Revival of Italy’s ‘Bitter Rice’ Reflects Extent of Hollywood’s Post-WWII Reach

Giuseppe De Santis’s “Bitter Rice” (1949) is a melodrama whose extravagance redeems its corniness — but just barely. On the occasion of hosting a revival of the picture in a 4K restoration, Film Forum describes it as “neorealism with a heaping dose of pulp.” That’s putting it mildly: “Bitter Rice” is less akin to “Shoeshine” (1946) or “Bicycle Thieves” (1948) than it is to “Singin’ in the Rain” (1952) and “Guys and Dolls” (1955). De Santis’s film is considerably less joyous, but no less mannered. “Bitter Rice” is a musical that doesn’t know its own name.Music and dance do feature in the film. A Greek chorus of mondine — women who worked the rice paddies of northern Italy on a seasonal basis — regularly chip in with funny and sometimes caustic songs as a means of gossiping. Certainly, there’s plenty to gossip about after free spirit Silvana (Silvana Mangano) invites a thuggish hanger-on, Walter Granata (Vittorio Gassman), to join her in a dance. Given Silvana’s hip-shaking enthusiasm, how could a man resist?The cartoonish jubilation of their on-the-fly boogie-woogie is likely the best known scene from “Bitter Rice.” It also serves as a marker of shifting alliances between our protagonists, not only Silvana and Walter, but Francesca (Doris Dowling) and Marco (Raf Vallone). The former is Walter’s partner in romance and crime: they’re on the run with a stolen necklace in tow. The latter is a hairy-chested veteran eager to pursue greener pastures overseas. Marco has a notion to bring Silvana along with him. Doris Dowling and Vittorio Gassman in “Bitter Rice” (1949). Via Janus FilmsMangano was the commercial locus of “Bitter Rice”: Posters of the time highlight her blonde mane, ample bosom and thigh-high stockings. Thematically, Silvana is an embodiment of the post-war reach of American culture, what with her gum-chewing, free-spirited, Rita Hayworth-like ways. In that regard, she mirrors De Santis’ directorial aplomb. The hardscrabble tenets of Neorealismo be damned: “Bitter Rice” is, in its cinematic flair, pure Hollywood.The first minutes of “Bitter Rice” propel us through an impeccably choreographed scene at a train depot. De Santis and his bevy of screenwriters have a narrator open with a documentary-like explanation of rice-picking season and why “only women” can do it: “Small and fast hands are required, the same hands that thread a needle and cradle an infant.” As the camera pulls back, we discover that this uomo is a broadcaster for Radio Turin, after which we are given an overview of our players done in a manner that is as concise as it is encompassing. Breathless filmmaking, this is; bravura, too.An emphasis on the back-breaking work of seasonal workers provides the neo-realist emphasis, but “Bitter Rice” is also a gangster movie. Francesca takes refuge from the law as an undocumented worker, joining Silvana and a bevy of ethnic types in the rice fields. Marco hides out in the farm’s storage facility. Before long, he’s scheming to steal truckloads of rice to sell on the black market. The plan that eventually emerges will involve Silvana; her moral compass is, alas, susceptible to Marco’s charms.“Bitter Rice” is fantastically entertaining but hard to take seriously. A final shootout that takes place in a meat locker is smartly blocked out, but its aftermath is bathetic beyond the call of hyperbole. The actors fill out their stock roles to handsome effect, but only Dowling gives her character a sense of inner life.For my time and money, Francesca’s brooding self-possession is infinitely more interesting (and sexier) than Silvana’s flighty exuberance. In the end, De Santis’ film hasn’t dated all that well, but it does contain wrinkles that offer their own satisfactions.

Revival of Italy’s ‘Bitter Rice’ Reflects Extent of Hollywood’s Post-WWII Reach

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