Women in Hollywood consistently find themselves trying to break out of pigeon-holes created by decades of playing stereotypes. Strong personalities like Katharine Hepburn, Gloria Swanson, Bette Davis and Faye Dunaway were not afraid to play less traditional and less glamorous characters. Even today this dichotomy can be seen when comparing the roles of Bryce Dallas Howard and Charlize Theron in Jurassic World and Mad Max: Fury Road, respectively. But across the pond, it appears strong female performers were more revered for their talents. Actor/writer/director Vittorio De Sica was justifiably confident in putting Sophia Loren front and centre in his pictures, regardless of the subject matter. Her range spoke for itself.
TIFF Cinematheque is hosting the first retrospective of the director’s work in Toronto in 20 years, titled “More Than Life Itself: Rediscovering the Films of Vittorio De Sica.” Included in the programme are two of the pair’s most successful collaborations: Two Women (1960), for which Loren won the Academy Award for best actress, which also marked the first win for a foreign-language performance, and will be shown on a recently restored 35mm print; and Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1963), which earned the Oscar for best foreign language film.
Two Women takes place during the Second World War as Germany is invading Italy. Cesira (Loren) is a widow and single mother raising her pre-teen daughter, Rosetta (Eleanora Brown), in Rome, where attack is imminent. For their safety, Cesira closes up shop and takes Rosetta to the mountains of Ciociara where she grew up. There they are sheltered from the fighting, but not the war as heated political debates, decreasing rations and soldiers passing through frequently serve as reminders of the violence just a few miles away.
Loren’s appeal has never been debated, and it has a significant impact on her character. All the men Cesira encounters want to bed her and several of them do, which her status as a widow makes slightly less scandalous. Nonetheless, these trysts are kept somewhat confidential as one of the men is married and the other is the focus of her daughter’s first crush. Other attentions include leers and catcalls, and worse. The last act of this picture is a very powerful portrayal of violence. In spite of not being excessively explicit, it still effectively conveys the horror of the situation. Moreover, rather than end after this life-altering experience, the narrative continues. In so doing it shows the effects the incident has on Cesira and Rosetta, which demands profound, genuine performances from both women.
Whether resisting a man’s advances, playing the overprotective mother, carrying out domestic chores, verbally sparring with a German officer or bearing the burden of successive sufferings, Loren demonstrates that she is capable in any circumstance and far more than just a pretty face. She herself once said, “Before I made Two Women, I had been a performer. Afterward, I was an actress.”
In Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, De Sica gives Loren further opportunity to exhibit the array of her talent. It consists of three short stories featuring Loren and her recurrent on-screen companion, Marcello Mastroianni. They star in all three tales, though they portray different characters in each. The first segment, titled “Adelina of Naples,” is about a woman (Loren) convicted of selling illegal cigarettes. However, when she learns they cannot impose her sentence as long as she is pregnant, she and her husband (Mastroianni) conspire to ensure she never goes to jail. The consequences of their scheme are very amusing and possibly the best of the trio of narratives. The second part, “Anna of Milan,” is the brief account of a wealthy, married woman (Loren), who goes for a scenic car ride with her lover (Mastroianni); but a mishap reveals the true nature of their relationship. The last story, “Mara of Rome,” follows a high-end prostitute (Loren) who playfully decides to seduce a young priest about to take his vows. However when it’s revealed her plan includes a week of celibacy, her smitten, frequent caller (Mastroianni) is unto pleased. This section of the film contains its most famous scene, in which Loren performs a striptease while Mastroianni howls like an excited animal.
In spite of the differences in the narratives, each one involves a woman who in some way uses men as a means to an end; the men, conversely, is at her mercy. Each of the stories has a comedic undertone, which has less to do with the performances than the silliness of the script. The actors simply and flawlessly deliver the words, creating new personalities that appropriately and significantly differ from each other. Loren, in particular, makes each of the women distinct from the other, not just in appearance but in their mannerisms and traits.
The retrospective’s spotlight might be on De Sica, but at least in these two films Loren steals the limelight. These two films and many others are screening as part of the “Summer in Italy” programme at TIFF Bell Lightbox until September 17.
