Nights of Cabiria (1957)

Featuring: Giulietta Masina, Francois Perier. Director: Federico Fellini.

Warning: This movie is only supposed to be available for streaming until Jan. 1st. Act fast!

Giulietta Masina's face is so expressive it seems as though it was in her DNA to perform in silent films. I don't know if she ever was in any silent films or not, but every time I see her in a movie I just picture her with Charlie Chaplin hamming it up and holding  conversations with just their facial expressions. She seems to be from another time. A time when theatre was more important than the silver screen. Her energy, her deliberate awkwardness. I can't tell if she was brilliant or an idiot savant, but what I do know is that I absolutely cannot keep my eyes off of her.

Nights of Cabiria again pairs up Masina with famed  Italian director Federico Fellini, himself a bit of an odd bird. Together they tell the story of a prostitute who is jaded enough to expect those around her to hurt her, but hasn't yet reached the level of cynicism that keeps her from being hopeful of finding true love. As you can probably imagine, she's right in that sweet spot where she get hurts a lot. Masina, and by extension her character, has such a great spirit that somehow this movie keeps from devolving into a depressing mess. You want to follow her journey, you want her to succeed, even if you sort of suspect it's just going to turn bad in the end. After all, part of me thought she sort of suspected it as well.

Queue this one up, it's a ride worth taking and at the very least you can come back and tell me what you think of the enigma that is Giulietta Masina. There is just something about her I can't quite put my finger on.

Click here to add this to your Netflix queue.

According to Netflix this movie will stop streaming on 1/1/12. Of course, sometimes they lie.

The Standard 5:

Why is it in your queue? I watched La Strada a while back and I became interested in Fellini and incredibly intrigued with Giulietta Masina. Plus, just look at that poster. Awesome.

Is it artsy? It doesn't feel artsy but I guess it sort of is. It is in Italian.

What stood out the most to you? Giulietta Masina has the most expressive face I've ever seen in my life.

What mood should I be in to watch this movie? In the mood for something different.

What rating did you give it on Netflix? 4 Stars.  

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La Strada: Special Edition (1954)

Featuring: Anthony Quinn, Giulietta Masina, Richard Basehart. Director: Federico Fellini.

Warning: This movie will stop streaming on May 26th so act fast!

Sadly, The Criterion Collection is moving from Netflix over to Hulu Plus soon and many of their wonderful films are expiring in the next month or so. For those of you that are unfamiliar with Criterion, they are dedicated to taking the best films, completely restoring them and making them available in a way that they never have been before. They tend to restore films that mainstream audiences haven't really paid much attention to, but that film buffs love. Basically, expect a lot of Frederico Fellini, Francois Truffaut and Akira Kurosawa reviews on this site in the near future.

La Strada is a film from famed Italian director Frederico Fellini about an innocent, and very peculiar girl. She gets sold by her impoverished mother to a brutish traveling strongman who performs at circuses and on the streets to hustle up money. He's a drinker, a lover of whores and an all around unpleasant guy. He's played by Anthony Quinn who gives a brilliant performance. His counterpart, played by Giuletta Masina, was wonderful as well. Although, I have to admit, her character is probably one of the hardest to grasp that I've ever come across in cinema. I'm not sure if she is supposed to be simple, childish, stupid, or somehow the smartest one in the film.

I don't really get why she stays with Quinn's character, or really why anyone is the way they are. If you're the kind of person that needs answers by the end of a movie this probably won't be a film for you. Sometimes that annoys me, but with this film it added to the incredible charm and fancy of the film. Some of the moments are breathtaking in the most spectacularly ordinary ways. It's a gorgeous piece of cinema that shows the dirtiness of Italy at the time as well as it's striking beauty. As you can see from the last paragraph, it has left me full of contradictions and I couldn't be happier for it.

If you're adventurous enough to try movies that feel different, look different and are in a different language then you should try this one out. I really enjoyed my time with it even if I'm not exactly sure why. I know it's saying something about life and love but I have no idea what. That's part of the fun I think, because really, the whole thing could just be saying nothing and I wouldn't know.

Click here to add this movie to your Netflix queue.

According to Netflix this movie will stop streaming on 5/26/11. Of course, sometimes they lie.

The Standard 5:

Why is it in your queue? I've recently developed a new appreciation for Italian cinema.

Is it artsy? Yes, you could call it that. It's not a bunch of existential bull****, but I'd still call it artsy.

What stood out the most to you? Trying to figure that intriguing girl out. Well, that and the incredible setting and cinematography.

What mood should I be in to watch this movie? Open minded and with a childlike sense of awe.

What rating did you give it on Netflix? 4 Stars. 
Sorry, couldn't find a trailer in English.

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