Bellissima

The third film from Italian auteur Luchino Visconti is set amidst Rome's working class, but his earlier neorealist style is replaced here with a much denser dramatic approach. Anna Magnani powers this 1951 movie with a full-bodied portrayal of Maddalena Cecconi, a hardworking wife and mother who grooms her 5-year-old daughter, Maria (Tina Apicella), for a screen test—spending money the family can't afford on a longshot dream of success. Although Bellissima is both satire and sad commentary on the tawdry reality of the monetary side of show business, the characters' desperate attempts to survive hard times in postwar Rome make it more painfully human than humorous. Visconti deftly choreographs the chaos and cacophony of the city's vibrant culture, and at the center of every scene is Maddalena, a force of nature muscling her way through the maze of auditions and lessons, tossing off comments and complaints in a nearly nonstop stream-of-consciousness monologue that at times builds to shouting matches with neighbors, film personnel, and fellow stage mothers. Maddalena can be maddening, her will and her fantasies riding roughshod over good sense, but you have to respect her impassioned determination and love, and Magnani delivers a showcase performance in the role. A masterpiece of Italian cinema, this is highly recommended. (S. Axmaker)