Roger Ebert, in his Great Films essay on La Strada, states:
"It is Quinn's performance that holds up best, because it is the simplest. Zampano is not much more intelligent than Gelsomina. Life has made him a brute and an outcast, with one dumb trick (breaking a chain by expanding his chest muscles), and a memorized line of patter that was perhaps supplied to him by a circus owner years before. His tragedy is that he loves Gelsomina and does not know it, and that is the central tragedy for many of Fellini's characters: They are always turning away from the warmth and safety of those who understand them, to seek restlessly in the barren world."
Fellini has given us a film about outcasts. How do the roles of these outcasts reflect on each other? Do you see any signs of redemption? Choose a character and examine how that character redeems him or herself and how that character is cinematically presented as an outcast by society. Be mindful of all of Fellini's symbolism! Do this in at least 3 paragraphs. Read this excellent essay as well to help formulate your response.
Due: Thursday, October 30
OUTKAST
ReplyDeleteIn Fellini’s “La Strada”, Zampano and Gelsomina represent polar opposite who are thrown together by meer fate. Zampano is gargantuan, brutish, and masculine while Gelsomina is small, shy, feminine and quirky. They are both outcasts in this way and seem reminiscent of a George and Lenny. At the end of the film, it is pretty clear that Zampano finally realized that he loved Gelsomina in the scene where he hears her song and realizes that she has been long gone and long dead.
In the scene where Zampano hears her song once more we see him dressed in the clothes of an almost normal man, which shows a shift in him from before. He wears a hat and a suit which make him appear small. He is also walking as opposed to riding in his large chariot of a carriage. The camera is slightly above his eye level, making him look shorter and not as massive as he once did. The surreal look of dubbing in Fellini films comes into play in this scene as we hear Gelsomina song quite audibly over the chatter of the noisy waterside street. When the woman singing it is shown here lips hardly seem to be moving. It seems almost like a memory or dream on the part of Zampano. In terms of set design, things seem to influence Zampano’s size as well. He walks over toward a fence of barbed wires in order to get a good view and the fence is nearly his height, shrinking him down in comparison. The woman that Zampano speaks to is shot at eye level in the scene which once again serves the purpose of making Zampano looks small. As Zampano receives the news that Gelsomina is dead, the camera dollies closer to him and reveals his expression as he looks sullenly into space.
This scene shows the biggest change in Zampano and in some form redemption. Instead of going crazy and getting angry, he just seems sad. He is no longer a huge hulking brute of a man and now feels remorse finally for not loving her despite all the care she gave him.
wow, you're such an outcast for posting here
Delete*outkast
Deletescrew you, carl!
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