Le notti di Cabiria aka Nights of Cabiria (1957) Drama Noir Italian Style

Directed by Federico Fellini (La strada, La Dolce Vita, 8½). 

This is almost an Italian version of the Mexican "Cabaretera Noir."

Written by Federico Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli, and Pier Paolo Pasolini based on a story by Federico Fellini. Cinematography by Aldo Tonti, Music by Nino Rota. 

Starring Giulietta Masina as the prostitute Cabiria Ceccarelli, François Périer as Oscar D'Onofrio, Amedeo Nazzari as Alberto Lazzari, Franca Marzi as Wanda - Cabiria's best friend, Dorian Gray as Jessy, Franco Fabrizi as Giorgio, Aldo Silvani as The Wizard, Ennio Girolami Amleto the Pimp. 

The Story

The day before the First Night. 

Acilia, a Roman "frazione." A suburb in the making. Along Via del mare and the Rome-Lido railway. A no-man's-land between the ancient and the future. 

A stark sandy reclaimed wasteland that is covered in a mosaic of canna (reed) patches and bare ground. Dotted here and there with new construction, cranes and boxy high rises. 

Just a sidebar - I had a place like this near me in New York City when I was a kid living in Astoria. We called it The Dumps. It was originally a salt marsh along a big pool in the East River on the Southside of Ryker's Island, the Dutch called it Bowery Bay. There was, on the Western end of the bay, a creek called Luyster, and a marsh island called Berrian's Island for the family that owned the bowery (farm) there. The Rykers had the lands on Eastern end. Running between them, above what must have been the high tide line (doesn't make much sense if it didn't) was the Old Bowery Bay (20th) Road. So between that road and the present edge of the East River is all reclaimed land. On top of that urban legend supposedly has it that all the waste rock, sand, mineral soil, and demolition debris that resulted from the construction and boring of the Lincoln Tunnel was dumped there. The material that the city graded from their new street grid was probably dumped there too. Maybe also all the cut material out of the trough that today holds the Grand Central Parkway was dumped there. The fact remains so much material was dumped that it not only filled in most of the bay but they also created a artificial mountain that was over 60 feet high. It was higher than a five story building. It was flat on top so technically, it was a plateau. There was sparse vegetation back then when I played there with a un-blocked view of the three bridges and Manhattan. It was a good place for adventures. 

So back to the film. We see Cabiria, a prostitute, and her quasi lover / pimp Giorgio, cavorting across this scrubland landscape. 

Cabiria runs from Giorgio, lets him catch her, pushes him to the ground laughing, pulls him to his feet and then runs off again. It looks like they are heading for an "al fresco" in-and-out session. They get to the Tiber River. Giorgio points to a sandy spot of shoreline tells Cabiria "there." Cabiria runs to the top of the bank and swings her purse around and around in circles while Giorgio comes up behind her. 

Franco Fabrizi as Giorgio

We see Giorgio as he look right, looks left, then he grabs Cabiria's purse mid swing  and pushes her in the river. Giorgio runs off with the purse and Cabiria is swept downstream drowning.

A boy playing Cowboys and Indians along the riverbank spots Cabiria screaming for help. He yells to his friends, "if she gets to the sewer intake she won't come up. They boys dive off a barge into the river and get Cabiria to shore. A couple of adults help to revive Cabiria. 

Giulietta Masina as Cabiria Ceccarelli

When Cabiria comes to, she scrambles to her feet and frantically calls for Giorgio who is long gone with her purse and all of her money. She walks down the dirt road to her house in a "borgate" near a gas station. Nearby, the neighborhood kids have built a haphazard homemade jungle gym out of salvaged pipe. 

She heads to what looks like a salvaged cinder block hovel. It's her home. It resembles an ancient mausoleum. Cabiria finds that she is locked out. Her keys were in her purse. Her fellow prostitute, and nosey neighbor Wanda asks her what happened. Cabiria shoos her away, embarrassed. She has to break into her own home through a window. 

Franca Marzi as Wanda

Night One. Later Wanda tells Cabiria not to kid herself. The reality is that Giorgio pushed her in the river for her $40,000 lira. 

Cabiria at first refuses to face facts, then, grabs all of Giorgio's photos along with the silk shirts, checked suit, and camel-haired coat she bought him and takes them out to a fire the neighborhood kids have going by their jungle gym and burns them. 

Night Two. After one night off Cabiria is back to selling her ass on the street, on the Viale delle Terme, by the Baths of Caracalla eighteen clicks away from Acilia. 

Prostitutes on the Viale delle Terme, by the Baths of Caracalla

Cabiria's signature outfit is having her hair in a ponytail, a short fur jacket, a striped top, a pencil skirt, and white anklet socks with black patent leather strapped pumps.

Cabiria's hair in a ponytail, her rain hat even has a cutout for it

A short fur jacket, a striped top

A pencil skirt

White anklet socks with black patent leather ankle strapped pumps (Madonna noticed)

Cabiria and her fellow prostitutes hang out, talk shit about each other, and strut their stuff. She ends up getting into a hair pulling fight with another hooker after she taunts Cabiria about Giorgio. The other prostitutes have to break them apart.

Cabiria is taken away with a bloody nose in a Fiat owned by one of the pimps and his "lady." Cabiria asks to be dropped off on the Via Veneto. Via Veneto, is the equivalent of say 5th Avenue or Park Avenue, a classy and expensive street. Her friends think she is crazy.

Cabiria is walking outside the Kit Kat Club when she sees a movie star she recognizes Alberto Lazzari. He is having fight with his girlfriend Jessie. 

Jessie

Amedeo Nazzari as Alberto Lazzari

The fight ends with them slapping each other and Jessie  walking off down the street. Lazzari spots Cabiria watching and tells her to come on and hop into his 1956 De Soto Fireflite Convertible. 

They go to the Piccadilly Club. They watch an ersatz African Native routine. They dance the Mambo, and then they drive to Lazzari's villa for food and to spend the rest of the evening. 

African Dance

the mambo

On the way to Lazzari's Villa

The Villa

Lazzari gives his butler express instructions that if Jessie calls to tell her that he is not in. He requests that his servant bring their dinner up to the master bedroom. Lazzari then heads up to the bedroom, Cabiria follows.  

However, Lazzari's girlfriend Jessie does not call she actually shows up at the villa and lets herself in with her key. Lazzari is just able to get Cabiria into his bathroom and tells her to be quiet and hide.

 Cabiria peeps through a keyhole on Lazzari and Jessie as they make-up and then falls asleep on the floor.

Night Three. A long drizzly night back at the Baths of Caracalla on the Viale delle Terme. The other hookers kid Cabiria about  her night with Lazzari. A religious procession passes by the hookers. 

The religious procession

Cabiria is about to follow but gets picked up by a truck driver offering her a ride for probably something on the side. The guy must have told her he'd drop her off on a short cut because she comments as she is walking across a barrens that this is "some shortcut I've been walking an hour." Cabiria sees a car stop up ahead on a road a man gets out carrying a duffel. A rooster rows its almost first light. Cabiria follows and watches the man give handouts to the destitutes who live in grottos (in line sinkholes) and caves. Cabiria is shocked to discover that she knows some of the people.

The next day Cabiria and her fellow prostitutes go to a religious festa at Santuario Santa Maria del Divino and they all make a pilgrimage to the Virgin. Cabiria prays to the Virgin and asks for new life. Later outside of the church Cabiria at a picnic is contemplating it all. 

religious suppliants

Wanda gives Cabiria a full glass of white wine. Cabiria guzzles it all down, then she gets up yells out that nothing has changed. That they are all still the same.

Cabiria then sees a procession of apprentice nuns and starts yelling at them. Wanda has to run over and restrain her before she attracts the cops and they get arrested. 

Night Four. Cabiria finds herself outside a theater. She buys a ticket and gets caught up in hypnotist act. While under, she acts out her deepest desires to be happily married. 

After the show a civil servant named Oscar D'Onofrio tells Cabiria that he was deeply touched by her performance on the stage. He tells her that it was not right for the audience to laugh at her. 

Osar tells her that he believes that it was fate that brought them together. After dozen dates Cabiria has fallen once again in love and Oscar asks her to marry him. Is it Cabiria's miracle from the Virgin or ticket to Noirsville? Night Five will tell.

Noirsville

mambo

Nights of Cabiria won the 1957 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.  It also won Best Actress - Giulietta Masina at Cannes 1957.

Forty years later, the Times carried a new review by Crowther's successor, Janet Maslin. She called the film "a cinematic masterpiece", and added that the final shot of Cabiria is worth more than "all the fire-breathing blockbusters Hollywood has to offer." This has stood by far as the most prevalent assessment of the artistic achievements of the movie. (Wiki)

Screencaps are from the TFI & Studiocanal 4K restoration. A real Woman's Noir and a Fellini masterpiece 10/10.