Locals get a chance to see Fellini’s masterpiece on the big screen at Woodmere on April 21.
“La Strada,” Italian for “the road,” is a road movie about two traveling circus performers, Zampanò, portrayed by Anthony Quinn (“Zorba the Greek,” “Lawrence of Arabia”), and Gelsomina, played by Giulietta Masina (“Nights of Cabiria”). Zampanò is the circus strongman and a brute who buys young Gelsomina from her mother, then subjects her to a bitter and hard life on the road. But Gelsomina’s light and spritely spirit shines through, as she experiences the world naively and with wonder, becoming a musician and circus clown.
“La Strada” marked Federico Fellini’s move away from the neo-realism of his first three films, to more poetic storytelling with themes and film style that Fellini would continue to explore in “Nights of Cabiria,” “La Dolce Vita” and the more surrealist “8 ½.” “La Strada” marks the beginning of the best movies of one of the best filmmakers of all time. Other masters of cinema count it as a favorite as well as personally influential, including Akira Kurosawa and Martin Scorsese. Scorsese has said that the self-destructive and brutal qualities of Zampanò can be seen in “Taxi Driver” and “Raging Bull.”
Fellini based the character Gelsomina on his wife, Giulietta Masina. Early sketches of the character were drawn from photos of Masina as a child. Producers pushed for different actresses but Fellini was firm about this casting choice and he was right. There is no “La Strada” without Masina. Compared to Charlie Chaplin in her innocent physical comedy, it’s Masina’s incredibly expressive face, as much as anything else in the film, that takes us to spiritual and poetic heights as well as the depths of despair.
Unlike “La Dolce Vita” and “8 ½,” which embodies 1960s Italian chic, “La Strada” is almost timeless, more like a fable. Its dreamy and melancholy mythology is recognizable on the subconscious level; strength versus weakness, brutality versus tenderness, harsh reality versus fragile dreams. Quinn and Masina have various run-ins with Richard Basehart, who plays Il Matto, a high-wire artist. Together the three of them could be explored as archetypes, the Beast, the Clown, the Fool. But it is their piercingly poignant humanity that makes “La Strada” a masterpiece. It’s Fellini’s compassion and understanding of the human soul that make him Fellini. Above the “Felliniesque” circuses, parades, memory, fantasy, earthiness and eccentricity is his masterful ability to get to the truth of us and bring us on that journey with him.
“La Strada” screens at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 21, as part of the Tuesday Nights at the Movies series at Woodmere’s Maguire Hall. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and light refreshments will be provided prior to the screening. Tuesday Nights at the Movies screenings are free to the public, but donations are greatly appreciated.
