Director
Federico Fellini
Leading Actors/Actresses
Anthony Quinn, Giulietta Masina, Richard Basehart
Supporting Actors/Actresses
Aldo Silvani, Marcella Rovere, Livia Venturini
Genre
Drama
Language
Italian
Awards
Won Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, Nominated for Academy Award for Best Writing - Original Screenplay
Date of Release
1954
Producer
Dino De Laurentiis, Carlo Ponti
Setting and Context
Post War Italy on the road to Rome
Narrator and Point of View
The point of view is that of Gelsomina.
Tone and Mood
Dramatic and serious with touches of comedy.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is Gelsomina and the antagonist is Zampano
Major Conflict
Zampano will not open up and connect with Gelsomina, practically ignoring her completely and brutalizing her.
Climax
Zampano kills The Fool and leaves the body and his car behind. Soon after he leaves Gelsomina on the side of the road when she can't let go of the death of The Fool.
Foreshadowing
The Fool tells us that Zampano has so many years ahead of him, and that he is the one who is going to die.
Understatement
Fellini understates the love that Zampano has for Gelsomina. So much so that Zampano hardly knows it until Gelsomina plays her song on the trumpet for the first time.
Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques
n/a
Allusions
We see a horse walking by Gelsomina in the street during the night. The sounds of the horses hooves alludes to the loneliness that Gelsomina is experiencing after Zampano has deserted her for a prostitute.
Paradox
Zampano takes Gelsomina away from the poverty that she is living in. It is seen as a dream for her to explore the world and become an artist. The paradox is the pain that she will experience on the road as she attempts to fulfill this dream.
Parallelism
The first and last shots of this film parallel each other. They are a representation of Gelsomina and Zampano. The opening with the young girl is during the day as she is gather wood, while the ending is with Zampano in the darkness of night groveling in the sand from the loss of Gelsomina.
