La Strada
Director:
Federico Fellini
Distributed by:
Lopert Pictures Corporation
Released:
May 1957
Country: Italy
Well, life is a road, it's a
motorway
And the road gets rocky along the
way
But if it gets too smooth it's time
to call it a day
--“The
Road,” by The Kinks
“The
Road,” or in Italian, “La Strada,” is used as a metaphor for “Life” in
literature, in song, and in film. Life is
full of anger, of innocence, and of course, of silliness. And sometimes those
three experiences exist for us simultaneously, each at battle with the
others for superiority within ourselves.
That’s maybe too heady for an amateur film reviewer like myself to
ponder, but I think it is exactly what Federico Fellini’s 1956 film La Strada is dealing with.
 |
| Anthony Quinn as Zampanò |
The story centers on Zampanò, played by American actor Anthony Quinn. He is a brutal and
angry street performer whose main talents seem to be bullying and getting
drunk. His performing assistant
has died, so he is replacing her, pretty involuntarily, with her sister
Gelsomina, played by Giulietta Masina, Fellini’s actress-wife. Gelsomina isn’t all that bright, but she is
sweet and sincere, which is what Zampanò needs in his life. The two of them stop every so often to perform
their act, which includes her comedic intro to his show of strength, in which
he wraps chains around himself and puffing his muscles out, breaks out of them. She isn’t thrilled with his brutishness, but
he teaches her how to play an instrument or two and she begins to take to him a
little, the way a mistreated dog might take to its master. Zampanò is determined to be the same lout he
has always been, but he can’t help but benefit a bit from Gelsomina’s wide-eyed
innocence.
 |
| Giulietta Masina as Gelsomina |
Eventually,
she has enough of his boorishness and tries to escape Zampanò, running away and joining a
traveling carnival. There, she meets a
clownish tightrope-walker simply referred to as “The Fool,” played by
another American, Richard Basehart. When
Zampanò comes looking for his assistant to get her back, he encounters The
Fool, and it’s clear they know each other.
Zampanò cannot stand The Fool, as he has no sense of humor; The Fool
doesn’t seem to dislike Zampanò really, but cannot stop himself from constantly
mocking him constantly. Gelsomina
eventually goes back with Zampanò, but she wishes he could lighten up a little. The Fool, really a friend to Gelsomina, and Zampanò
will collide again, and Gelsomina will have to decide if Zampanò is worth
staying with.
When
the anger of Zampanò encounters the innocence and naiveté of Gelsomina, the
question that could be asked is which will be affected by the other more? By the movie’s end, the question will be
answered fully, though perhaps not giving the viewer much satisfaction. I will say that though this was one of those
endings that confused me for its abruptness, after some thought, I believe it
to be brilliant.
 |
| Richard Basehart as The Fool |
La Strada deserves the distinction of being
the first Best Foreign Film to win the award in competition with other nominees
(the first eight movies given an award were given Honorary Awards with no
competition). Fellini was still in the
neo-realism phase of his career, so while there is some symbolism in this
story, it’s gritty and real with no dreams or bizarre asides. Fellini’s frequent musical collaborator, Nino
Rota, composed a score that included a lilting tune that his wife, Giulietta
Masina, requested be played at her funeral.
The pretty tune seems an appropriate sendoff for when the actress, who
represents innocence in this film, came to the end of her road.
The Title:
The Road.
The culture:
It’s interesting how
when Gelsomina’s sister dies at the beginning of the film, her mother
essentially sells her to Zampanò for 10,000 lire. The country was still suffering vast abject
poverty following the war. Also
interesting is Fellini’s use of American actors. If you watch the film in Italian, Quinn and
Basehart are dubbed; watch the English version and you will hear their voices,
with Masina’s voice oddly dubbed.
Fellini had no issue using actors who didn’t speak Italian, a method
used later by Sergio Leone.
Agenda
danger: Unlike
earlier neo-realist films, like De Sica’s The
Bicycle Theives, this film is largely without a political bent. While there is a real theme—the co-existence
in society of brutality and innocence—Fellini doesn’t appear to be hitting us
with a message.
Best
Picture that year: Around the World in 80 Days.
Rating: Martin Scorsese asserts that this film is the
best introduction to Fellini, and having seen Nights of Cabaria, 8½,
and Amacord, I agree. The characters draw you in, and
while his is vile and hateful, Zampanò is someone you cannot help but hope the
best for. His own self-loathing is what
harms him, and his introduction to the simple Gelsomina is his chance for
redemption. I thought this was a
terrific movie.
