Arroz Amargo

In BITTER RICE, Silvana Mangano is reminiscent of a minor-league Anna Magnani, only younger and prettier with the accent on her bosom in BITTER RICE. She's earthy and sensual--as is the film--once described by the NY Times "as earthy and elemental as any picture you are likely to see."

And it is elemental, the story of misguided passions among four people in the rice fields of Northern Italy and there's no subtlety in the telling. It gets off to a rather slow start while developing the characters played by Silvana Mangano, Raf Vallone, Doris Dowling and Vittorio Gassmann. Only Vallone, as an army sergeant, is a "good guy" among a band of thieves destined to face tragic consequences of their unbridled lust and fatal attraction. He resembles an Italian version of the young Burt Lancaster.

Along the way, there are some interesting scenes of workers in the rice fields and their work habits, enhanced by moments whereby they chant and sing what they are supposed to be thinking as a sort of counterpoint to the action unfolding in the story.

Done in the popular neo-realistic manner prevalent during post-World War II in Italy, it tells a convoluted tale that, in the end, only tells us that crime does not pay. The story heads toward a stormy conclusion in a slaughter house, engrossing right up until the fabricated final moments for Mangano, a fitting conclusion to a steamy melodrama.

Interesting to see American actress Doris Dowling in this Italian film and giving one of the best performances as a woman who stands up to the cunning and perverse heroine with some threats of her own. Too bad her film career in the U.S. never fully developed.

Although its mold of 1949 appears somewhat melodramatic today, the black and white 'Riso Amaro' (= Italian for 'Bitter Rice') surely ranks among the classics in film history.

This very Italian product by Guiseppe de Santis shows a pretty ordinary crime story, excellently interwoven with an impressive decor of harsh season labor in the rice-fields of Northern Italy. The thousands of women, up to their ankles in the water, breaking their backs in the burning sun to earn a few bucks, make a truly great setting.

'Riso Amaro' has been labeled as 'neo-realism'. Another issue worth mentioning is its female lead Silvana Mangano, ex miss Rome. To the standards of 1949 miss Mangano's performance in this film was shocking. This earned 'Riso Amaro' a lot of publicity, in particular in strongly Roman Catholic Italy.

Along a few weeks in Northern Italy, many women leave their families and jobs and move to the rice fields to work in the harvest of rice. The lovers Francesca (Doris Dowling) and Walter (Vittorio Gassman) has just robbed a valuable jewel from a hotel, and Francesca joins a group of workers while escaping from the police. A silly and sensual worker, Silvana (Silvana Mangano), gets closer to Francesca fascinated by the precious necklace she found hidden in Francesca's mattress. When they arrive to the lodge, they meet Sergeant Marco (Raf Vallone), who is discharging the army and feels attracted by Silvana. A square of love is formed with tragic consequences.

"Riso Amaro" is an original neo-realistic dramatic romance that presented Silvana Mangano to the world, leading her to a position of star. She is extremely beautiful and sexy in the role of the peasant Silvana, especially while dancing with the handsome Vittorio Gassman. Doris Dowling is also excellent, performing the suffering Francesca, a women abused by her scum lover. This movie was presented in the fourth Cannes Festival, without awards. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Arroz Amargo" ("Bitter Rice")

First saw Bitter Rice in 1949 and it has haunted me for 51 years. Recently rented it (2000) and it's still compelling. The verrismo genre was new at the time; in 2000 it doesn't have the same impact that it did when Open City, Bicycle Thief, La Strada, et al were all showing at about the same time, and showing us that there was a true, artistic alternative to Hollywood pap.

The then 18-year old Silvana Mangano's earthy performance will endure forever. My only memory from 1949 was of her working and chanting in the rice fields. And her doing a sensual Lindy with Vittorio Gassman. Those scenes were still compelling, half a century later.

Despite the fact that this film isn't available with English subtitles, (french is the closest!) it isn't so difficult to follow, and it is a satisfying experience. It comes across as a realistic portrayal of life in the rice fields of Italy, and is undoubtedly well-made with a haunting, natural quality about the whole production. Some of the scenes tend to be a bit overdrawn, and samey, but this doesn't detract from the overall intensity which is helped in no small part by the acting. It's quite clear that professional actors were used alongside non-actors, and this adds a certain poignant interest to the proceedings. The best performance is given by that seriously underrated actress from the USA - Doris Dowling, and it makes it all the more difficult to understand why she didn't have a far more high profile career in her own country. For fans of continental cinema in general, this is well worthy of interest.