Conspiracy Theory in Film, Television, and Politics, new from Praeger Publishers. 
FROM THE MOVIE VAULT
The Nights of Cabiria (1957)
Post-war Italy is the setting for The Nights of Cabiria (le Notti di Cabiria) from the renowned director Federico Fellini, who collaborated on the screenplay with Pier Paolo Pasolini and others. It’s not as well known as some of Fellini’s longer (and occasionally more indulgent) movies, but with each passing year it becomes clear that Cabiria is among his finest achievements. On the surface, the story is bleak: A young woman, fending for herself in devastation-ridden post-War Italy, sells her body to survive. In a remarkable performance, Giulietta Masina (also the director’s wife) breathes life into Cabiria as she is repeatedly victimized, both by the men she encounters and, sadly, by her own innocence. This is not only the tale of a naïve victim, however. At the heart of the movie, Fellini shows us how Cabiria’s optimism, which at first seems misplaced, gives the character an inner strength and dignity. Sometimes poignant, sometimes light-hearted, Nights of Cabiria still impresses. In Italian, with English sub-titles. (Our rating: 4 ½* out of 5*)
