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Vittorio De Sica's Umberto D.


             Another factor that supports the notion that this scene is of a neorealist style is the use of non-professional cast. Maria Pia Cassilio as Maria, the poor girl living in the poverty-ridden slums of Italy. Maria was born May 5th, 1935. This film was made in 1952 making her 17 years old when the film was released. Maria stared in many films from the early 1950's up until the late 1990's, but got her start in Umberto D. It was her first film which kick started her career as an actress. .
             This scene is shot using a fast film stock, which lends a grainy texture to the image. It appears to be almost having the feel of a documentary. The shots are very sensitive to changes in light and have a sort of flickering effect. Fast film stock is used because less lighting is needed to produce the desired shot. In an on location shoot, it would have sometimes been hard to get the appropriate lighting needed for a slower film stock. To solve this problem a faster film stock was used reducing the amount of lighting that was needed. The only trade off was that the image appeared to be grainier and less precise than slower film stock. The grainier image does contribute to the gritty and poor feel of the scene.
             Neorealism also shows the post WWII lives of Italians and the poverty they endured in their daily lives. We see Maria doesn't live in the most ideal scenarios from the first time wee see her. She is sleeping on a small cot in a room that looks like its used for a lot more than just sleeping in. There is a sewing machine with fabric draped on it, which shows us that she has to do her own repairs and manufacturing of clothing because there is no money to have other people to do it for her. When Maria is walking down the hall and into the kitchen we see her pulling on a sort of shirt. It appears dirty and old. It seems as though it hasn't been cleaned or washed and has been worn a lot. This shows the audience what life was like post WWII in Italy.


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