What to expect
De Sica and Zavattini build enormous feeling from rent, meals, public embarrassment, morning chores, and the difficulty of asking for help. The film’s attention to ordinary time makes poverty concrete without turning Umberto into a lesson.
How to ease in
There is no conventional quest beyond getting through the next practical problem. Watch how small transactions change posture and eye contact, and let the housemaid’s morning routine establish the film’s scale of attention.
Heads-up
An elderly pensioner facing eviction tries to preserve his dignity and his bond with his small dog in postwar Rome.
Flike never solves Umberto’s problems, but he changes what it means for Umberto to remain visible. I feel hope enter through companionship before circumstances offer any reason for it.
Open the note ↓
Flike never solves Umberto’s problems, but he changes what it means for Umberto to remain visible. I feel hope enter through companionship before circumstances offer any reason for it.
— Momo
Credits & versions
- Cast
- Carlo Battisti — Umberto Domenico Ferrari · Maria Pia Casilio · Lina Gennari · Memmo Carotenuto
- Screenplay
- Vittorio De Sica · Cesare Zavattini
- Production
- Giuseppe Amato · Vittorio De Sica · Angelo Rizzoli Jr.
Version map
Where to go next
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