Sophia Loren was a well established star by 1960, and Vittorio De Sica was one of Italy's most renowned directors. They collaborated on the heart-rending drama "La ciociara" ("Two Women" in English), about a mother and her daughter traveling across the country during WWII, and how the mother tries to shield her daughter from the horrors of war and poverty. The movie isn't subtle about what it shows: it opens with a bombing raid on Rome, resulting in the destruction of buildings. The people can only wonder when the war will end.
The famous scene comes near the end. It must've been one of the most controversial things to show in a movie at the time, but it makes a strong point about what war does to people. Like Kenji Mizoguchi's "Ugetsu", the movie basically says that war destroys us as humans. Sophia Loren won a well deserved Oscar for her performance. I recommend it.
