Bellissima

Bellissima, directed by Luchino Visconti, is the story of a melodramatic, middle-class mother, Maddelena (Anna Magnani), who is determined to have her daughter, Maria, win a beauty contest that will secure her a leading role in a new film. Maria is dragged from casting session, to photo shoot, to acting lessons, to dance rehearsal, so that she can become the star her mother never was. Magnani's character is chaotic and relentless, and although she sacrifices everything to help her daugher, her attempts are quite misguided. Eventually, Maria wins the contest and is offered a contract, but Maddelena finally realizes she has acted more out of her own unfulfilled desires than her daughter's best interests. The film ends when the contract is refused and the pair returns home.

Visconti uses Bellissima to mock the film industry, specifically Hollywood and it's Italian counterpart, Cinecitta. With the explosion of American films into Italian cinema’s after WWII, Italy's cultural identity was inundated with new perspectives, such as a woman's roles in society and changing beauty ideals. Bellissima provides commentary on both these issues.

In terms of women’s roles, Anna Magnani's character arguably represents a modern woman: independent, ambitious, and outspoken. For example, despite her husband’s disapproval of her plans for Maria, he has very little say in the matter as Maddelena takes complete control. Ironically, her goals for her daughter would not be considered modern. Beauty pageants present a much more traditional role for women, where looks are valued above most everything else. In this sense, Maddelena's struggle between modern and traditional symbolizes the Italian nation’s struggle between holding on to the past and making room for the future.

In terms of beauty ideals, Visconti – being a neorealist director – favors traditional beauty over the sexualized, manufactured beauty associated with Hollywood. Anna Magnani has the dark features traditionally found in Italian woman, and as she has come to be identified as the mother of Rome, audiences associate her as traditional. Furthermore, it is Italian tradition that “ beauty belongs in the face” and as we see countless times in Bellisima, Visconti tends to focus the camera on Magnani’s face rather than her figure. Once again, this represents Italy’s struggle between old values and new ideals.

Lost in Translation

Italian cinema of the post-war era placed significant emphasis on architecture. Examples include films like L’Avventura, Mamma Roma, and La Notte, in which the audience is often exposed to the contrast of urban cities with rural countryside, as well as the juxtaposition of decaying ruins in the middle of modern spaces. This idea was transferred into Italian-American cinema in Coppola’s, The Godfather, when we are presented with New York’s dangerous city streets and the quiet hills of Sicily. In these films, the architectural struggle of modern vs traditional may symbolically represent the character's struggle with identity, particularly masculinity vs feminitiy and, of course, Italian vs American culture. In Lost in Translation, Sofia Coppola, tackles the theme of identity as well as several others, including celebrity ennui, observer vs object, and cultural boundaries.

The identities of Sofia Coppola’s characters are generally very similar. The majority of them tend to struggle with what Orr defines as, “the risks and betrayals of everyday existence.” In The Virgin Suicides, the five Lisbon sisters all commit suicide, unable to deal with their daily lives; In Somewhere, a newly famous actor deals with an emotional disconnect from his celebrity lifestyle; In The Bling Ring, teenagers struggle to differentiate themselves from the celebrities they steal from. Just like many of Coppola’s others, her protagonists in Lost in Translation also suffer from existential crises and celebrity ennui.

Celebrity and stardom are themes explored by many of our Italian directors. Stardom or divismo can be seen as “a product of capitalism and the ideology of individualism.” (Landy, 267) Neo-modern directors have been known to criticize capitalism in many ways, such as Antonioni’s Zabriskie Point. In this case, directors are critiquing capitalism by making fun of celebrity, as can be seen in Fellini’s La Dolce Vita, and Coppola’s Lost in Translation. Particularly humorous scenes from the latter include Bob’s photoshoot for Suntory Whiskey and his television interview.

Initially I had expected to find few similarities between Coppola and her male counterpart directors, however, it was clear from the themes explored and her cinematographic style that she was heavily influenced by them. Above all, I related her style to that of Fellini, based on her exploration of celebrity lifestyle, and also her use of time. Neo-modern directors like Coppola are not trying to create a reversion to ‘real’ time, rather they are correcting Hollywood’s neglect of time with its fast paced action-packed films. Sofia Coppola brings the audience back to a real perception of time, and connects us to characters experiencing the same identity crises as we are.

The Godfather

The Godfather’s Vows

1. A man that doesn’t spend time with his family can never be a real man.

2. We don’t discuss business at the table.

3. Women and children can afford to be careless but not men.

4. Don’t ever take sides with someone against the family. Ever.

5. Don’t apologize for taking care of your family.

6. Never tell anyone outside the family what you’re thinking.

One of the aspects I found most interesting about the Godfather is marriage because it was used on numerous occasions to romanticize Coppola's broader themes of family, religion, and Italian-American culture. Throughout the film, Don Vito Corleone gives his sons advice on how to be a man. You may call them rules, or words of wisdom, or whatever you like, but to me they are vows. This became clear during the baptism scene, where Michael is ascending to his new role as Godfather and must repeatedly affirm to the priest, "I Do." Despite there being several other weddings that take place in the film, this is the only time we hear a character take a vow, and I don't think that is a coincidence. Thus marriage is more than just a connection of characters; it is a symbolic connection of the greater themes of the film.

"A man that doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man." 
The first wedding takes place at the beginning of the film, when Corleone's daughter marries a famous singer/actor. This wedding is used to introduce the audience to the Godfather, who rather than enjoying his daughter's special day, is confined to his office conducting business. The fact that he is unable to be completely present in one event or the other shows how the business and family are completely intertwined, or "married."

"Women and children can afford to be careless but not men."
The second wedding takes place in Sicily, when Michael marries Apollonia. Saddly, this marriage does not last long, when a car bomb explodes and kills Apollonia. This also shows the connection between business and family. Ironically, in the same way the family is protected by the mafia, they are also in extreme danger just by association. Family is both a gangster's greatest strength and greatest weakness, and this is the lesson Michael learns. The death of his wife is a key turning point in Michael's transition to becoming the Godfather.

"Never tell anyone outside the family what you’re thinking."
A year after returning to America, Michael goes back to Kay, the non-Italian woman he was previously dating, who agrees to marry him in spite of his new role in the family. Their relationship represents the unity of Italian and American culture, specifically the traditional family role in contrast with WASP individualism and success ethic. Kay develops a dual identity as she remains both an outsider to the culture and business, but by marrying Michael, becomes an insider to the family. This also explains Michael's identity conflict between his Italian roots and his American freedom. Ultimately of course, his cultural roots win, as we see in the baptism - the real wedding - where Michael takes his vows, says "I do," and officially accepts his role as the Godfather.