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How Naples has changed… crushed by the coils of a Hydra to which even Hercules succumbs. In 1954, the Sanità district, where most of the film was shot, though already infected by the germs of wrongdoing, could still be described as a neighborhood imbued with every factor guaranteeing Naples' identity. Perhaps, as Luciano De Crescenzo said a few decades later, the last hope for the human race. Today, the glimpses of the neighborhood show few differences from Baghdad, if not for the buildings shattered by bombs in the latter. Little gold remains, and that negligible quantity that lies today between crime and indifference tries to resist with heroic courage.
Vittorio De Sica, based on a formidable idea by Cesare Zavattini derived from a collection of short stories by Giuseppe Marotta, offers us a clear, yet colorful x-ray, lush, yet nostalgic, inimitable, yet torn rendition of the "belly" of Naples. Thank you, Matilde.
Produced by Carlo Ponti and Dino De Laurentiis (who knows why among the protagonists are Fantoni "Ph" Cesira and Silvana Mangano, well...), audacious both in photography with a wonderful black and white (Carlo Montuori) and in editing (Eraldo Da Roma), the work is divided into six episodes that somehow represent the symbols, the victorious banners, the shining amulets of that city which is now, unfortunately, almost disappeared.
Il guappo. A Totò highlighted by an extraordinary prowess, dons the tails and related Bourbon-style accessories of the "Pazzariello", namely the one who takes care of the inauguration, complete with a grand announcement and a supporting band, of a new shop. A shoulder offered to mourn widowhood turns into the usurpation of material and immaterial affections, by a neighborhood rascal. It will be an indigestion mistaken for a heart attack that gives the poor pazzariello the courage to humiliate and uproot the malign weed from his home. In this episode, the added value is provided by two exceptional character actors: Pasquale Cennamo and Nino Vingelli.
Pizze a credito. Sophia Loren is the attractive yet/and unfaithful wife of a jealous and impulsive pizzaiolo. An emerald ring forgotten in the den of adultery tickles the nerves of the husband who, to retrieve the expensive token of love, does not stop even in front of the theatrical and crocodile-like grief of a freshly widowed man. Giacomo Furia goes beyond himself and Paolo Stoppa masterfully turns into farce what should be a dramatic context. Among the consolers, the very talented Tecla Scarano and a young Gigi Reder, a slight victim of a broken mirror well before becoming the very popular accountant Filini...
Funeralino. The unheralded (perhaps the best) Teresa De Vita plays the role of a woman who has lost her child. Acting almost by inertia, she carries out the mother's last wishes during the small, fairytale, funeral procession. To the angel about to take flight, she dedicates, with the poorly concealed hesitation of the carriage driver, the passage "along the Great Road," namely the Caracciolo seafront, not yet ravaged by vehicular traffic at the time. Today it would be unthinkable. To the sparse stream of mourners join the schoolmates escorted by the teachers. It takes just some sugared almonds scattered under the gaze of Castel dell'Ovo to generate not-so-innocent cynicism among the schoolkids, with the active help of some street children appearing for the occasion. When the sugared almonds leave the asphalt for the dirty hands of the urchins, the burning tears will come, of those who no longer have a piece of existence. Judged "pessimistic" by the moralists of certain criticism, the very moving episode was cut in some versions of the film.
I giocatori. De Sica, a count possessed by the gambling demon (not far from reality), directs himself through a crackling game of scopa against a child, the son of the doorman of the building he owns. The count considers himself a skilled player, but both his wife and the servant know their chicken and his boasting, thus denying him every source of stakes to play. In the fresh light of an attic, the count ritually loses glasses, coat, building, and estate of Sparanise. Pierino Bilancioni, the child, makes his only cinematic appearance. He later ran a successful ice cream shop and passed away in 2000.
Teresa. Silvana Mangano is a good-hearted prostitute who leaves the brothel to fall into the arms of a man who doesn't love her at all. Those arms she abandons herself to are paper-thin, and she soon realizes she's been seduced by the words of a despicable intermediary and the photos of a fake "spouse." In a context hard to endure, between skillfully arranged ceremonies and buffets, Teresa gathers the few rags amassed in her life and tries to move towards an uncertain destiny. She will return. Among the extras, urging Mangano in a popular Romanesque song, are sisters Nunzia and Nuccia Fumo. They will be the Finizio ladies in De Crescenzo's cinematic "Bellavista." Perhaps the episode that most deviates from the general metric of the film, but not the least beautiful. Mangano proves to be better than Loren. Indeed.
Il professore. Is there anything to say about Eduardo De Filippo? Don Ersilio Miccio, with the wisdom of a veteran, dispenses advice from his humble "ground floor." With a few hundred lire, one can extend leave with a high fever, find an epitaph to emphasize the Madonna's image, and above all, bury the annoying arrogance of a local nobleman without resorting to violence. The pernacchio is an art, and only three or four practice it in all of Naples, and therefore the world. Eduardo's is done with brains and passion, reaching the intended target for sure. This episode, however, was cut for the French version: the cousins above the Pyrenees wouldn't have understood the difference between "pernacchio" and "pernacchia." Mais v'afan cul!
Not to forget the soundtrack by maestro Alessandro Cicognini, which wisely blends a motif with the picturesque flavor of Neapolitan folk dances with a sentimental ballad. Nominated for the Palme d'Or, it will only win two Silver Ribbons. What a pity.
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