From the slums of Rome, Maddalena Cecconi, a struggling working-class mother with aspirations of catapulting her five-year-old daughter Maria to the dazzling world of the silver screen, descends to the famous studios of Cinecittà after a casting call by director Blasetti for Rome's most beautiful girl. Determined to help her daughter stand out from the hordes of the ambitious contestants, the worried mother willingly becomes the prey of a motley crew of teachers and expert professionals who all guarantee her positive results--for the right amount of money, of course. Before long, the family's scant savings has been squandered here and there. Is a pot of gold really at the end of the rainbow for La Bellissima?
—Nick Riganas