Monday, 23 February 2015

A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse.

Shoeshine (1946)

Directed by Vittorio De Sica this film stars Franco Interlenghi, Rinaldo Smordoni and Annielo Mele. Two young shoeshine boys raise money to buy a horse but in doing so fall foul of the law.

This is a great look at post war poverty in Italy and how families and the state both mistreat the children that they see as a burden on them. The contrasting approaches of state and family show both care and cruelty leaving the fate of poor children a real uncertainty. While the film is well made and has some tragic moments I am not sure it is as good as some of De Sica's following films.


4/5

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