Nights of Cabiria
Composite Score: 81.3
Starring: Giulietta Masina, François Périer, Franca Marzi, Ennio Girolami, Mario Passante, and Amedeo Nazzari
Director: Federico Fellini
Writers: Federico Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, and Tullio Pinelli
Genres: Drama, Romance
MPAA Rating: NR
Box Office: $769 thousand worldwide
Why should you Watch This Film?
Nights of Cabiria is an Italian film by renowned director Federico Fellini about a prostitute seeking true love. Well-written, well-acted, and well-composed, the film expands beyond its simple premise to tell the story of stoicism and optimism in the face of seemingly constant rejection. The film’s titular Cabiria seeks a life better than her current circumstance despite consistent nagging from her peers to let go and consistent judgement and rejection from the very facets of society that she would join. It is a fascinating look at class struggle and human effort told through the wide-eyed and paradoxically innocent perspective of this Italian prostitute. The film’s examination of love and Cabiria’s perception of love also helps deepen the exploration of humanity and our own flaws in the film. Challenging and hopeful, it is certainly a film worth watching.
Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?
The drawbacks for some viewers will inevitably be the age and language of the film. Most existing versions of it on streaming services today are restorations, leaving some flaws in sound syncing up with the actors’ words and movements. This is going to be true for many films released prior to the digital age, bringing the occasional distracting moment of asynchronicity but not detracting heavily from the film’s content. Also, being an Italian film, it must be viewed by English-speakers with subtitles, which some people take umbrage to. While this should not be a problem for most viewers, some could be turned off from watching with subtitles (please see Bong Joon-Ho’s comments on overcoming “the one-inch-tall barrier of subtitles”).
So wait, why should you Watch This Film?
Giulietta Masina’s performance as Cabiria moves and inspires as she experiences the world from a perspective that is equal parts mature and childlike. The audience experiences the full range of emotions from Cabiria through Masina’s movements, facial expressions, and verbiage. Her ability to transition from ecstatic to panicked to despondent to optimistic within the range of a few frames throughout the film impresses and keeps the audience caring. While a prostitute may not seem an inherently empathetic character to some viewers, Masina’s performance as Cabiria invites the audience to experience and live her emotional experiences along with her on a rewarding journey.
The story’s structure and narrative parallels make it an incredibly enjoyable and well-crafted piece of storytelling. Following Cabiria through a few of her titular nights as she seeks love and experiences rejection, care, high society, poor society, and everything in between creates a sense of living and almost an episodic experience for viewers. The parallels – between the opening scene and her final encounter with Oscar, between the falsehood of her night spent in high society with a movie star and the genuine care of her neighbor Wanda when she moves out, between the hollow miracles offered by the mass she and her friends attend and the actual help offered to the poor by a random stranger – each create an honest world of comparisons and contrasts that leave the viewer with a message about society. The message being: “Men are trash and only want money.” (J.K.) In actuality, the message presented in the film is that the world we live in is full of promise and simple joys that we must seek out and that often the places we expect to find fulfillment and happiness are also the most likely to disappoint. A melancholy message but one that resonates, nonetheless.
Finally, the film’s score, done by Fellini collaborator Nina Rota, helps craft the emotionality, depth, and levity of the film throughout. Whether it is the light piano, reminiscent of a silent film, or deeper strings, tugging at the audience’s heart, the music that plays over and under the film makes it as great as it is. Even in the moments without scoring, the absence is felt, bringing an almost ominous senses of anticipation to scenes, like the finale when Cabiria lies seemingly defeated on the ground. The score pauses in that moment with the camera and with the audience, seemingly willing Cabiria to rise again to the challenge that is life. Her final look of happiness through tears into the camera is accentuated by a swell of hopeful music in the score.
Nights of Cabiria rewards a dedicated viewer with empathetic acting, a meaningful story, and a score that accentuates the film well. The depth of the human experience and the hope for the good in the world that you can see in the film makes it well worth watching. Overcome the hurdles of subtitles, black-and-white film, and restored audio and find a stream of this film!
