Rating: 4.5/5
Criterion Challenge 2023 | 28/52 | Jane Campion’s Top 10
Gelsomina (Giulietta Masina) gathers branches on the beach. Her younger siblings say a man named Zampanò (Anthony Quinn) arrived.
Zampanò informs everyone that Rosa, Gelsomina’s sister, and his previous partner, died. He wants a replacement and will pay.
The mother accepts his offer and sells him Gelsomina, needing the money to feed her children.
— I told you, she's not like Rosa. But she's a good girl, poor thing. She'll do what she's told. She just came out a little strange. — Of course, I can even train dogs.
Gelsomina cries, not wanting to leave, but her mother begs. Also, singing and dancing like Rosa appeals to her.
Zampanò works as a strongman, binding himself with chains and breaking them. He follows the same routine, repeating his script and performance.
He tries to teach her to play the snare drum. She doesn’t catch on immediately, so he whips her legs with a switch.
Gelsomina tries to talk to Zampanò. He is cagey and does not answer her questions directly.
Instead, he picks up a woman, abandoning Gelsomina on the streets overnight.
Gelsomina wanders through town, encountering The Fool’s high-wire performance. He makes her eyes glow, and he can’t help but smile back.
They join a circus where The Fool performs. The Fool challenges Zampanò, insulting Zampanò and disrupting his show, infuriating Zampanò.
Zampanò cannot escape the attention of Gelsomina or The Fool. He makes a choice that will change his life forever.
This movie is a morality tale that Fellini writes to himself. The main characters each represent a distinct part of himself, regardless of whether he loves or wants them within him. The movie explores the relentless journey of life. Sometimes it’s a wedding. Other times it’s a circus.
The Fool comes out of the tarot. He represents fresh starts. He has the mind of a child. Also, he signifies reckless abandon that gets him in trouble.
Gelsomina epitomizes love and humor. She brings light and joy to everyone. With that comes a disconnect from reality. Many interpretations categorize her as developmentally disabled, but I’m not sure about that.
Zampanò is a hardened realist, angry at the world and himself, self-destructive and violent. He is also a human being worthy of love.
Fellini shares the neorealist value of Franciscan compassion that extends to all living beings, regardless of their goodness or badness.
Gelsomina’s love for Zampanò is not romantic but a compassionate one. She sees more than we know and knows Zampanò’s capacity to change.
This movie bridges Fellini’s neorealism period and his autobiographical period. The other neorealist filmmakers lambasted this movie for abandoning the social and “reverting” to the metaphorical.
The same lesson still applies. Life has room for all stories. Expansion and openness are some of the greatest gifts we can receive. Sometimes, we need a Gelsomina to remind us.
Jane Campion compared the movie to “The Ancient Mariner” and said, “One cannot insult innocence without a lifetime of cost.”