154 - La Strada, 1954, Italy. Dir. Federico Fellini.

Saturday, June 3, 2017

154 - La Strada, 1954, Italy.  Dir. Federico Fellini.

Gelsomina lives by the sea.

She lives with her mother and she lives with her sisters down by the heart of the sea.

She has no father.  Her father is dead.  And her sisters come to tell her that her oldest sister has just died.

So Zampano comes to call.

Zampano is a big man who performs in street performances by breaking a chain with his bare chest.

He drives a truck wagon on a motorcycle.

He had married Gelsomina's older sister, and now that she is dead he has come to retrieve Gelsomina.

He pays her mother.  Her mother cries but sends her.  Gelsomina cries but goes with him.

She watches him perform his act.  While hiding inside the truck wagon.  He walks around telling the crowds of his mighty feats.  He will break the chain with his chest.  He breaks the chain with his chest.  He passes the hat.  He gets a little money.

Gelsomina grows to embrace her new way of life.  She plays the snare drum.  She plays the trumpet.  She clowns.  Makes faces.  Makes faces with her large and expressive eyes.

And she grows to love Zampano.

And Zampano, perhaps, loves her too.  He just does not know how to show it.  He bosses her.  Scolds her.  Is cruel to her.

So one day she discovers his competition.  A man walking a high wire tight rope.  Named in the film The Fool.

She enjoys his act.  Zampano grows jealous.  Things get out of hand.

Fellini has created in La Strada one of the world's most beloved films.

His real wife, Giuletta Masina, plays Gelsomina, a character who wears her heart on her face.

The great Mexican actor Anthony Quinn plays Zampano.

The American Richard Basehart plays The Fool.

All three people are simple people.  Emotional people.  Who live in the world of the street performer.

Watching Fellini is like watching the circus.  And a magic show.  And a carnival.  And listening to a fairy tale.  And reading the autobiography of a fictional character.  And humming a tune.

He has his own language that is unique to him.

He tells stories in ways that nobody else does.