Notes for La Strada

Film: La Strada

Year Of Release: 1954

Director: Federico Fellini

Notes from viewing number 1 (13.10.2021)

Rating: 10/10

- To start a film, hear Nino Rota's heavenly music, and then read: «Directed by Federico Fellini», is simply one of the great cinematic treats. It brings a smile to my face every time.

- I consider Giulietta Masina's turn in Nights Of Cabiria to be one of the great performances in cinema history, and she is somehow even better here. It's a stellar performance on every level. It's tragic, it's funny, it's innocent, it's expressive, it's subtle, it's perfect. It might even be a contender for the best female performance of all time! I now fully believe that Masina was one of the greatest actresses ever.

- La Strada is a melodrama, but it never feels like a melodrama. It never becomes too dramatic and always stays honest and truthful. It's message still resonates to this day, once again proving the timelessness of Fellini's films.

- Masina isn't the only great actor in La Strada. Anthony Quinn plays Zampano, a brutal strongman who seems like an intimidating and heartless womanizer, but in the end, his mask is ripped off. Quinn's performance is an incredibly raw one, and it stands as one of his best. Richard Basehart also gives a stellar performance as a clown and manages to give a surprising amount of depth.

- La Strada isn't one of Fellini's best films visually, but it sure is when it comes to the filmmaking. Fellini's direction is stunning, and the way he tells his story through composition, lighting and camera movement is stellar.

- La Strada isn't only Fellini's finest heartbreaker, but also one of Italy's finest melodramas, and maybe even one of the best tearjerkers ever made. A complete triumph.