I feel like talking a little bit about Anna Magnani, to express my love for this incredible woman and to make you understand what a truly legendary actress she has been.

I feel she doesn’t receive enough recognition here on tumblr. There’s a lot of Sophia Loren, Claudia Cardinale, Gina Lollobrigida and all the other Italian beauties but I rarely see posts about her. I have nothing against Loren & Co. but we’re talking about an other era of Italian cinema, post-war movies that reflected people’s desire to enjoy and have fun, therefore lots of comedies and beautiful women. Not to mention American influence on Italian productions… Italian movies were just not the same anymore. Anna Magnani kind of retired herself in those years because she was considered too big for that sort genre, plus she didn’t like it herself, which is a great pity. It makes me sad and mad at the same time. But that’s an other story…

Anna Magnani is the symbol of Neorealism, aka the Golden Age of Italian Cinema. She’s not beautiful, and that’s exactly what’s fashinating about her. She had her own kind of beauty made of passion, charisma and energy. There’s something deep and visceral about her. Her acting it’s raw, real, human. She’s Italian in the true sense of the word, representing our country and the Italian woman like no one else did. There’s a reason why she’s considered the best Italian actress in history. Go watch some of her films and let me know.

Get ready because I intend to spread some Magnani awesomeness.

“the best Italian actress in history”

(Source: taniadoeslittle)