Federico Fellini directs Giulietta Masina, François Périer and Franca Marzi in this Italian character study following a prostitute who begins to question her way of life.

Giulietta Masina. One of those full fat central performances that pulls you in and is so mannered, funny, nuanced and heartfelt that you can’t do anything but be attracted deeply towards it. Like Cage in Leaving Las Vegas or Huppert in anything. I’m starting to dig Fellini’s form. Less a three-act structure and more a series of short stories collected together as they happen to share the same character. As you view the omnibus you start to see the shift in that lead character’s heart, their world going askew. In Cabiria’s case you’d kill for her to have that happy ending when a possible one is in sight. Yet it somehow still feels impossible. Technically, this is a perfectly crafted piece of visual art.

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Perfect Double Bill: La Strada (1954)

I write regular features about live comedy for British Comedy Guide here https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/bobby_carroll/features/