Review of Nights of Cabiria (1957) by Matt G — 31 Mar 2012

One of the saddest things I've ever seen. Cabiria is such a great character, with more depth than almost any I've ever seen. Masina's performance is one with a lot of heart and soul. She gives it her all in every shot, it seems. Once again, Fellini uses the mixture of materialism and religion in a way that the viewer feels both hopeless and hopeful at the same time when the credits roll. The film is very unbiased. It shows all aspects of society (the charity workers, the thieves, the celebrities with flaws but overall forgiving, the rich man who appears sincere but ends up being a thief). There is so much to watch this for. There are so many things to take away from it. This is probably my second favorite Fellini, jumping above La Dolce Vita.

Rewatch: I think this movie will always fascinate me. Such a layered portrait of a woman - the persona she performs constantly battling her truer inner self. And the place the film exists in, between the realist movement and the barely conceived magic realist ideology he'd further develop, illustrates how inventive this man really was. You can see Fellini's camerawork begin to mature towards the aesthetic he accomplishes in La Dolce VIta and 8 1/2.