La Magnani was an Italian wonder : she shines in her part of nouveau riche ,of parvenue greengrocer who made her fortune through black market during the war.
"I was born to be a noble ,to live in a desirable mansion, to be part of the aristocracy ". But what's bred in the bone comes out in the flesh :although she plays the grande dame, although she despises the people she was formerly part of, although she buys so called pictures of famous artists , although she makes friend with a so called marchioness,she remains a naive woman ,crude and gullible, who thinks that her sister will marry a would be young millionaire .The count (played by brilliant Vittorio De Sica ) ,although relegated in the basement ,will remain a count through and through .
In her luxury house ,it's a make believe world ; a prodigious snob, she does not realize how ludicrous she is with her two-bird hat;from rags to riches ,and from riches to rag best depicts this half-comedy half-drama story .
"I was born to be a noble ,to live in a desirable mansion, to be part of the aristocracy ". But what's bred in the bone comes out in the flesh :although she plays the grande dame, although she despises the people she was formerly part of, although she buys so called pictures of famous artists , although she makes friend with a so called marchioness,she remains a naive woman ,crude and gullible, who thinks that her sister will marry a would be young millionaire .The count (played by brilliant Vittorio De Sica ) ,although relegated in the basement ,will remain a count through and through .
In her luxury house ,it's a make believe world ; a prodigious snob, she does not realize how ludicrous she is with her two-bird hat;from rags to riches ,and from riches to rag best depicts this half-comedy half-drama story .