Federico Fellini is one of those filmmakers who gets brought up regarding the foundation of modern cinema, and that’s for good reason. Whether it be La Dolce Vita (1960), 8 1⁄2 (1963), or even Amarcord (1973), Fellini delivered rich human dramas with a certain Italian flair. In 1954, Fellini took on the tale of a quirky girl who’s looking for her place in life through a couple of men and used the story to win the first official International Feature award at the Academy Awards.
La Strada is about many things, but at its core, it examines the human desire to find a meaningful purpose in our everyday lives. The film follows Gelsomina, played wonderfully by Giulietta Masina, as she is sent off with a strongman named Zampano, played well by Anthony Quinn, to make money for her family. Following the death of the eldest sister, who so happened to be the strongman’s earlier companion, Gelsomina is out to make something of herself.
We watch Gelsomina as she’s thrown into various gigs and trained to become a clown to accompany the strongman’s act. After a particular big top show, she meets another performer and begins to internally examine her life, questioning her true purpose in the world. Whether it be at a wedding as an unhappy bride or at a convent with a group of nuns, Gelsomina sees the many roles women are thrown into during that time period.
Gelsomina’s character arc is set up in a simple fashion, but that’s perfect for this film. Her mother introduces her as a girl who is as pretty as her recently passed daughter but is born “different.” They aren’t subtle about the fact that she’s neurodivergent, but the portrayal never goes into a territory that feels insensitive.
The film spends more time examining her connection to the world and the people around her, and it focuses on the feeling of being a new adult and feeling lost on the road to the next life event. The film itself translates to “The Road,” and that could be taken in two ways. The more literal meaning is that the film itself is one of the first true road trip comedies. You could also look deeper and read that the road could represent that unsure path we all take when we hit maturity and have to make it on our own.
Gelsomina has many scenes where it’s very apparent that she doesn’t really fit into the world that the film is presenting. She is offbeat, on her own wavelength, and that leads to misunderstandings and mockery from many characters. She soon hones in on that craft to become a great comedic element of the act which leads to more success.
Even when she feels like she found something that works for her, there’s still an element of life, maybe even a more philosophical one that keeps eating at her. In one of the more notable scenes in the film, Il Matto played by Richard Basehart, who she becomes quite fond of, tells her that everything has a purpose in the world. He uses a pebble as an example and explains to her that if even that pebble has a purpose then she does as well. He states that there wouldn’t be a reason for anyone or anything if one element of our world didn’t have an overall purpose.
The film ends with the strongman leaving Gelsomina on her own and going on his way. He gets a gig and it turns out fine but ends up getting into a bar fight that leaves him battered and broken. In the last moments of the film, he feels lost and realizes Gelsomina’s true purpose. Her part to play in that moment in time was to be a person who balanced out his crazy and brought more of a comedic realism to their lives. We don’t ever see what comes of her, but it can be assumed that she probably found her way to the next town, finding joy and meaning somewhere else.
Revisiting this film at 23 made me feel this film on a deeper level than before. I had seen this when I was a teen first exploring international and art-driven films. I liked the film, but I’m unsure if I was able to fully feel it. I have now graduated from an artistic degree program and find myself searching for what’s next. There’s a lot of uncertainty in my life, but I’m deciding to take it as it comes as time has shown me that some things you can’t fully control even if you try.
I also find the plight of Gelsomina quite relatable as well, as I’m someone who is different from the rest. I see things differently and my personality can be unusual or strange to some. I also find myself somewhere in the neurodivergent spectrum, something that makes sense to me now even though when I was younger, the idea of a spectrum was not fully adopted by doctors yet. Watching this movie, I had an immediate kinship with Gelsomina. She is definitely someone who will end up on my personal character board or list.
The neurodivergent experience and the general idea of people being different was not something commonly reflected in the 1950s. Most characters were just typecast as the weird one and seen as a fun side joke. In the modern day, we have way more accurate representation of how people can operate differently and see the world on a different level and La Strada is one of the films that led to that revolution in art and entertainment as the portrayal is nuanced. Gelsomina had a character and related motivations. She wasn’t written as a one-note character but instead was the heart of the film and through her journey showcased the true message present in the film.
La Strada, to put it simply, is a very important, relevant tale of a woman looking for a place in the world. She doesn’t really find herself until she digs deep and discovers what it truly means to be her. It is an honest and relatable film with a fantastic performance at the center. If you are looking to start Fellini’s filmography or want to jump back into it, this is a good place to start. If Gelsomina can find her true purpose inside herself, I can and anyone reading this can.
Review Courtesy of Becca Harleen
Image Credit to Janus Films via Film at Lincoln Center