probably visconti's worst movie

Anna Magnani gives an absolutely staggering performance (as usual). The final scenes are sublime.

# 682

It's a distinct experience when I watch an absolute masterpiece and that's how I know it; I find myself crying and laughing at the same time. Bellissima, despite the unassuming, intimate nature of its story, is at once a heartbreaking tragedy and a gutbusting comedy, and it achieves this through nothing but masterful realism. Magnani gives one of the finest performances I have ever seen as a terrible woman whom it is impossible not to relate to and love.