Vittorio De Sica’s 1960 film Two Women (La Ciociara) tells the story of a widow and her adolescent daughter in war torn Italy of 1943, beginning just prior to the invasion of the Allies. It is a coming-of-age film with a difference – told more from the vantage point of the mother than the adolescent daughter. It is a riveting story, adapted by Cesare Zavattini from a novel by Alberto Moravia.

The Story: Cesira (Sophia Loren) is a widow operating a grocery store in Rome in 1943. Cesira is devoted to raising her 13-year-old daughter, Rosetta (Eleanora Brown). She is both caring and protective. Rome is subject to daily bombing raids by the allies, in preparation for the allied invasion. When a building just down the street from their shop is destroyed, many of Cesira’s customers are rendered homeless.

Cesira pays a visit to Giovanni (Raf Vallone), a coal vendor. Though he is married, both are attracted to one another and after he closes his shutters, they have sex on the floor of his shop. As she prepares to leave, he whacks her on the rear end, irritating her enough that she angrily throws his offering of coal back into his shop. “I’m nobody’s property”, she says.

Cesira decides that she and Rosetta should return to her home village for safety until the bombing subsides and Rome has been secured one way or another. When they arrive, they discover that the people of the village have barely enough food and are surviving mainly on just bread and wine. One of the people there is Michele (Jean Paul Belmondo), a young intellectual, son of a local farmer, and an outspoken anti-fascist. Rosetta finds him attractive, but Michele falls instead for the older Cesira. Cesira likes his intellect and his ideals but is disinterested in his advances, especially given her daughter’s feelings.

The Germans are in full retreat and as they pass through, they take Michele at gunpoint to lead them through the mountain passes. Later, Cesira and Rosetta learn that Michele was killed by the Germans.

Thinking that they can safely return to Rome, Cesira and Rosetta begin the long trek back. They are passed by a contingent of rowdy Moroccans who subject them to ogling and catcalls. At night, they find an abandoned church in which to sleep, but suddenly the Moroccans rush in from all sides. Both Cesira and Rosetta are brutally beaten into submission and gang-raped all night long.

Rosetta is shell-shocked, dazed, and angry at her mother for having failed to protect her. They bravely continue their hike and get a ride from an Italian truck driver named Florindo. He gets them to join in singing, which raises their spirits somewhat and renews their faith in human companionship. They sleep at Florindo’s house for the night. Cesira and her daughter go to bed exhausted, but Cesira later awakens to find her daughter gone. There is a pair of silk stockings nearby. Florindo’s mother tells her that Florindo and Rosetta went out dancing. Cesira waits impatiently, like any parent for an overdue child. When Rosetta returns, she offers only a glib explanation, typical of a teen feeling a rush of desire for greater independence. Cesira slaps her but they soon both realize that Rosetta has become a woman and that Cesira can no longer protect her from experiencing what the world may bring to her. They embrace – no longer as woman and child but, for the first time, as two women.

Themes: The foremost theme in this film is the mother-daughter relationship and the coming-of-age of the daughter from mainly the mother’s point-of-view. It is a time of war and chaos and Cesira wants nothing more than to protect Rosetta – from hunger, from bombs, and from men. Cesira is smart and worldly and knows how to survive in most situations, but in wartime, even those qualities may not prove enough to protect oneself or one’s child. Cesira is heroic in her maternal role and despite the horror that her daughter is subjected to by the Moors, Cesira has protected her from death and has provided her with a foundation of love and personal strength that will enable Rosetta to survive her traumatic experience. She may have lost her purity and innocence, but not her will to live and capacity to enjoy simple pleasures of singing, dancing, and good companionship.

The other obvious theme is the abuse of women by men. Although always a potential threat for women even in the best of times, it is a risk that increases with the lawlessness that accompanies war. If there is a controversial aspect to this film, I would say that it is the issue of how the various military contingents are represented so differently. The Germans are presented as brutal, the British as cordial, the Italians as cowardly, and the Moors as almost demons. Since military groups reflect to some extent the culture from which they hail, I imagine there may be differences in the potential for brutality among armies from various countries. Whether the differences depicted in this film have validity or whether they are racist stereotypes is hard to know.

Production Values: The foremost merit of this film is the incredible performance by Sophia Loren. Long known mainly as a sex-symbol and having already performed in more than 50 previous films when Two Women was made, it was this largely maternal role that enabled Loren to prove conclusively that she also possessed impressive acting talent. Her performance earned her the Academy Award in the Best Actress category – the first time it was ever won by an actress in a foreign film. Loren also took away the Best Actress awards at the Cannes Film Festival and from the British Film Academy. Some of Loren’s other successes have included Gold of Naples (1954), El Cid (1961), Boccaccio '70 (1962), and Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow (1963).

Jean Paul Belmondo had star-power in his own right. He was already well-known for Breathless (1959) and Woman Is a Woman (1960) when Two Women was made. Perhaps his best work came in Pierrot le Fou in 1965.

Vittorio De Sica was a highly regarded director, especially for his contributions to Italian Neorealism. His triumphs have included Shoeshine (1946), The Bicycle Thief (1948), and Umberto D. (1952), Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow (1963), and The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (1971). Da Sica films won the Academy Award in the Best Foreign Film category four times, a record matched only by Fellini and exceeded by none! His most important choice in this film, however, was to make it a vehicle for Loren’s talents.

Bottom-Line: This is a fine narrative with a superlative performance by the lead actress as well as commendable performances by Elenora Brown and Jean Paul Belmondo. The rape scene is brutal though it is explicit more for violence than for sexuality. I personally would not want either a male or female child of mine to see this film at under age seventeen, but I may be a little more conservative in that respect than other parents might be. For older adolescents or college-age students, I think this film could provide a good basis for stimulating a healthy discussion about the dehumanizing aspect of sexual assaults. The version I own is VHS and was produced by VCI Home Video. It is dubbed in English but the sound quality and the images are both satisfactory. From what I’ve read, there are significant problems with the DVD transfer. The film is in black-and-white with a running time is 99 minutes. Good direction and a magnificent performance by Sophia Loren are two great reasons to watch this film.

Recommended:
Yes

Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age