Il cammino della speranza

This is a really unjustly obscure neorealist melodrama from Pietro Germi, better known for his 1960's comedies like "Divorce - Italian Style". It's a beautifully shot and massively entertaining film with a really wonderful lead performance from Raf Vallone and a really great ensemble cast. This definitely should be one of the stock neorealist films that everyone sees, but it's not even available on DVD with English subtitles.

Hardcore Italian Neorealism about a group of workers, akin to Visconti's The Earth Trembles and De Santis' Bitter Rice, but not as good. It's easy to fall in love with early on, because sympathy for the Sicilian miners is instant, but sadly it devolves into melodrama and hardship-porn that's just a bit too much to swallow. The cast is charming though, and visually it is stunning. Pause it just about any time and take a screenshot. Mise-en-scène and photography are pitch-perfect.

To me Il Cammino Della Speranza [The Road to Hope] (1950) was more a visual treat than a emotional bonanza, but it certainly was an social adventure that brings you through the challenges for a few Italian families which forces them to try an illegally enter France in hopes for a better life. Enticing to look at, and well-acted to boot, yet there is something that doesn't fully click to bang the hardship in for a complete journey. But it's obviously a well-crafted film