Federico Fellini's tale about a prostitute named Cabiria (Giulietta Masina) is a tale about trying to escape your own life, which has become unbearable. Cabiria works as a prostitute, and she's not had the best of luck when it comes to men, or anything for that matter. The film is a collection of scenes with her as she tries just about everything to break the mold. She tries anger and shouting. She tries friendship. She tries religion. Just about everything. But it all seems to circle around, over and over again.
Masina is very good in her role. Her Cabiria is a vulnerable little thing, whose bark is just about everything she has. Even when she's acting tough, because there's really nothing else to do, you can see that she's one step away from crying. And that makes her sympathetic.
The film is also shot well, as expected from a director as renowned as Fellini. The locations are interesting, the camera moves well and the scenes are constructed nicely.
Yet I can't really claim that I liked the film. And that's because the film is frankly speaking depressing. Cabiria is a writhing ball of misery, all the people around her are either indifferent or using her for their own gains, and whenever there seems to be hope in sight, it turns out to be false. Sure, that's very much intentional, but it still means that you leave the film feeling downtrodden. And the film offers nothing in return. It simply wants to show you that this exists.
Masina is very good in her role. Her Cabiria is a vulnerable little thing, whose bark is just about everything she has. Even when she's acting tough, because there's really nothing else to do, you can see that she's one step away from crying. And that makes her sympathetic.
The film is also shot well, as expected from a director as renowned as Fellini. The locations are interesting, the camera moves well and the scenes are constructed nicely.
Yet I can't really claim that I liked the film. And that's because the film is frankly speaking depressing. Cabiria is a writhing ball of misery, all the people around her are either indifferent or using her for their own gains, and whenever there seems to be hope in sight, it turns out to be false. Sure, that's very much intentional, but it still means that you leave the film feeling downtrodden. And the film offers nothing in return. It simply wants to show you that this exists.