Directed by Raffaello Matarazzo
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Criterion Eclipse)
This sequel picks up the plot right where 1951's Nobody's Children left off. Guido (Amadeo Nazzari) is heartbroken after the death of his child. His rock quarry business begins to decline due to his neglect. His home life falls apart and he asks his wife for a divorce and custody of their only child. His desperate wife kidnaps the child and tries to escape by speed boat, leading to tragedy. Guido falls even deeper into depression, when he meets by chance a traveling actress who happens to look just like his love from the first movie (played by the same actress, Yvonne Sanson). Lucia, if you remember, became a nun and is thus unobtainable, so he substitutes the actress for her. However, this girl is no nun and ends up in prison for counterfeiting. The plot takes a left turn into WIP territory, and she brawls with another inmate. Near death, and pregnant, she asks for her lookalike nun to take care of the baby. She marries the father in a prison ceremony, during which some of the women stage a jail break, using the newborn baby as a hostage. The nun comes to the rescue just in the nick of time. Whew! It may be melodramatic, but it's never boring.
No comments:
Post a Comment