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Thanks for the memories!

Simply A Masterpiece

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

This is the 3rd Luchino Visconti film that I've watched, the other two being 'Ossessione' and 'La Terra Trema'. What's interesting about these 3 films is that although all of them contain the quintessential neo-realist backdrop of post war Italian helplessness and melancholy, each of them have a distinct and separate tone to them. 'Ossessione' was an erotic thriller and 'La Terra Trema' was a socially conscious family drama. 'Bellissima' on the other hand has a much more lighthearted comedic tone. The central element of a mother desperately wanting her daughter to win a talent contest serves the same thematic purpose as the actual bicycle in De Sica's 'Bicycle Thieves'. It represents something deeper about the mother and also the post war Italian working class in general. The film also features a really confident, assertive and dynamic performance by the great Anna Magnani. She drives the film forward through sheer personality. However having said all that, I don't think 'Bellissima' comes anywhere close to reaching the heights of 'Ossessione' and 'La Terra Trema' which I think are masterpieces. It's worth a watch, but I don't think it is a film to desperately seek out.

I was really disappointed with this movie. Perhaps it had something to do with Mama Roma which I had just watched. I did not find Magnoni realistic for the part. She was acting so hard it hurt me. I can understand a mother who pursues an acting chance for her child but this mother took it to excess and then threw away the opportunity she had "sacrificed" so much for. The ending of the movie was ridiculous - she returns from the screen test to find a contract waiting for her, and at 2,000,000 lira to boot, and can find nothing to say but that she is hurt that her daughter was used as a fun object and laughed at. With the brazenness and unfeeling attitude she displayed all through the film I could not find her rejection of a contract believable in the least.We were supposed to see her husband as a brutish lout but he just did not appear that way. He seemed the sensible parent, not like the mother. She made a show of showing the way she was beaten but there were no signs at all. And when she said to him at the end about slapping her it was not realistic at all. That part was just in the story I suppose to make her a repository of our sympathies. But it just did not work. In my opinion he was a much better parent than she.I am am not sure why people find Magnoni a compelling actress. She is earthy and annoying. She seems one-dimensional to me. I could not see much difference in her performances in this film and Mama Roma.

It was as if I had taken a time machine back to 1951. Sitting at the open theater of Tiberina Island in Rome, Anna Magnani's voice bounced off the ancient angles of this stunning roman spot. "Bellissima" is a timeless masterpiece. A rarity in Visconti's oeuvre. He puts all of his uncanny attention to detail to the service of Magnani's bombastic, tender, funny, extraordinary performance. Visconti knew how to bring the best in his actors. Even Maria Callas who, under Visconti's guidance, went from the greatest Opera singer to the greatest actress singing Opera. There are moments in "Bellissima" that can only be described as a love letter from Visconti to Magnani and vice versa. She has a few close ups that tells us how much love, respect and admiration existed between this two enormous artists. Look at her moments in the mirror, combing her hair naturally, debating under her breath the proper pronunciation of a word. She, not a conventional beauty, looks ravishing. The message about the dangers of immediate fame and fortune could have been written today. If you have a chance, don't miss it. If you love film, it's a must!

In a post-war Italy, Maddalena Cecconi (Anna Magnani) is a woman from the lower classes abused by her husband Spartaco Cecconi (Gastone Renzelli), who is obsessed to make her young daughter Maria (Tina Apicella) a star in the cinema industry. She expects a better life for Maria, and she sacrifices her marriage and her savings paying interpretation and ballet teachers, dress, hairdresser and bribe for the small time crook Alberto Annovazzi (Walter Chiari) to make her dream come true. When the director sees the test of Maria, Maddalena realizes the reality and cruelty of the entertainment industry."Belissima" is a beautiful tale of disillusion. Anna Magnani has a magnificent interpretation in a role of a very poor mother and frustrated woman, spanked by her husband, trying to give a better life for her young daughter. Living nearby a movie theater, she sees the opportunity when a famous director is chasing a young talent for his next movie. Her characters gives the best effort within her short culture and vision trying to make her dream comes true, being very touching the moment when her dreams are shattered. The direction of Luchino Visconti is precise and flawless as usual, and the story is very real and credible. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "Belíssima" ("Very Beautiful")