TWO WOMEN / LA CIOCIARA (1960)

After acting in 20+ films over four years (clearing gambling debts; earning his only Oscar nom. in A FAREWELL TO ARMS/’57), Vittorio De Sica returned to the director’s chair for this well-received wartime drama taken from CONFORMIST author Alberto Moravia.  A WWII story about a thirty-something widow (Sophia Loren) and her 12-yr-old daughter fleeing bombs in Rome for safety in her small hometown village, the journey not only dangerous & difficult, but reception something of a gamble: food, armed forces, friends all unknown.  Months later, with the tide of the war beginning to turn, the pair find the road back to Rome only more dangerous.  Superbly handled by De Sica and cast, Loren stunning in every way imaginable as the youngish mother and Jean-Paul Belmondo a happy surprise as the local, idealistic intellectual, likely the only Communist in town, extremely winning with a delicate characterization.  (And note how well Raf Vallone finesses a cliché near-rape sequence.)  De Sica shows easy command handling mass movement, armed attacks (a terrifying blitz by a Moroccan Unit), strafing from war planes (‘ours’ or ‘theirs’?), a complete moviemaking technique too easily taken for granted in his early Neo-Realist days where he made it all look as if he simply ‘caught’ the action.  But while everything here is exemplary, it does give off a slight impersonal quality somewhat removed from De Sica at his best.  Note that communal activities retain much of what’s missing elsewhere, but a lot of the film could have been done by any good craftsman.  Though certainly not Loren where his special gift for getting the most out of nonprofessionals provides the same magical effect with her.*  This time even earning the first competitive Oscar ever won for a non-English language role.*  (Caveat emptor on lousy Public Domain editions.  Look for the fine Italian Restoration.)

ATTENTION MUST BE PAID: *Surprisingly, the De Sica magic doesn’t quite kick in with non-pro Eleonora Brown playing the 12-yr-old daughter.  She’s at that stage where her emotions quickly turn from 8 to 18, and the effort sometimes shows.

DOUBLE-BILL/LINK: *Comedy, of course, rarely wins competitive acting awards.  But for Loren/De Sica at their greatest, start with THE GOLD OF NAPLES/’54 (Loren stars in the second episode) or YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW/’63 (where she’s in all three).    https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2011/11/ieri-oggi-domani-yesterday-today-and.html