Mamma Roma

The fantasy of the the Italian night intersects with the reality of the postwar rubble in Pier Paolo Pasolini’s “Mamma Roma.”  Early in his career, Pasolini still works very much within the neorealist structure for “Mamma,” the story of a single mother and her teenage son…

theriverjordan

I'm obsessed with the way Roma's streetwalking is depicted; even when she's with others, she's this lone soldier moving forward and laughing in the face of death.

james

Feels like the only logical progression from Accattone that Pasolini could have made, trading the aimless drift of the street for a desperate, upward climb. He has this startling cinematic language at play, one that finds the sacred within the profane by framing the Roman…

Sam Jalali

The definition of insanity, according to Einstein, is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. In that sense, I believe my relationship with Passolini's cinema can only be defined as "insane." Most of the sensibility and style aren't to…

Rafael "Mister Movie" Jovine

The scenes of Mamma Roma walking the streets at night are so awesome.

Dr. Waffle

Pasolini breaks neorealism by following its rules through the other side. His nonprofessionals do not add a veneer of reality (except in scenes such as the one where a son drops his mom while awkwardly dancing and both bust up laughing) but separation, and Pasolini's…

Jake Cole

An embodiment and subversion of traditional Italian neorealism, Pasolini’s Mamma Roma tells a simple tale of maternal love and the struggles of Rome’s working-class in post-war Italy. What makes it a special entry in the neorealist school of filmmaking is how Pasolini turns…

Jerry

This is my third passolini film so far and thematically very similar to accattone but I don’t think that discredits it in any way. The movie depicts the complex relationship between a former prostitute and her son and shows the tough complex relationship between them in the…

Sam

Afterthoughts: At last, I pull my finger out and watch a Pasolini film. I can only muster a few points: 1. Anna Magnani is an acting goddess. 2. Really cool symmetry to the narrative. 3. This is so depressing! One of those that make you feel numb for a few hours.

Michael's Cinema Paradiso