He goes for a walk, and hears a dulcet tune-- the song Gelsomina used to play on her trumpet. He inquires from the woman singing it where she had hear it, and she reveals that a trumpet player taught it to her. Unfortunately, she'd died four or five years ago, after the woman's family had discovered her on a beach, sick with fever. She didn't speak, or eat for a while. But soon, she began to play the trumpet in gratitude of her caregivers. After she passed away, they tried to figure out who she was-- I mean, she'd literally washed up on the shore! But, alas, they couldn't fit the pieces together, and Gelsomina's identity remained a mystery to them.

Zampano, now overwhelmed with grief, gets drunk and becomes hostile, remarking to the barkeeper who throws him out that he'll be, "Alone! Alone!" He saunters to the sea, and in the liked for him, and he truly cared for her and had hurt her so many times, Zampano cries out to the ocean, looking for the love he would never find.

Sorry for any grammar mistakes, it's kinda late.