Stylish but barely mediocre overall

Boring, over-political, tech fuzed mess

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

At twenty-five Sophia Loren was not supposed to be an Actress, she was supposed to be another Sylvano Mangano (another 'sex symbol' who turned out to be a fine actress) or Anita Ekberg but lo and behold she unleashes a powerful, moving and ultimately Oscar-winning performance, the first ever Best Actress gong for an actress in a foreign film (Simone Signoret beat her to it by a couple of years but she was a French actress appearing in a British film). Although she is playing down her sultry siren image both her beauty and sensuality shine through her 'ordinary' housewife persona and if anything her towering performance tends to unbalance a mostly ho-hum cast with, of course, the exception of Eleanora Brown playing her daughter. There's not a lot that's new or that CAN be new about the 'war is hell' story but nevertheless Loren keeps us engrossed.

Sophia Loren became the first player to win an Acting Oscar for a foreign language film in Two Women or La Ciociara in her native Italy. She plays the title role here, the other woman being her daughter played in La Ciociara by Eleanora Brown.The story here is a relatively simple one, Sophia and Eleanora leave Rome due to the bombing of Rome just prior to the Allied invasion of Italy. The political situation is in one state of flux to put it mildly. In a matter of days, Benito Mussolini was overthrown and General Badoglio put in charge of the government. But the Nazis suspecting something was afoot sent in troops and met the Allies in a pitched 21 day battle at Salerno which like Waterloo was a close run thing.At one point Jean-Paul Belmondo asks a couple of stray British paratroopers who landed way up behind enemy lines why the Allies didn't land in Rome. In fact they almost did land an army there, but Eisenhower canceled the landing at the last moment and probably saved a lot of lives doing so.But this isn't about great battles, it's about Two Women just trying to survive the ravages of war in the best way they can. Sophia decides their best place is in her old village, south towards Naples. Before the film ends, she's given plenty of reason to rethink that decision.Sophia was the Best Actress in 1961 for this film and for reasons I don't understand it was not given any other Oscar nominations, including for Best Foreign Language Film and for Best Director for Vittorio DeSica. If La Ciociara has a fault it's that it's Sophia's show totally. The village characters and that of her one time lover Raf Vallone are left undeveloped. Only the daughter and young intellectual Belmondo who falls for the earthy Sophia seem to be on the verge of becoming three dimensional.The subject matter could never have been done in an American studio with the Code still firmly in place. I remember back in the day La Ciociara was shown at the art house circuit and many young juveniles considered it a mark of daring to get in and see Sophia Loren expose more than her American films had done up to that time.Sophia Loren deserved that Oscar, every bit of it. And you'll agree if you see La Ciociara.

Very bad print (even on DVD), but very good movie. A war film that focuses more on the people who suffer, instead of telling the story of those fighting the battle. It's also a movie about love, relationship, bonding between a woman and her daughter. Sophia Loren's performance is stellar. Belmondo is also very good. Young Eleonora Brown's performance gets better during the film. The last 30 minutes of the movie are poignant. It's heartbreaking to listen to Cesira apologize to Rosetta. Watch it.Seen at home, in Toronto, on February 19th, 2006.81/100 (***)

Before I tell about the movie, I must point out that the videotape I viewed was ALSO the most horrible quality print I have ever viewed--another reviewer also said pretty much the same about this. The "Hollywood Classics" brand should be ashamed to release such an ugly print and it desperately needs to be cleaned and restored. I know other companies have also released the film and I assume theirs MUST be better quality than this! AVOID IT LIKE THE PLAGUE!!! Now, on to the movie. This is an exceptionally well-acted and written story about a mother and her young daughter as they try to avoid the horrors of the closing months of WW2 in Italy. They must avoid the Allied bombs as well as the fleeing Fascist pigs who have destroyed the country.Starvation is always a concern, along with stray bombs. However, the movie concludes with their both being raped by some savage Moroccan troops (I had no idea they were involved in WW2--I learned something here). I mention this rape because it is important to the story but must be considered by parents who let their kids see the movie. I would allow my 15 year-old to see it, but it is just too much for my 10 year-old to deal with right now.Although the movie is depressing it is not overly so despite the subject matter. It is well executed and deserved the fame and recognition the movie received. DeSica (director) and Sophia Loren received many kudos for this project. A great film that hopefully will encourage you to seek out more DeSica films (I strongly recommend UMBERTO D. and especially THE CHILDREN ARE WATCHING US).