The Frame

Vittorio DeSica is one of the benchmark directors in Italian Neo-realism, and Umberto D is one of his most well-loved films. The story is slight–an old man, the Umberto of the title, has difficulty making his rent payments on his small pensioner’s check, but he doggedly refuses to get thrown out of his apartment. He and his dog meander through the city, meeting up with old friends who don’t help them, and other men worse off than he is. The joy of the film comes from the absolute naturalness of the acting (both Umberto and the other major character, the landlady’s teenage servant, are played by non-actors) and the raw, real emotion evoked for a situation that must have been all too common immediately following a devastating world war. Fifteen-year-old Maria Pia Casilio, who played the servant, said in a much later interview that she had wanted to get acting lessons to prepare for this, her first role, and DeSica refused to let her–and he was totally right. She’s perfect as she is. They both are. And the dog is, too. It’s not an exciting film, and it’s not a film that sounds terribly interesting. But it’s a very rewarding film if you give it the attention it deserves.
Superior