Il cammino della speranza (Path of Hope). 1950. Italy. Directed by Pietro Germi. Directed by Pietro Germi. Screenplay by Germi, Federico Fellini, Tullio Pinelli, Luciano Vincenzoni. With Raf Vallone, Saro Urzì, Elena Varzi. DCP courtesy CSC – Cineteca Nazionale. In Italian; English subtitles. 105 min.
Before his biting, hilarious satires of Italian life at the commercial height of commedia all’italiana, Pietro Germi made masterful, incisive portraits of social hardships and sentimental dramas in a country that had yet to enjoy the economic miracle known as il boom. In Path of Hope, Germi offers a moving look at a community of Sicilian mine workers fleeing unemployment and famine by putting themselves in the hands of a profiteer who promises to take them to the other side of the Alps to find prosperity.