1956 Winner, La Strada

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.