Review for Mamma Roma

You don't need to be an Italian speaker to recognise that Anna Magnani's screen persona as 'Mamma Roma' is, to use the vernacular, a virtuoso performance. Playing a middle-aged prostitute in Rome, the film opens with a wedding scene like no other (and what a pleasant contrast to the recent Royal one). Surrounded by straw and farm-yard pigs, we see that the drunken 'Mamma Roma' is being officially released by her pimp - who is now marrying a more respectable girl.
Flitting between ectasy and depression, and always extreme in both cases, the performance is not a subtle one but is delivered with the tenacity of a sledgehammer. It's guaranteed to stay with you for days after watching the film.

Now free from her pimp, she sets about finding her estranged 16 year old son, Ettore (played by Ettore Garofolo) who has been living in the country, and brings him to the big bad city.


This perfectly sets out the duality of the melodrama. Can a middle-aged prostitute break free from her past and make a living of her own as a fruit seller? And can a naïve country bumpkin, who is 'coming of age', make good in the city?


It's a hell of a drama; realistic, emotional, lusty, cruel and desperate, with just a sprinkle of optimism that is more often cruelly dashed than realised. Written and Directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini (actually only his second film, which is remarkable in its own right) who was no stranger to the darker side of Rome. (He was murdered in 1975); it's a tour-de-force from start to finish, with the most incredible naturalistic performances throughout, giving this is a 'slice of life' documentary feel.


It's an amazing looking film, and this transfer reflects that admirably. cinematographer s Tonino Delli Colli (who also worked extensively for Sergio Leone and Roman Polanski) does an incredible job, perfectly framing every shot and using high contrast grading to great effect. There are frequently moments when old Rome meets new, where central characters are framed by Roman ruins with concrete blocks of flats behind them, for example.


There are some 'stunts' that are clearly from the creative mind of Pasolini which are realised admirably but which don't quite come off - like a scene where we see the 'Mamma' walking through the darkened streets of suburban Rome at night, delivering a soliloquy of recollections and thoughts to a series of accompanying walkers who, when one drops off another joins. It's all one shot but loos stagey and contrived aside the naturalism of the rest of the movie. But technically quite brilliant.


The release is a bit bare bones and sub-titling is, in common with other releases, a little sloppy. However, this is more than compensated for by an excellent picture - about as good as you could expect from the format.