In 1943 Italy, there is no place to hide for Cesira and her 12-year-old daughter, Rosetta.
They flee Allies-ravaged Rome for the countryside, only to find more bombing there -- even a cyclist on a dirt path is unspared. Worse, there are leering, gun-packing militiamen, ruthless German troops hiding in haystacks, and, most threateningly, Goumiers marauding out of control.
This neo-realist work from Vittorio da Sica creates an absorbing portrait of WWII peasant life, where political rivalries split families -- only some choose to wear the fascist pin -- and grass can be a meal of last resort.
Sophia Loren does OK as sexy, doting mom Cesira, so desperate to protect Rosetta (Eleonora Brown) that she unwittingly veers into harm's way. Though she has repeatedly cheated death, Cesira shows naivete on their homeward trek, choosing a bombed-out church for sleep, rather than a hidden culvert somewhere, a life-altering miscalculation.
This film begins with an intriguing subplot, in which Cesira is seduced by a lusty neighbor. However, once she has fled the capital, the movie never returns to the affair.
The film's final scene also leaves one dangling. With all the mayhem that has preceded it, the end of the journey likely won't go well, either. However, the viewer feels nudged, unconvincingly, to dare to believe otherwise.
In the end, this a poignant but incomplete work.
They flee Allies-ravaged Rome for the countryside, only to find more bombing there -- even a cyclist on a dirt path is unspared. Worse, there are leering, gun-packing militiamen, ruthless German troops hiding in haystacks, and, most threateningly, Goumiers marauding out of control.
This neo-realist work from Vittorio da Sica creates an absorbing portrait of WWII peasant life, where political rivalries split families -- only some choose to wear the fascist pin -- and grass can be a meal of last resort.
Sophia Loren does OK as sexy, doting mom Cesira, so desperate to protect Rosetta (Eleonora Brown) that she unwittingly veers into harm's way. Though she has repeatedly cheated death, Cesira shows naivete on their homeward trek, choosing a bombed-out church for sleep, rather than a hidden culvert somewhere, a life-altering miscalculation.
This film begins with an intriguing subplot, in which Cesira is seduced by a lusty neighbor. However, once she has fled the capital, the movie never returns to the affair.
The film's final scene also leaves one dangling. With all the mayhem that has preceded it, the end of the journey likely won't go well, either. However, the viewer feels nudged, unconvincingly, to dare to believe otherwise.
In the end, this a poignant but incomplete work.