FELLINI FOUR FILMS: La Strada

Q&A with Raymond De Luca, an assistant professor and specialist in international film studies at the University of Kentucky

"One of cinema’s most exquisitely moving visions of humanity struggling to survive in the face of life’s cruelties." —Criterion

"This is an extraordinary film, a fierce tragedy but one which, for all its relentless realism, can be tender, pathetic, and, finally, touched with hope. It is a film which must not be missed." —Guardian

When Gelsomina (Giulietta Masina), a naïve young woman, is purchased from her impoverished mother by brutish circus strongman Zampanò (Anthony Quinn) to be his wife and partner, she loyally endures her husband's coldness and abuse as they travel the Italian countryside performing together. Soon Zampanò must deal with his jealousy and conflicted feelings about Gelsomina when she finds a kindred spirit in Il Matto, the carefree circus fool, and contemplates leaving Zampanò.