La Ciociara

Cesira is a beautiful widow and a successful grocery store owner in Rome. WWII is raging, and she fears for her beloved daughter, 13yearold Rosetta, amid the daily bombings. They travel to the village where Cesira was born, where Cesira believes they will be safer. There, they are happy even as food dwindles. A young intellectual, Michele, falls in love with Cesira, who is too consumed with the wellbeing of her daughter and their survival to return his timid advances. As the allies advance, Cesira decides to return to Rome and encounter the horrors of war at last. Director: Vittorio De Sica Writers: Alberto Moravia (novel), Cesare Zavattini (adaptation) Stars: Sophia Loren, JeanPaul Belmondo, Raf Vallone