Runtime: 115 minutes
Directed by: Federico Fellini
Starring: Anthony Quinn, Giulietta Masina, Richard Basehart, Aldo Silvani, Marcella Rovena
From: Ponti-De Laurentiis Cinematografica
Only my second Fellini—but not the last.
Before checking this out last night on Turner Classic Movies, the only Fellini I had watched was 8 ½, which was great. As he's a legendary director it seemed like the opportune time to further discover why he has this reputation. Thankfully this was also a worthwhile motion picture, even if it's another one as of late which has women be abused, or has women weeping, or has serious drama where characters are in difficult situations so they're in agony.
On the surface the story seems to be simple but appearances are deceiving. Anthony Quinn is a strongman street performer who literally drives around and entertains audiences; he needs someone to literally pass around a hat and collect money so he buys a poor young woman from a poor family to be his assistant... not to mention a way to release his carnal desires. He bullies her and treats her like crap which is upsetting as she's a nice meek girl-but it is complicated as this is an abusive relationship so she still has developed feelings for him. It becomes even hairier once another street performer, known as The Fool as he's a clown... not in real life but he dresses up like one for performances.
I do not want to give away much else of the story except that it was incredibly compelling; of course it was filmed expertly by Fellini and among its many assets were the Nino Rota score, the devastating ending and the performances from the leads. Quinn and Richard Basehart were quality but new to me was the director's real life wife Giulietta Masina. She went through all the emotions: tears, laughter, the joy in her entertaining random children, anger at the brute she has a difficult partnership with, etc. She was tremendous in her part. Just note that this isn't a happy motion picture.
Afterward I read about how difficult the shoot was for Fellini-so bad that he had a nervous breakdown by the end. When La Strada was first released it was not universally acclaimed-it took time until it found the love that I think it deserves. While I know that some of the director's work may be too fanciful or odd for my tastes, but there are some things I imagine will be to my tastes.
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