FILM SCREENINGS

Bitter Rice

1949. Italy. Directed by Giuseppe De Santis. With Raf Vallone, Silvana Mangano, Vittorio Gassman, Doris Dowling. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Screenplay, De Santis's masterpiece follows two thieves (Dowling and Gassman) as they hide from the law among peasant workers in the Po Valley rice fields. A hit in both Europe and the U.S. (due in part to the sex appeal of its female cast), this noir-tinged melodrama offers a harsh view of inescapable poverty and uncontrollable passions, and remains a cornerstone of Italian Neorealism. In Italian; English subtitles. 109 min.