Apart from Giulietta Massina's fine performance, I don't see why is this film considered so great. The fact that this movie starts and finishes in almost exactly the same way leaves much to be desired. I felt it like lack of imagination or ideas by the screenwriters and director. The main character stays always optimistic despite her harsh life, which makes her in a sense a feminine copy of De Sica's "Umberto D".
Massina plays a prostitute named Cabiria, who lives in the outskirts of Rome. She is full of vitality and is a free spirit, but at the same time naive: love blinds her. Her lovers are after her only for the money she has, and this deeply affects her, though she always tries to fight for a better life.
This films starts off fairly well, but then (as I've noticed in other Fellini works) becomes increasingly tedious. His films usually have 2 or 3 great scenes, but then again the rest leaves me cold. I also loathed the moralistic, preachy tone this movie has, which makes it quite schematic and unrealistic.
Review of Nights of Cabiria
