La Strada (1954)
I was actually really excited to watch La Strada. I own a copy of The Nights of Cabiria, so I was looking forward to seeing another wonderfully acted performance by Giulietta Masina. Both Federico Fellini films won Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards, so I thought I’d be watching a quality movie, albeit a tragic one given his style. La Strada is one of the worst old movies I’ve ever seen.
I rented the film on Netflix, and the synopsis described the heroine as “gentle” and said she becomes involved in a love triangle. It deemed the film a “powerful rumination on love and hate”. On Imdb, the lead is described as “carefree”. I’m going to save you the trouble and spoil something you’ll find out in the opening scene of the film: Giulietta Masina plays someone retarded. She isn’t gentle and she isn’t carefree; she’s retarded. I don’t know why the two main film sites didn’t describe her accurately. Also, if you’re expecting a love triangle, you’re going to be severely disappointed because there’s no romance in the story whatsoever. And as far as a “powerful rumination on love and hate”, there’s neither love nor hate felt by any of the characters! I don’t think I’m spoiling anything, I’m just clarifying the plot.
What is the plot, you ask? A mentally retarded woman is sold by her mother to the same one-man circus performer who previously owned her dead sister. They travel on the road together and even though she’s treated terribly, she feels it’s her duty to stand by him and act as his assistant. That’s it; that’s the plot.
Either Giulietta had never seen a retarded person before or she was given terrible direction by her husband and director Fellini, but her performance was so awful, after the first hour I wound up fast forwarding her lengthy mute scenes. She has the same expression on her face the entire movie: eyes bulging, eyebrows raised, and a thin, toothless smirk. She acts like an absolute moron—I’m not being mean, I’m describing how inaccurate her performance was—but then gets little “normal person” zaps randomly throughout the movie. For example, she’s clearly brain damaged and unable to take direction from Anthony Quinn when he tries to train her to be his circus assistant. It’s nighttime and Tony tells her to get inside the covered wagon where they’re supposed to sleep. Immediately, this brain damaged idiot knows what he means, and she tries to play it cool, asking if they can wait until tomorrow. If she was really as brain damaged as she appeared to be in the previous scene, she wouldn’t know what he meant—she probably wouldn’t understand what was happening at all. Instead, she has the wherewithal to try and put him off? That’s some pretty fast thinking. Then, afterwards, Tony is shown sleeping while Giulietta is awake. She frowns and wipes her tears, then looks over at him and gives her ridiculous smile, then frowns again. If you think that’s good acting, you might actually like this movie. I thought she stunk. To me, her performance was uneven and insulting to truly retarded people.
I rented the film on Netflix, and the synopsis described the heroine as “gentle” and said she becomes involved in a love triangle. It deemed the film a “powerful rumination on love and hate”. On Imdb, the lead is described as “carefree”. I’m going to save you the trouble and spoil something you’ll find out in the opening scene of the film: Giulietta Masina plays someone retarded. She isn’t gentle and she isn’t carefree; she’s retarded. I don’t know why the two main film sites didn’t describe her accurately. Also, if you’re expecting a love triangle, you’re going to be severely disappointed because there’s no romance in the story whatsoever. And as far as a “powerful rumination on love and hate”, there’s neither love nor hate felt by any of the characters! I don’t think I’m spoiling anything, I’m just clarifying the plot.
What is the plot, you ask? A mentally retarded woman is sold by her mother to the same one-man circus performer who previously owned her dead sister. They travel on the road together and even though she’s treated terribly, she feels it’s her duty to stand by him and act as his assistant. That’s it; that’s the plot.
Either Giulietta had never seen a retarded person before or she was given terrible direction by her husband and director Fellini, but her performance was so awful, after the first hour I wound up fast forwarding her lengthy mute scenes. She has the same expression on her face the entire movie: eyes bulging, eyebrows raised, and a thin, toothless smirk. She acts like an absolute moron—I’m not being mean, I’m describing how inaccurate her performance was—but then gets little “normal person” zaps randomly throughout the movie. For example, she’s clearly brain damaged and unable to take direction from Anthony Quinn when he tries to train her to be his circus assistant. It’s nighttime and Tony tells her to get inside the covered wagon where they’re supposed to sleep. Immediately, this brain damaged idiot knows what he means, and she tries to play it cool, asking if they can wait until tomorrow. If she was really as brain damaged as she appeared to be in the previous scene, she wouldn’t know what he meant—she probably wouldn’t understand what was happening at all. Instead, she has the wherewithal to try and put him off? That’s some pretty fast thinking. Then, afterwards, Tony is shown sleeping while Giulietta is awake. She frowns and wipes her tears, then looks over at him and gives her ridiculous smile, then frowns again. If you think that’s good acting, you might actually like this movie. I thought she stunk. To me, her performance was uneven and insulting to truly retarded people.
Next up in Anthony Quinn. I have no idea why he agreed to take this part. He plays a very bad man, who’s simultaneously brutish, vulgar, mean, and pathetic. His voice was dubbed—as was Richard Basehart—by an Italian actor, which didn’t really make any sense. Giulietta, the only Italian of the major leads, hardly had any lines—why didn’t they make it in English and have her dubbed?
Anthony Quinn is a very talented, handsome, magnetic actor. If this is the first movie of his you watch, you will never believe he has any of those qualities. With exception to his last scene—which I will not say anything about—he does nothing besides a ridiculous “strong man” circus act and treat his assistant badly.
I can’t stress enough how much I don’t recommend this movie. I have actually talked for a full hour about why this movie was so awful, to those willing to listen. La Strada is a very famous, revered classic, endorsed by the Vatican and cited as Pope Francis’s favorite film. If you share any of my tastes, stay away from this movie. One last thing to keep in mind: I liked The Nights of Cabiria so much I bought a copy and have watched it several times—and I still hated La Strada.
DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie will not your friend. I actually watched this movie with my mom and it made her sick the rest of the day, because of the shaky camerawork during the driving scenes and some distracting background elements during the circus scenes. In other words, “Don’t Look, Mom!”
More Richard Basehart movies here!
More Anthony Quinn movies here!
Anthony Quinn is a very talented, handsome, magnetic actor. If this is the first movie of his you watch, you will never believe he has any of those qualities. With exception to his last scene—which I will not say anything about—he does nothing besides a ridiculous “strong man” circus act and treat his assistant badly.
I can’t stress enough how much I don’t recommend this movie. I have actually talked for a full hour about why this movie was so awful, to those willing to listen. La Strada is a very famous, revered classic, endorsed by the Vatican and cited as Pope Francis’s favorite film. If you share any of my tastes, stay away from this movie. One last thing to keep in mind: I liked The Nights of Cabiria so much I bought a copy and have watched it several times—and I still hated La Strada.
DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie will not your friend. I actually watched this movie with my mom and it made her sick the rest of the day, because of the shaky camerawork during the driving scenes and some distracting background elements during the circus scenes. In other words, “Don’t Look, Mom!”
More Richard Basehart movies here!
More Anthony Quinn movies here!