UMBERTO D. Movie Review
An aged, former civil servant, now trying to live on a completely inadequate government pension, does what he can to maintain a semblance of dignity in spite of his poverty. Umberto is far behind on his rent, and though he's convinced that suicide is the only possible solution to his plight, he's reluctant to leave his beloved dog behind to fight for scraps of food on the mean, postwar Roman streets. Vittorio De Sica's Umberto D—one of the world's great movies—is never maudlin or mawkishly sentimental. De Sica's protagonist, played memorably by a non-professional actor and retired professor named Carlo Battisti, remains a gentleman throughout every moment of his horrifying, all-too-familiar plight; he never understands why the rest of the world doesn't behave with kindness and compassion. As we sit there and watch the day-to-day details of Umberto's existence, knowing that there are millions still today in the same hopeless situation, we find it hard to understand as well. Umberto D cleanses and refreshes the imagination in many ways, and one of the most important is the manner in which it reminds us that great art needn't smash us over the head with its message or jerk unearned tears out of us in order to stir us deeply. The simplicity and unaffected brilliance of Umberto D should never be mistaken for casualness; De Sica makes us feel we're seeing a documentary, yet every detail of script, image, and performance is perfectly designed to achieve an overwhelming emotional impact. (It was De Sica's favorite among his own films.) Umberto D has been accurately described as a miracle, and in terms of analysis, it may be best to simply leave it at that. Academy Award Nomination, Best Original Screenplay (Cesare Zavattini).
NEXT STOP … Shoeshine, The Bicycle Thief, Welfare
1955 89m/B IT Carlo Battista, Maria Pia Casilio, Lina Gennari; D: Vittorio De Sica; W: Cesare Zavattini,Vittorio De Sica; M: Alessandro Cicognini. New York Film Critics Awards ‘55: Best Foreign Film; Nominations: Academy Awards ‘56: Best Story. VHS, LV, 8mm, Letterbox HMV, HHT, DVT