At Lab111 Amsterdam, you can see La strada, the classic by director Federico Fellini. Anthony Quinn plays the rough carnival performer Zampanò, and Giulietta Masina the vulnerable Gelsomina. The film won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film and is considered one of the most beautiful European films ever made.
A moving road movie by Fellini
La strada is Federico Fellini's fourth feature film and tells the story of the rough carnival entertainer Zampanò (Anthony Quinn). He buys the simple girl Gelsomina and takes her along on his tours of fairs and carnivals. She performs in his act and passes around a hat for donations. The film won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.
Quest for freedom
When Gelsomina meets the cheerful tightrope walker 'the Madman', something changes within her. The apathetic girl begins to break free from her oppressive existence. Fellini worked on location and with amateurs, which gives the film a raw and authentic character. The theme of destiny determined by social circumstances is central.
Legacy of Neorealism
La strada still shows traces of Fellini's neorealist engagement. Together with Il bidone (1955) and Le notti di Cabiria (1957), the film belongs to his so-called 'films of redemption', in which protagonists seek liberation of the soul. Composer Nino Rota provided the music, and his wife Giulietta Masina plays Gelsomina.
