Underrated and little known to the Hollywood mainstream, this is an oft-told unrequited story of a boy falling in love with a woman. Jacques Perrin plays Lorenzo a wealthy boy of about 16 years old falling in love with a poor, nomadic not-so-successful showgirl named Aida, played by Claudia Cardinale. Lorenzo becomes Aida's patron and guardian of sorts, looking after her as Aida doesn't fully appreciate the boy's attention and kindness until the end. Instead we see her gravitate towards men who promise her a job and attention, which many men will do to a beautiful girl. But they don't give her kindness but instead break promises. Aida thinks fondly of Jacques as help but like many girls, she thinks of it as that and simply friendship to be repaid. Lorenzo is the only person who treats her with dignity. At what point does she realize he loves her if she does? (But then I can't give you spoilers). It's a old-fashion romantic story without sex and romance. Just reality.
Often mentioned as CC's first vehicle, this was actually her 15th film at a young age of only 22 when it was made. Jacques went on to a fairly successful film career which included Z and Cinema Paradiso and Claudia has had one of the longest film careers of any leading lady (over 50 years of consistently making films). Most of Claudia's movies are neorealist, dramatic roles suitable for arthouses and auteurs, rather the popular box-office hits. This film is not much different from her other films in how it approaches a love story from a neorealist view.
Valerio Zurlini directs with simple taste, nothing fancy and uses simple sets to tell his story. Zurlini made few films but this is his gift for us, his masterpiece. With cinematographer Tino Santoni, the two crafted a beautiful black-and-white story highlighted by the two lead actors. Three scenes represent their skills best, namely: the scene on the swing as Aida sings to Lorenzo after they separate from the party. He gently puts her hand on hers and as he does, she never notices and we don't see the hand until we see her eyes and expression. Then the camera slowly pans down to their hands as she stops singing. That scene was simply brilliantly directed and acted. The second was the long beach scene, one of the finest and most touching in (Italian) cinema history. It was long silent scene of the two on the beach at dusk. Starting not romantic but as she tends to his cuts, they stare at each other and the camera and lighting was simply beautiful for the two young faces. In today's quick catchy, witty dialogues, we forget acting is the eyes and face. That scene and the final scene (if I wrote the details, it would be a spoiler, no?) at the train station were tributes to Italian chiaroscuro and Caravaggio, the art of dark and light. Like many Italian films, this film ends with a slight melancholic feel and without Hollywood closure.
Claudia Cardinale is incredibly sexy and beautiful with little make-up and simple attires. It's amazing that she rarely dresses glamorously in her movies but still manages to show her beauty. She and Jacques give great performances. Compared to Sophia Loren or Gina Lollabrigida, Cardinale is a slightly better actress but many of her best roles were never mainstream Hollywood (and she didn't have that "English" accent Loren was able to master). She acts with her eyes, facial expressions and gestures extremely well.
This was named one of the Ten Best Movies of the Year by the New York Times and also made their 1000 Best Films list. Girl with a Suitcase (La ragazza con la valigia) is still occasionally shown in arthouses and museums today.
Similar films are Summer of 42 which is nostalgic 7/10, and more favorably I'd compare and recommend two other foreign films, Baran (French-Iranian) and Malena (Italian). I'd give Baran a 9/10 also which has incredibly beautiful scenes in a neorealist flair. The cinematography by Mohammad Davudi in that film directed by Majid Majidi is brilliant. Like Girl With a Suitcase, the plot is simply but the film is brilliant. Malena is cute, funny and touching with beautiful Monica Bellucci but simply not as good (7.5/10).
Often mentioned as CC's first vehicle, this was actually her 15th film at a young age of only 22 when it was made. Jacques went on to a fairly successful film career which included Z and Cinema Paradiso and Claudia has had one of the longest film careers of any leading lady (over 50 years of consistently making films). Most of Claudia's movies are neorealist, dramatic roles suitable for arthouses and auteurs, rather the popular box-office hits. This film is not much different from her other films in how it approaches a love story from a neorealist view.
Valerio Zurlini directs with simple taste, nothing fancy and uses simple sets to tell his story. Zurlini made few films but this is his gift for us, his masterpiece. With cinematographer Tino Santoni, the two crafted a beautiful black-and-white story highlighted by the two lead actors. Three scenes represent their skills best, namely: the scene on the swing as Aida sings to Lorenzo after they separate from the party. He gently puts her hand on hers and as he does, she never notices and we don't see the hand until we see her eyes and expression. Then the camera slowly pans down to their hands as she stops singing. That scene was simply brilliantly directed and acted. The second was the long beach scene, one of the finest and most touching in (Italian) cinema history. It was long silent scene of the two on the beach at dusk. Starting not romantic but as she tends to his cuts, they stare at each other and the camera and lighting was simply beautiful for the two young faces. In today's quick catchy, witty dialogues, we forget acting is the eyes and face. That scene and the final scene (if I wrote the details, it would be a spoiler, no?) at the train station were tributes to Italian chiaroscuro and Caravaggio, the art of dark and light. Like many Italian films, this film ends with a slight melancholic feel and without Hollywood closure.
Claudia Cardinale is incredibly sexy and beautiful with little make-up and simple attires. It's amazing that she rarely dresses glamorously in her movies but still manages to show her beauty. She and Jacques give great performances. Compared to Sophia Loren or Gina Lollabrigida, Cardinale is a slightly better actress but many of her best roles were never mainstream Hollywood (and she didn't have that "English" accent Loren was able to master). She acts with her eyes, facial expressions and gestures extremely well.
This was named one of the Ten Best Movies of the Year by the New York Times and also made their 1000 Best Films list. Girl with a Suitcase (La ragazza con la valigia) is still occasionally shown in arthouses and museums today.
Similar films are Summer of 42 which is nostalgic 7/10, and more favorably I'd compare and recommend two other foreign films, Baran (French-Iranian) and Malena (Italian). I'd give Baran a 9/10 also which has incredibly beautiful scenes in a neorealist flair. The cinematography by Mohammad Davudi in that film directed by Majid Majidi is brilliant. Like Girl With a Suitcase, the plot is simply but the film is brilliant. Malena is cute, funny and touching with beautiful Monica Bellucci but simply not as good (7.5/10).