‘Riso amaro‘ (or ‘Bitter Rice’ in the English release) is one of the films that connects the Italian neo-realism of the 1940s in its ‘pure’ form with the great Italian cinema that would emerge from this movement in the following decades. Made in 1949 and produced by Dino De Laurentiis, it was the third film by director Giuseppe De Santis. Some of the firm principles of neo-realism were abandoned: in the lead roles, instead of amateur actors, well-known professional actors or debutants with aspirations to a fame that they would actually achieve were cast. Social themes and political messages remain dominant, but they are combined with a ‘film noir’ plot in order to attract a wider audience, including those in international film markets. Finally, the dominant female characters do not look at all like the anonymous heroines of some of the previous films of the neorealist wave but rather like movie stars worthy of Hollywood. In fact, it can be said that ‘Riso amaro‘ was already a film that was in dialogue with American cinema, at an intersection that also included the clash between the American culture that flooded Europe and the leftist ideologies that guided neorealism politically and artistically.
The story opens with a radio reporter’s broadcast, a good pretext to use voice-over and define the context. For a few weeks each year, the rice fields of northern Italy were populated by detachments of women recruited from the poor strata of post-war Italian villages and towns, who came to perform the hard and painstaking work of harvesting rice. Walter and Francesca – he a charismatic conman, she a young accomplice who has fallen into his nets – will join this crowd in an attempt to cover up a major robbery and escape justice. In the women’s camp near the rice fields, the two will meet Silvana, a young peasant woman, fascinating in her beauty and zest for life. All the men are mesmerized by this woman, including Marco, a soldier close to being released from the army, but Silvana seems to prefer the toxic Walter, who plans to rob the work of those who had toiled during the harvest. The love story and the planning of the new coup are combined against the backdrop of social conflicts between seasonal workers and their employers.
Visually, ‘Riso amaro‘ is one of the most impressive films of the decade. The cinematography belongs to Otello Martelli, who would add films such as ‘La Strada’ and ‘Dolce Vita’ to his illustrious filmography in the following decades. The combination of action and music is also excellent. Even if it cannot be said that ‘Riso amaro‘ is a musical film, several scenes of music and dance are memorable and well integrated aesthetically. The soundtrack is also noteworthy, with a lot of jazz, an element that subtly adds to other American cinematic influences (some less subtle, such as the fact that the ‘negative’ characters chew gum). The two actresses in the lead roles are fascinating, even if they do not look at all like women who toil in the rice fields. Silvana Mangano in the role of Silvana begins her rise as a star here in a role in which she reminds (and not only in terms of physiognomy) Ingrid Bergman. Doris Dowling is actually an American actress, dubbed in voice in this film, Francesca being a characterological counterpoint to Silvana. Vittorio Gassman was already quite famous when he played the role of Walter, but for Raf Vallone it was his first credited role and this is where his career begun. The resemblance to Burt Lancaster probably contributed to the casting and success of the role. ‘Riso amaro‘ is a cinematic milestone, one of the films that marks the end of Italian neorealism and the beginning of a period of international distribution and success of films made in the peninsula. But it is, above all, a beautiful, sensual, captivating film that can still be watched with interest in the eighth decade since its production and release on screens.