I just had the privilege of watching a double feature on "TCM on Demand" that consisted of my two very favorite Sophia Loren films, "Two Women" (1960) and "A Special Day" (1977). Unlike many of her comedies and lighthearted films, these two movies highlighted this iconic star's serious, dramatic ability, and, in my view, her very best performances. Yes, she is certainly a magnificent looking woman, but these two accomplishments by themselves prove that she is also an outstanding professional who gives 100% of herself with superior results.
While the production of "Two Women" preceded "A Special Day" by seventeen years, the first film took place in 1944 during the closing days of World War II following the Allied victory at Monte Cassino in Italy while the second occurred in 1938 when Hitler visited Rome during the early stages of the same war. Both films were produced by Loren's husband, Carlo Ponti, and superbly depict the tragic, human cost of a prolonged and very brutal war that devastated Italy, among many other countries.
In "Two Women", Ms. Loren's marvelous effort earned her a well deserved Oscar as the first performance to win the award for a foreign language film. Her outstanding work was enhanced by the overall, excellent direction of Vittorio de Sica ("Bicycle Thieves", "Umberto D") and the moving musical score of Armando Trovajoli, who has accumulated an impressive list of 196 films, both American and Italian, to his credit. She also received very able support by Eleanora Brown, who appeared in her very first film at the young age of twelve, which astonishes me by itself.
Without revealing too much of the climactic scene in the abandoned, bombed out church, the director's skill at developing an ominous atmosphere, including the disturbed birds through the opening in the roof, allows the viewer to expect trouble but not necessarily the calamity of the shocking episode that follows. Then, soon after the incident, we observe the forms of two dehumanized women as if they are inanimate rocks, drained of life itself, cast to the side of the road.
After seeing the movie, I did some research on the actual circumstances of "Marocchinate", a term that the Italians gave to the brutal, barbaric campaign of Moroccan troops under the command of the French in which they allegedly raped thousands of Italian women and murdered hundreds of civilian men who tried to protect them. Many of the attacks occurred in the region called Ciociaria, located to the southeast of Rome in central Italy, hence the actual title of the movie, "La Ciociara", or the women of Ciociaria. I was very surprised that these atrocities under the command of the Allies have not been officially and sufficiently investigated and documented. The silent reaction from the French to the events depicted in this film is even more shocking. It is not too late for the French government to address these very serious allegations more directly and more thoroughly.
While the production of "Two Women" preceded "A Special Day" by seventeen years, the first film took place in 1944 during the closing days of World War II following the Allied victory at Monte Cassino in Italy while the second occurred in 1938 when Hitler visited Rome during the early stages of the same war. Both films were produced by Loren's husband, Carlo Ponti, and superbly depict the tragic, human cost of a prolonged and very brutal war that devastated Italy, among many other countries.
In "Two Women", Ms. Loren's marvelous effort earned her a well deserved Oscar as the first performance to win the award for a foreign language film. Her outstanding work was enhanced by the overall, excellent direction of Vittorio de Sica ("Bicycle Thieves", "Umberto D") and the moving musical score of Armando Trovajoli, who has accumulated an impressive list of 196 films, both American and Italian, to his credit. She also received very able support by Eleanora Brown, who appeared in her very first film at the young age of twelve, which astonishes me by itself.
Without revealing too much of the climactic scene in the abandoned, bombed out church, the director's skill at developing an ominous atmosphere, including the disturbed birds through the opening in the roof, allows the viewer to expect trouble but not necessarily the calamity of the shocking episode that follows. Then, soon after the incident, we observe the forms of two dehumanized women as if they are inanimate rocks, drained of life itself, cast to the side of the road.
After seeing the movie, I did some research on the actual circumstances of "Marocchinate", a term that the Italians gave to the brutal, barbaric campaign of Moroccan troops under the command of the French in which they allegedly raped thousands of Italian women and murdered hundreds of civilian men who tried to protect them. Many of the attacks occurred in the region called Ciociaria, located to the southeast of Rome in central Italy, hence the actual title of the movie, "La Ciociara", or the women of Ciociaria. I was very surprised that these atrocities under the command of the Allies have not been officially and sufficiently investigated and documented. The silent reaction from the French to the events depicted in this film is even more shocking. It is not too late for the French government to address these very serious allegations more directly and more thoroughly.