Mamma Roma (1962)

Having renounced her ignominious past, a former streetwalker reunites with her son. However, an extortion scheme endangers her aspirations for a decent bourgeois life. Can she protect him from the same snares that wounded her youth?

Director:

Pier Paolo Pasolini

Writer:

Pier Paolo Pasolini

Stars:

Anna Magnani, Ettore Garofolo, Franco Citti

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anna Magnani	...	Mamma Roma
Ettore Garofolo	...	Ettore
Franco Citti	...	Carmine
Silvana Corsini	...	Bruna
Luisa Loiano	...	Biancofiore
Paolo Volponi	...	Il Prete (Priest)
Luciano Gonini	...	Zacaria
Vittorio La Paglia	...	Il sig. Pellissier
Piero Morgia	...	Piero
Franco Ceccarelli	...	Carletto
Marcello Sorrentino	...	Tonino
Sandro Meschino	...	Pasquale
Franco Tovo	...	Augusto
Pasquale Ferrarese	...	Lino
Leandro Santarelli	...	Begalo

Storyline

With a fervent yearning for respectability and enough money to buy herself a brand-new life in Rome, the uninhibited, fearless, and determined former streetwalker, Mamma Roma, renounces her ignominious past to reunite with her loafing sixteen-year-old son, Ettore. Free at last from her disgusting pimp and ex-lover, Carmine, Roma is bent on making an honest living running a humble vegetable stall; however, a malicious extortion scheme and the equally insidious menace of exposure threaten to put an end to her zealous aspirations for a decent bourgeois existence. For his own sake, Ettore must be spared the violence of the grown-up world; nevertheless, can a single mother alone protect her only son from the same snares that wounded her youth?

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Plot Keywords:

prostitution | character name as title | motorcycle | proletarian | fight | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

18 January 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

Мама Рома

Filming Locations:

Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arco Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min 95 min (original)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film is part of the Criterion Collection, spine #236.

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Goofs

In the opening titles, the music that is playing over the titles is noted as "Concerto in Do maggiore di Vivaldi," which translates in English as "Concerto in C major by Vivaldi." The music actually playing is the Largo (slow) movement from Vivaldi's Concerto in D minor (catalog number RV 540)

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Quotes

Mamma Roma: Look what a jewel my son is.
Biancofiore: You'd hang on the cross for him, wouldn't you?
Mamma Roma: You bet I would. What else is there in life?

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Connections

Featured in Cinema forever - Capolavori salvati (2001)

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Soundtracks

Violino tzigano
(uncredited)
Music by Cesare A. Bixio (as Bixio)
Lyrics by Bruno Cherubini (as Cherubini)
Performed by Anna Magnani

User Reviews

Anna Magnani is Magnificent in Pier Paolo Pasolini's Excellent Feature

Mamma Roma(1962) is one of the best films to come out of Italy during the 1960's. Anna Magnani is terrific as a strong willed mother who wants to give her son a better future to look foward to by living in the city. Its a homage to the neo-realist classics of the late 40's and mid 50's. In fact, this film compares greatly with some of the early films by De Sica and Fellini. Mamma Roma and his previous film added on another facet to the multi talented, multiple artist Pier Paolo Pasolini. The movie is filled with many political and religious ideas that the director believed in.

Mamma Roma(1962) deals with the themes of betrayal, loneiness, and class status. The film has a nililistic feel to it when it comes to the youth of the story. There are parts of this motion picture that reminded me of Luis Bunuel's Los Olvidados. They both see the youth as people who have nothing to look foward to. Its the opposite of a coming of age story because nothing positive happens to the teen protagonist. The direction by Pasolini is well done as he showed that he was on his way to becoming one of the most important film makers in Italy during the late 20th Century.

It contains some poetic moments. Its a film that doesn't get much credit due to the bleak nature of the main characters. Its this sense of hopelessness that turned many viewers off to this movie in 1962. It was rereleased in its full version several years ago by Martin Scorsese' film company. The film is a class study of people who try to escape their old ways only to be unsuccessful in the attempt to turn over a new leaf. The art direction was done by future director Flavio Mogherini.

Ettore Garofolo does a good job in the role of Ettore, Mamma Roma's son. Anna Magnani is wonderful at alternating between motherly and sensual instincts. In 1962, Mamma Roma was denounced by the police to the Magistrate's office for its portrayal of the young teens. The case was eventually dismissed. One scene that was good is the scene where Mamma Roma shows her son what's its like to be respectable. Another memorable moment is the final shot of Magnani attempting to jump out the window.

Ettore is presented as a martyr in the vein of a religious symbol. His final scenes are both heart breaking and sad. Although Mamma Roma is a prostitute, she still in a awkward way has a moral consciousness that gradually develops throughout the movie. Her ideology is developed through the mass media. What's sad is that Mamma Roma does not realize that her ideals are corrupted until she feels that she has failed in her relationship with her son. Pasolini believed that "The only thing that makes man really great is the fact that he will die", and "Man's only greatness lies in his tragedy".