Nights of Cabiria Movie Review

Fellini. For some reason we in film perform a sort of idolatry at the altar of all of the films he made. Ironically, this seems to be just what Fellini would have wanted of us. His films aren’t great. They have good camerawork, are visually stunning, and have plenty of lofty notions behind them… but they’re not great. Yet we come. And we worship. And we put up with those damn white subtitles on a black and white movie one-too-many times.

Fellini’s Nights of Cabiria is one of the many movies that no one knows the man directed. Squeezed in between La Strada and La Dolce Vita, it’s most remarkable feature is that it immediately proceeds the controversial and three-hour long opus that Fellini will always be remembered for. It is the story of a Hooker with the Heart of Gold, who wants nothing more out of life than romance, marriage, or a job with a health plan. Only one problem… people continually want to off her for the 40,000 to 400,000 lire that she has lying around.

Now 40,000 lire’s not much, but this is part of the standard Fellini shtick. Fellini is about two things: getting back at Catholic school and proving that money is the root of all evil. Nights of Cabiria does nothing more than drill these points in… and make us laugh at the stupidity of its protagonist.

Yes, the jokes are intentional. Yes, the film is visually stunning, but Nights of Cabiria really has nothing more to offer. Were I one to worship Fellini like every other film critic, I would recommend La Dolce Vita or 8 ½, which are generally agreed to be his best films. Then again, I saw those too and they weren’t that great. Instead, I recommend that one opt to watch Nights of Cabiria for the humor that it offers… or not at all.

Aka Le Notti di Cabiria.