Giulietta Masina gives a forceful performance in Carlo Lizzani and Massimo Mida’s 1952 suspenseful murder mystery, “Ai margini della metropoli” (At the Edge of the City). Masina plays Gina, the devoted wife of Mario (Michel Jourdin), an unemployed peasant accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend, Marcella.
The layered story and brilliantly written screenplay show a side of 1950s Rome that we rarely see in Post-WWII films but existed for the vast poverty-stricken population. The subject deals with the unspoken discrimination against those living in camps and land-shares who did not benefit from the post-war economic boom. A young, vibrant Massimo Girotti portrays a torn defense attorney who gets emotionally invested in the case, having a gut feeling that his client is innocent while the evidence continues to pile up against him. Gina goes to great lengths to track down the alleged witnesses and call them out on their false testimony. The entire film comes together in a spectacular final courtroom scene in which those wanting to lazily convict Mario are made to confront their prejudices.
Click on the image to stream the film on Amazon.
The layered story and brilliantly written screenplay show a side of 1950s Rome that we rarely see in Post-WWII films but existed for the vast poverty-stricken population. The subject deals with the unspoken discrimination against those living in camps and land-shares who did not benefit from the post-war economic boom. A young, vibrant Massimo Girotti portrays a torn defense attorney who gets emotionally invested in the case, having a gut feeling that his client is innocent while the evidence continues to pile up against him. Gina goes to great lengths to track down the alleged witnesses and call them out on their false testimony. The entire film comes together in a spectacular final courtroom scene in which those wanting to lazily convict Mario are made to confront their prejudices.
Click on the image to stream the film on Amazon.
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