Mamma Roma (1965)

So much average

Powerful

A Masterpiece!

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

The echoes of Fellini's "Nights of Cabiria" and "La Dolce Vita" are obvious and Pasolini was a screenwriter on both of those projects. That said, this stands on its own as a deeply felt look at one part of Italian society, circa 1962. Watching it, I understood a mother's love for her son and the roots of present-day Italian society better than I had done. That's not a bad achievement! It's also a tremendously attractive time capsule, a window into that moment in time and place. As an aside, I wonder how this film would have been perceived had Pasolini not made "Salo". I think it might have been taken rather more seriously. Watch and make up your own minds.

In Rome, middle-aged Anna Magnani (as Mamma Roma) tries to shed her past life as a prostitute and reconnect with rebellious teenage son Ettore Garofolo (as Ettore). He moves in as she gets a legitimate job. Things already show signs of falling apart when young ex-pimp Franco Citti (as Carmine) returns to town. After failing to make himself respectable, Mr. Citti demands Ms. Magnani return to the working the world's oldest profession. If not, he threatens tell son Garofolo about Magnani's sordid past...This neo-realistic drama loses some realism in the story. You have to wonder how Citti ("I was 23 and you were 40") hooked up with Magnani and why he doesn't look for more profitable whores, presently. Also, Garofolo (age 17½) certainly seems able to deduce his mother's past. Still, writer/director Pier Paolo Pasolini uses his landscape stylishly, with a lot of walking scenes. Christian religious allegory is prevalent (note Garofolo in bondage). A fly walks across the opening credits, which serves as a comment.******** Mamma Roma (8/31/62) Pier Paolo Pasolini ~ Anna Magnani, Ettore Garofolo, Franco Citti, Silvana Corsini

Just wanted to point out that in the final scenes, Pasolini shows Ettore in jail (for stealing), strapped to a table, and it's very much like Andrea Mantegna's painting, "The Dead Christ." This might say a lot about what Pasolini thought about Christ's crucifixion, and how we might view Mamma Roma the whore and her son Ettore (perhaps not as mother and son, but as Mary Magdalene and Christ?). This final scene also makes one recall how the opening scene, the marriage of Carmine (the pimp) and his bride, looks so much like DaVinci's painting, "The Last Supper"... and so the film opens with a visual reference to Christ the pimp before he dies, and ends with one of Christ the thief after he dies.So many things about this film have elements of the story of Christ, only they're turned on their head. Ettore's relationship with the loose woman Bruna, his familiar dealing with moneylenders, his lazy and thieving followers, his lack of a trade, his stealing -- it's as if he's the opposite of Christ. And yet Ettore is blessed: he's rooted in nature (he grew up on a farm, he recognizes birds by their songs, acts spontaneously on his natural feelings of anger or lust) and he's set within a story that's essentially about the power of morality and redemption. Mamma Roma is a flawed woman but a good woman who's trying to do the right thing, to mend her ways. And Ettore is not so much an anti-Christ as he is a proto-Christ -- a pre-Christian figure. The film 'Mamma Roma' may have more to do with being a pagan story than a Christian one...

After many years working in the streets of Roma, the middle-age whore Mamma Roma (Anna Magnani) saves money to buy an upper class apartment, a fruit stand and retires from the prostitution. She brings her teenage son Ettore (Ettore Garofolo), who was raised alone in the country, to live with her, and Ettore becomes her pride and joy. However, the boy that does not want to study or work, joins to idle friends, has a crush on a bitch, and Mamma Roma uses her best but limited efforts to straight Ettore and make him an honest man. However, her past haunts her with tragic consequences."Mamma Roma", the second movie of Pier Paolo Pasolini, is an impressive, cruel, touching, riveting realistic drama. Anna Magnani has an awesome performance in the role of a limited mother trying to live an honest life and give the best for her son. Franco Citti has a short, but also fantastic acting in the role of a nasty pimp. In times when Hollywoodian fairytale world prevails in most worldwide movie theaters and rentals, it is good to revisit the real world in this unforgettable gem. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "Mamma Roma"