La strada (1954)

Federico Fellini's film La strada (or The Road) is about a girl who is sold to a guy who performs circus-like acts. The guy (played by Anthony Quinn) is quite cruel to the girl. They perform a bunch of acts together and make some money. Most of the film deals with their relationship, or lack thereof. At one point they join a circus and Quinn's character gets in a bunch of fights with someone. Later on the film they run into this guy and Quinn kills him leaving the girl devastated. I suppose the film has some artistic qualities and deeper meaning, but I hated watching this.

The two main characters are played by Anthony Quinn and Fellini's wife, Giulietta Masina. I didn't particularly care for Quinn in this film. Part of this is due his character being one I didn't care for. Also, I didn't particularly care for his speaking voice as he has a heavy Mexican accent while speaking Italian. Normally I don't notice accents in foreign-language films, but I found his particularly irritating. Masina's performance was pretty good, but I didn't care about her character all that much either. The film also has a significant role played by American Richard Basehart. He sufficed in the film and I don't really have a lot to say about him.

Stylistically, this film is a famous example of Italian Neorealism. The film is set amongst the poor, working class and is shot on location. Unlike many neorealist films, the main actors here are professionals and Quinn was already quite famous having won an Oscar two years before. The film depicts everyday life although the story here isn't all that typical so I'm not sure how everyday this film really is. The only other Italian Neorealist film I have seen is Bicycle Thieves. Of the two films, this one is vastly inferior.

Overall, I would be hesitant to recommend this. While I hated it, this film was generally very well-received. It won an Oscar for best foreign language film and won the Silver Lion (runner-up) at the Venice film festival. Perhaps my dislike for this film comes from not having seen much of Fellini's work. This is only the second Fellini film I have seen (8½) and this film left me with a similar reaction.

61/100
D-