Mamma Roma - Criterion Collection (1995)

Ode to mother's love.

"Mamma Roma"(1962) the second film directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini, is the brutally realistic in its depiction of life in the slums of Rome yet lyrical ode to mother's love. Mamma Roma (Anna Magnani), a middle-aged prostitute is ready to quit her profession and to start a new life with her teenage son who had spent his childhood in the country and does not know her well. She wants a better life for herself and a meaningful future for her son, and there is not much her Mamma Roma would not do for her son.
Things don't go as planned, though...

Anna Magnani was renowned for her earthy, passionate, "woman-of-the-soil" roles and she is one of the main reasons to see the film. She is Rome's flesh and soul, its spirit and symbol, its loud laugh and bitter tears. January 18, 2008

Mamma Roma

In his first feature film, Pier Paolo Pasolini uses a neorealist aesthetic to critique petit-bourgeois mores, training his sights on a poor outcast who strives and fails to become a respectable member of Italy's postwar society. Played to triumphant perfection by the fiery Anna Magnani, Mamma Roma is a hearty, proud woman willing to do anything for her boy, and Ettore Garofalo is appealing and believable as her son. An early gem by an Italian master, "Mamma Roma" is a moving, perceptive study of how love and sacrifice can still lead to an unjust outcome. June 28, 2007

Mamma Roma (1962) - Pier Paolo Pasolini

Mamma Roma was Pasolini's second feature and was made before he became the much revered and much hated director of more controversial works. There is much subtly to this film which shows much of post war Italy's less exotic locations. Unlike his Italian contempories such as Antonioni and Fellini, Pasolini decided to show the lives of the bottom of the social class, and in doing so carved a unique niche for himself. The film has good performances, and the actions in it resonate to a much higher importance than one might first perceive. Mamma Roma is a good little film from a director who's career was much too short. October 7, 2005

One of Pasolini's Best

"Mamma Roma" was Pier Paolo Pasolini's second feature film and if you've seen his other works, you'd probably be able to tell. None of Pasolini's visually splendor is here. So far I've seen "The Gospel According to St.Matthew", "Arabian Nights", and "Medea". All three movies had some of the most memorable images I can remember. Pasolini is what cinema is all about. He was a visual master. It's odd to think that he was a poet. As a poet I would think the words would be his most important tool. He would place great importance on what his characters said, but no, he created startling images. Take a film like "Medea". I saw that movie about a month ago, but I couldn't begin to tell you the plot. I pretty much forgot it. But ask me about the visual? I still remember the impression it left on me as I watched it. The same goes with "Arabian Nights". But "Mamma Roma" is completely different. Now this doesn't mean it's a bad movie. On the contrary. I think it's a masterpiece.

What "Mamma Roma" remind me of are the post WW2 Italian films such as "Germany Year Zero", "Rocco and his Brothers", and "The Bicyle Thief". It follows in the tradition of Visconti and De Sica.

Anna Magnani stars as Mamma Roma, a woman who has big plans for her son. She has ambition. She wants to give her son a better life and will do almost anything to make sure he has one. Her son is Ettore (Ettore Garofolo), he has different plans for his life. He wants to hang out with his friends, steal, and never work or go to school. Only one is going to get what they want.

As the film goes on we feel a connection with Mamma Roma. Did our mothers make such sacrifices for us? Did we not appreciate all they did for us? Pasolini, like the best films, makes these characters seem real. The movie hits all the right notes and carries us with it. "Mamma Roma" takes few wrong steps, in fact they are not even worth mentioning. Despite being something different from Pasolini this is one of his best films. I loved it.

Bottom-line: One of Pasolini's best films. Doesn't resemble his later works but displays his genius. Pasolini is what cinema is all about. May 15, 2005

Mamma Mia! Mamma Roma!

You would have to understand what I mean by saying natural. Mamma Roma was a natural woman, a sunny, vibrant, sometimes crazy character. Pasolini was infatuated by those who were not shaped by civilization and those on the margins of society. The beginning of the movie is amazing. There is laughter, singing, call and response, all of which is so beautiful to see and feel that I had to rewind rewind the DVD just to see it again. There is something in Mamma Roma that is very rare in our world today.

I can't really tell you why I could not stop watching this wonderful movie. Was it the touching love this former prostitute had for her son? Was it her infectuous laugh? Was it the fate that she accepted so beautifully? I don't know but in spite of everything, she was beautiful in a way that a Hollywood woman could never be. Yet, perhaps the secret of Mamma Roma is that she embraced life for all that its worth or not worth. Never once did I get the impression that she would prefer to be someone else.

Pasolini does not always hit the mark but with this one he seemed to make all the right decisions. I can still her laughing!

A touching and red-blooded film! May 8, 2005

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