Classics at the Browning
Directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini
With Anna Magnani, Ettore Garofolo, Franco Citti
Not Rated, 110 minutes, 35mm
In Italian with English subtitles
Sponsored by the Meg and John P. Brogan Endowment for Classic Cinema.
Anna Magnani is Mamma Roma, a middle-aged prostitute who attempts to extricate herself from her sordid past for the sake of her son. Filmed in the great tradition of Italian neorealism, Mamma Roma offers an unflinching look at the struggle for survival in postwar Italy, and highlights director Pier Paolo Pasolini’s lifelong fascination with the marginalized and dispossessed. Though banned upon its release in Italy for obscenity, today Mamma Roma remains a classic, featuring a powerhouse performance by one of cinema’s greatest actresses and offering a glimpse at a country’s most controversial director in the process of finding his style.
The film will be introduced by Dr. Alberto Lo Pinto, a postdoctoral scholar in Italian in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures.
Click here for tickets ($7 regular — $5 senior — $4 child/student).
Originally published at performingarts.nd.edu.