Adua et ses compagnes

I will never be tired of seeing "Adua e le compagne", this black and white film is a jewel of Italian cinematography with a plot easy to understand, and excellent acting of four women, French star Simone Signoret, then-young Sandra Milo, Gina Rovere and Emmanuelle Riva, all playing the role of prostitutes who wanted to incorporate themselves honestly to the society. Their acting was seconded by the experienced and charismatic Marcello Mastroianni in the role of a typical Italian tricky pigeon and lover. Italy of the 50s had the problem of prostitution, and mafia was around it together with some "gentlemen" of the corrupted local administration always looking for licenses, permits and other documents in a tricky way to facilitate the work of the prostitutes who at the same time had to pay heavy sum of money to the above-mentioned gentlemen. The director Antonio Pietrangeli was able to show clearly where the problem was and who were promoting the dirty business of prostitution. In addition, youth does not last forever and the same happened with the beauty of the prostitutes. The film also shows this fact convincingly. The DVD of this film exists but only in Italian, and it would be good to have it in other languages (English, Spanish and French at least).

Anybody who saw this film upon it's original British release under the title 'Hungry for Love' would have suffered a grievous disappointment to discover that behind the provocative title there actually lay an ambling bittersweet anecdote showcasing the ripe charms of Simone Signoret as an earth mother presiding over a quartet of tarts with hearts who in the Italian way are more concerned with preparing food than making love.

The characters smoke so much - to the extent that Signoret inquires of a youthful Marcello of his constant renewal of cigarettes "Is it to save matches?" - it should carry a health warning. Piero Piccioni provides the proceedings with a busy jazz score, while Armando Nannuzi's mobile photography glides gracefully through both the palatial interiors and the surrounding landscape.

Very fine, gloriously black and white, very well acted drama involving four girls who decide to pool their resources and run a restaurant together when their brothel is closed down. There are so many moments where this could easily have become sentimental and doesn't and is much to the director's credit that this looks so good throughout. The jazz soundtrack is a great help as are the snatches or 'real life' - the steam trains rushing below car dealer Mastroianni's window, the fine moment in the main street when he passes off Signoret's failing car to another whilst slipping her into one more. But the best of all such sequences is the final shot upon the cobblestoned street in the pouring rain and without a cloying close-up, we all know exactly what the facial expression is. As I say all the acting is good but Signoret particularly puts in another excellent performance where she ranges from sexy to sad and energetic to dejected, but perhaps best of all her verbal onslaught upon 'the landlord'.

Here is a wonderful example of Italian realism from 1960 that I'd never heard of until this week--and I'm 65 years old and a big fan of this genre. It was shown in San Francisco as the only "classic" film in a festival of recent Italian cinema. It deserves a wider audience. How can a film that stars Simone Signoret and Marcello Mastroianni remain so obscure? This story of four prostitutes forced to fend for themselves when a new law closes the bordellos of Rome reminds one of "Bicycle Thief" or "The Organizer," in its gritty social realism, but there are scenes of happiness and humor too. They pool their savings to open a trattoria, but find they cannot get a license. A prominent fixer with connections obtains the license for them, on condition that they conduct their old business upstairs and pay him an exorbitant monthly fee. The women are not anxious to turn tricks for a living any longer and find joy in running the restaurant. The women long to settle down--one has a child, another meets a man who loves her. Only one is tempted to return to her old life. Signoret, the major character here and as wonderful as ever, falls for Mastroianni, a glib car salesman, hustler and womanizer. While the trattoria is a success, it does not bring in the kind of money demanded by their "patron," which leads to conflict. The resolutions of their individual stories develop alongside that of their collective story. In this genre, happy endings are not a staple. Grim reality is, however. We can feel great sympathy for these women, but we know that such people are too often bound by destiny, given the realities of power--who has it and who hasn't--and the attitudes of society. All this drama is accompanied by a terrific jazz soundtrack, which is unfortunately not credited. The black-and-white cinematography is first rate. The closing scene in the rain ranks among the all-time unforgettable film endings.

What a perfect piece of Italian neorealism this is. I am seriously wondering why it is not included in all of the usual lists with I ladri di biciclette, Umberto D, Roma Citta Aperta, etc. A gripping story about the life of prostitutes and how they struggle to survive against all the odds. Also a story about classism and hypocrisy, more generally. Simone Signoret is excellent as always, but so is Emanuelle Riva. Plus Marcello Mastroianni plays the consummate cad. All in all, extremely well done with a gripping story and a searing look at politics and classism in Italy.

Highly recommended.