I'm sure you've all been on the edge of your seats wondering what this week's film selection was for CAS 415 in Rome. Lucky for you, the wait is over. Today, we watched Umberto D, another neorealist staple directed by Vittorio De Sica. Critics love this movie, which succeeds in so many ways in spite of it's fundamentally trite premise (did you catch the title of this post?).Maria-Pia Casilio plays Maria, the maid in the boarding house where Umberto rents a room and from which he is soon to be evicted. Although it has the potential to develop as maudlin and exploitative, empathetic is the way in which I would describe the relationship between Maria and Umberto.
She seems to have no significant ties to family, but she does not seek out Umberto as a surrogate father or grandfather, nor does she wish to be his caretaker. This might have been an easy move for De Sica to make, but he is appropriately restrained in the presentation of Maria and Umberto's friendship (which might also be stretching it).Maria is rather no-nonsense, but then, she must be, as she is three months pregnant and on the verge of poor, single motherhood. However, De Sica does not neglect her the complex character portrait that such circumstances require - she cries quietly over her situation as she makes the morning coffee, alone in the kitchen, but she does what she can to help out with Umberto's dog when he requests it. The stereotypical notion of the Italian mamma who feeds others' problems with a heaping plate of pasta in red sauce is lost on De Sica and neorealism generally. Maria has her own business to worry about, after all.
Umberto D poster found here.
Maria-Pia Casilio image found here.
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