Anna Magnani is an actress whose life and work is incredibly striking. Magnani is one of if not the most famous Italian actresses to ever live. She starred in over 30 films and is the face of Italian neoclassical cinema. Anna Magnani’s acting came from a place of realism. Magnani’s acting has a lot of emotional dramatic range and it is apparent to viewers that her acting comes from a place within herself. Magnani heavily relies on body language to showcase emotions on camera, something that I think is very original and requires a lot of talent to pull off well.
Anna Magnani’s character in Mamma Roma, Mamma Roma, is a woman who made most of her life’s money working as a prostitute. When her son, Ettore, comes back into her life Mamma Roma wants to set a good example for him and tells him that her only job is working at a fruit stand in the local market. Not everything goes well though when Mamma Roma’s pimp comes back and thretens to expose her. Her old pimp mixed with Ettore’s own problems cause turmoil in her life.
Throughout the film Mamma Roma watching Magnani bring such a complex character to life was riveting. In all honesty, I was not excited to watch this film. I have never heard of the movie or of Magnani and so I was reluctant upon first starting the film. After the first scene at the wedding I was instantly hooked. Just within that first scene Magnani uses a broad range of emotions and body language to showcase the complexity of her character and her obvious talent. Throughout the film the excellence that was shown in the first wedding scene only grows. I think Mamma Roma was spectacular and is a film everyone should see.
In regards to Magnani herself and her other work I learned about that through the readings we had assigned. In “Popular Culture, Performance, Persona:Anna Magnani between Rome, Open City and The Rose Tattoo” written by Francesco Pitassio, Pitassio writes about Magnani’s acting skills across her other films and after reading it I can tell that Magnani has immense talent across all of her films. Pitassio also talks about the fact that Magnani is known for using her body and her expressions as a way to act. Many of her emotions are shown through her expressions as opposed to how most actors who only use words, this gives Magnani more range as an actress.
In the article, “The Construction and Reception of Anna Magnani in Italy and the English-Speaking World,1945-1988” Written by Tony Mitchell Magnani is characterized as an international star who deserves praise from the whole world. Magnani was an oscar winner and was recognized by Americans as one of the best actresses of her time. One thing I found exceptionally interesting from this article was the way in which Mitchell wrote about Magnani’s beauty. Mitchell said that Magnani had a natural beauty that transcended all beauty stereotypes and made her desirable no matter what her figure. This to me signifies a type of feminism within Magnani. Her beauty radiates from within and that is true feminine beauty.