Nights of Cambiria (1957)

This was a very sweet, but sadly depressing film about a middle-age woman looking for love, in all the wrong places. The film shows her going out at night meeting men who only want to take advantage or her, or rob her by making her think he loves her. The ending for me was ambiguous; I wasn’t sure if she had made a resolution with herself, or if she was only setting herself up to fall into the same cycle again.

What I loved about this film is that the main character is played by Giulietta Masina. She was fabulous in this role; special nod to the scene where she busts a move in the dance club. I wish I had rhythm like her, hehe.

The style of the film, to me, was typically Fellini. Some of the scenes did not seem to have a motive because he seemed to be capturing the mood and feelings of the characters, rather than create a tight causality with each scene.

This film did not win me over at first because I did not understand the motive that Fellini was trying to create. Throughout the last part of the film the audience is lead to believe that Masina’s character will end up happy with her new beau, but not to ruin it, but the results are not positive with their relationship.

I say this film is worth checking out, just be wary that it is not light. Also because of it’s loose narrative structure, the first half of the film may seem dull, but trust me, it is an interesting fair.