Cinema listings with film information and movie reviews
La Strada
A rerelease of Federico Fellini's 1954 masterpiece, which collected the 1957 Academy Award as best foreign language film, and narrowly missed out on best original screenplay for the director and collaborator Tullio Pinelli. Giulietta Masina, the director's wife, is mesmerising as the innocent waif undone by the jealousy of her master, played with gusto by a rarely better Anthony Quinn. Fellini layers the film with his trademark visual imagery, including one of his most famous endings. The strongman Zampano (Quinn) needs an assistant for his touring act and purchases innocent maiden Gelsomina (Masina) from her mother. Zampano is abusive towards Gelsomina but her naivete shields her from the situation and subsequently leads her to the high-wire artist The Fool (Richard Basehart), with whom she falls in love. The Fool returns her affections and they plan to leave together but Zampano's jealousy and rage explode with tragic consequences.
