Sophia is Nives Mongolini, a peasant beauty
She is the sultriest girl at the eel-canning factory who refuses Cinti's proposal
She prefers the trawlerman Gino Lodi (Rik Battaglia) and eagerly gives herself to him
Gino moves to another town immediately and a pregnant Nives follows to warn him that the police suspect his nightly smuggling activities
Gino insults her, presuming she is blackmailing him to the altar
Heartbroken, she informs Cinti about Gino's smuggling and he is jailed
Two years later, Cinti traces Nives to the mouth of the river Po, where she cuts cane to support her son, and warns her that Gino has escaped from prison
With her hot-pants and gum-boots, Sophia Loren's figure proves that she is breath-stoppingly sensual, exploding beautifully into wit, warmth and sex
8 Reviews
BITTER RICE Territory in Technicolor
boblipton8 July 2021
Sophia Loren wants enough money for her home, and Rik Battaglia. But he's a bad man, and wants money to spend, spend spend. So when Miss Loren falls pregnant, he asks who the father is. She slaps him, informs on him, and while he is in prison plotting hs revenge, she escape to the Po River Valley to cut canes to support her and her son.
So here we are, five years after BITTER RICE, only in Technicolor and La Loren. There are signs of prosperity now, and so the plot is more convetnional, with Gérard Oury Gérard Oury offering honest love. That's not what Miss Loren wants, nor the audience. They want blood and death and to see Miss Loren in shorts.
This was the last of ten movies she appeared in in 1953. She would appear in 11 the following year, a hot film property who had not priced herself out of the marke for programmers.
So here we are, five years after BITTER RICE, only in Technicolor and La Loren. There are signs of prosperity now, and so the plot is more convetnional, with Gérard Oury Gérard Oury offering honest love. That's not what Miss Loren wants, nor the audience. They want blood and death and to see Miss Loren in shorts.
This was the last of ten movies she appeared in in 1953. She would appear in 11 the following year, a hot film property who had not priced herself out of the marke for programmers.
Woman of the River
Uriah4325 May 2015
"Nives Mongolini" (Sophia Loren) lives alone in a small village in Italy and works at an eel processing factory during the day. Because she is easily the most beautiful woman around, her boss "Gino Lodi" (Rik Battaglia) is constantly making advances toward her but she rejects them because she doubts his true sincerity. Additionally, a local policeman named "Enzo Cinti" (Gerard Oury) also flirts with her but since she has no romantic feelings for him she dismisses his overtures as well. Then one day she lets her guard down and begins an affair with Gino which results in her becoming pregnant. Upon hearing this news Gino deserts her which crushes her emotionally and fills her with rage. Now rather than reveal any more of this movie and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this movie is best seen by those who enjoy a heavy drama. Although some of the scenes moved rather slow I must admit that Sophia Loren looked quite fabulous and managed to carry this movie all by herself. Be that as it may, this film also goes by the alternate title of "Woman of the River" which might help those who cannot find it by its original name. Slightly above average.
River passions and tragedies.
ItalianGerry15 April 2004
Warning: Spoilers
(Some spoilers) WOMAN OF THE RIVER is a formulaic movie in the tradition of sexy-woman-works-in-wetlands dramas popularized in BITTER RICE with Silvana Mangano and RICE GIRL with Elsa Martinelli. The movie delivers sex and scenery, torrid earthiness and moody tragedy in full measure. Sophia Loren was at the height of her beauty here and continuing her newly-found fame from THE GOLD OF NAPLES. She plays Nives, the woman at the eel-canning factory in the Po Delta. She rebuffs the advances of the local 'maresciallo' while giving herself to Gino the trawler-man (Rik Battaglia) who is involved in smuggling. She's carrying his child, is spurned by him wherever she follows him, reports him to the police ("Hell hath no fury..."). He goes to jail. Loren's mambo dancing, with the camera focusing on her shapely legs, was an exploitable feature here, as was Silvana Mangano's famous dance number and song in ANNA. The real purpose of the movie was to provide a vehicle for Loren as frisky woman, romantic beauty, dramatic presence, even screen mother for the first time. The movie ends in tragedy, a requisite for delta and rice field dramas, with the accidental drowning of Nives's little boy in the river. Gino and Nives are reunited in their sorrow.
In re-seeing this film, I kept thinking of all the great Italian movies that were shot at least in part on the Po River or in its area, Lattuada's THE MILL ON THE PO, Rossellini's PAISAN, Visconti's OSSESSIONE, De Santis's BITTER RICE, the Taviani Brothers' SAINT MICHAEL HAD A ROOSTER, Antonioni's GENTE DEL PO and IL GRIDO. The lush color photography by Otello Martelli is a plus. Novelist Giorgio Bassani (THE GARDEN OF THE FINZI-CONTINIS) and poet, director-to-be Pier Paolo Pasolini were both contributors among the large committee of screenwriters. The picture was directed by veteran Mario Soldati with a good deal of gusto and a feeling for the cinematic potential of the Po locales. WOMAN OF THE RIVER received scant distribution in the U.S.A. where it was shown only in a dubbed version relegated to the bottom half of double bills.
In re-seeing this film, I kept thinking of all the great Italian movies that were shot at least in part on the Po River or in its area, Lattuada's THE MILL ON THE PO, Rossellini's PAISAN, Visconti's OSSESSIONE, De Santis's BITTER RICE, the Taviani Brothers' SAINT MICHAEL HAD A ROOSTER, Antonioni's GENTE DEL PO and IL GRIDO. The lush color photography by Otello Martelli is a plus. Novelist Giorgio Bassani (THE GARDEN OF THE FINZI-CONTINIS) and poet, director-to-be Pier Paolo Pasolini were both contributors among the large committee of screenwriters. The picture was directed by veteran Mario Soldati with a good deal of gusto and a feeling for the cinematic potential of the Po locales. WOMAN OF THE RIVER received scant distribution in the U.S.A. where it was shown only in a dubbed version relegated to the bottom half of double bills.
A woman of passion becomes a woman of tragedy.
mark.waltz6 May 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Sophia Loren shines in this Italian movie where she's the type of woman other women hate, simply because she can dance the mambo around the floor and get any man to dance with her. She has heat even when it's freezing, and as a result, she is forced to move from her town when she has a baby out of wedlock with a man she sent to prison. In her new town, she's a bit more liked, working in the waters cutting out reeds. When it is revealed to her that the man she sent to prison has escaped, it's only a matter of time before he catches up to her, and there's a bit of tragedy along the way involving her son. Along the way, the passion she had turns to grief, but of course, not everything is as It seems.
Beautifully filmed in color, this shows Sophia at her best although the print I saw was dubbed and it was obviously not her voice. However, there's no mistaking Sophia's talent even in just acting out a role without hearing her in her native tongue. The film is gritty and often tough to watch because it shows the hard-working people barely able to make ends meet while corruption works around them. However, the children do bring them joy, playing a game of hide-and-seek, and there are minutes when lamenting over what one does not have is replaced by the joy of the passion of life that they do. The Mambo dance sequence at the beginning is unforgettable.
Beautifully filmed in color, this shows Sophia at her best although the print I saw was dubbed and it was obviously not her voice. However, there's no mistaking Sophia's talent even in just acting out a role without hearing her in her native tongue. The film is gritty and often tough to watch because it shows the hard-working people barely able to make ends meet while corruption works around them. However, the children do bring them joy, playing a game of hide-and-seek, and there are minutes when lamenting over what one does not have is replaced by the joy of the passion of life that they do. The Mambo dance sequence at the beginning is unforgettable.
Sophia Loren in the clutches of destiny
clanciai2 March 2019
In this film Sophia Loren was still very young and outrageously sensual, and no role could have been more suitable for her at that age than this one, where she has the opportunity to act out all her assets, both sensual, dramatic, gripping and tragic - her maturity is striking. It begins as a trivial comedy, she works in a fishing factory on the east coast, while most men are after her, especially the adventurous smuggler Gino, who proves risky. She resists him as long as possible, but the way he acts and uses force makes it impossible for her not to get caught in a trap of destiny.
The story unfolds in the great Italian neo-realistic fashion, the story could have been a subject for Vittorio de Sica or Visconti, the atmosphere is the same as in "Bicycle Thieves" and other down to earth Italian dramas at the time, and although you are sceptical at first, the drama will more and more overwhelm you. A policeman, who truly loves her, tries to save her, but instead he unintentionally only makes matters worse, and ultimately you will understand why she has to prefer the criminal to him.
But the greatest asset of the film is perhaps the location, the genuine environment among the fishermen on the east coast living in very basic conditions, their small Sunday pleasures at the dancing party, and the wonderful local people - this should actually be a classic
The story unfolds in the great Italian neo-realistic fashion, the story could have been a subject for Vittorio de Sica or Visconti, the atmosphere is the same as in "Bicycle Thieves" and other down to earth Italian dramas at the time, and although you are sceptical at first, the drama will more and more overwhelm you. A policeman, who truly loves her, tries to save her, but instead he unintentionally only makes matters worse, and ultimately you will understand why she has to prefer the criminal to him.
But the greatest asset of the film is perhaps the location, the genuine environment among the fishermen on the east coast living in very basic conditions, their small Sunday pleasures at the dancing party, and the wonderful local people - this should actually be a classic
Sophia is a Po River girl,and Gino is a trawlerman and smuggler.
weezeralfalfa21 November 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Also, often known as "Woman of the River". This story takes place in the Po River valley of northern Italy. Sophia Loren , as Niver Mongolini, is the main character, with Rik Battuglia as Gino. her sometimes boyfriend, and Gerard Oury as Enzo Cinti, a policeman admirer, who shows up periodically.
The film opens with handsome Gino bringing his trawler into port, next to the eel processing plant where Niver works. He teases Niver, but she wont show that she likes him. For one thing, it's widely known among locals that he's part of a cigarette smuggling operation at night. Small fishing boats also serve as transportation, with the many bicycles being loaded with passengers. Later, Endo tries to flirt with her, but she's not interested. At a Mambo dance party, she dances with several men, but not Gino. However, a motorcycle gang starts a fight, and Gino whisks Niver out of harm's way and onto his motorcycle, taking her home at high speed. During the ride, Niver changes her attitude toward Gino, and they end up sprawled on the grass together. That night, Gino sleeps with her, and continues to do so. Gino says he likes to travel around, but Niver says she would put her money into fixing the interior of her house. Soon, Gino takes off for a fiesta elsewhere, and doesn't return to her for 2 months. She is mad and hurt. She tells him she's pregnant, and he asks by whom. She slugs him and he slugs her back. As a result, she tells the police about his smuggling operation. They raid his house, and catch him as he attempts to flee. "She'll pay for this" he mutters. He is sentenced to prison.
About 2 years later, Gino breaks out of prison, and it is feared he will seek out and harm Niver. Enzo suggests she should flee from her present location and perhaps hide at his grandmother's house. But, she declines. She has a job cutting 'cane': a tall reed that grows along the banks of the Po. While she is gone, a teen girl: Ivan, looks after her toddler boy, as well as the older neighborhood children. But one day, the toddler wandered off while Ivan was otherwise occupied. Ivan could not find him, so when Niver returned, the two searched through the reeds. I will end my summary here. You can see this Technicolor film at YouTube.
I felt that the sequence where the children are playing tag, as well as the subsequent scene where the 2 are searching for the boy, were too long, producing boredom. Also, the Mambo dance scene was too long. Otherwise, this is a pleasant simple story. It won't tax your brain with a complicated plot and too many characters.
The film opens with handsome Gino bringing his trawler into port, next to the eel processing plant where Niver works. He teases Niver, but she wont show that she likes him. For one thing, it's widely known among locals that he's part of a cigarette smuggling operation at night. Small fishing boats also serve as transportation, with the many bicycles being loaded with passengers. Later, Endo tries to flirt with her, but she's not interested. At a Mambo dance party, she dances with several men, but not Gino. However, a motorcycle gang starts a fight, and Gino whisks Niver out of harm's way and onto his motorcycle, taking her home at high speed. During the ride, Niver changes her attitude toward Gino, and they end up sprawled on the grass together. That night, Gino sleeps with her, and continues to do so. Gino says he likes to travel around, but Niver says she would put her money into fixing the interior of her house. Soon, Gino takes off for a fiesta elsewhere, and doesn't return to her for 2 months. She is mad and hurt. She tells him she's pregnant, and he asks by whom. She slugs him and he slugs her back. As a result, she tells the police about his smuggling operation. They raid his house, and catch him as he attempts to flee. "She'll pay for this" he mutters. He is sentenced to prison.
About 2 years later, Gino breaks out of prison, and it is feared he will seek out and harm Niver. Enzo suggests she should flee from her present location and perhaps hide at his grandmother's house. But, she declines. She has a job cutting 'cane': a tall reed that grows along the banks of the Po. While she is gone, a teen girl: Ivan, looks after her toddler boy, as well as the older neighborhood children. But one day, the toddler wandered off while Ivan was otherwise occupied. Ivan could not find him, so when Niver returned, the two searched through the reeds. I will end my summary here. You can see this Technicolor film at YouTube.
I felt that the sequence where the children are playing tag, as well as the subsequent scene where the 2 are searching for the boy, were too long, producing boredom. Also, the Mambo dance scene was too long. Otherwise, this is a pleasant simple story. It won't tax your brain with a complicated plot and too many characters.
River Girl or Women of the River
Shebelle175 November 2002
I saw this film as a very young girl and remember that it made a very lasting memory. I so much would like to see it on video to be able to view it once again. Sophia Loren was and is an extraordinary women. I hope she will continue making movies as she is a joy to watch.
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