Anna Magnani is Mamma Roma, a middle-aged prostitute determined to escape her sordid past and build a respectable life for her teenage son. Filmed in the great tradition of Italian neorealism, Mamma Roma offers an unflinching portrait of survival and moral conflict in post-war Italy, highlighting Pier Paolo Pasolini’s lifelong fascination with the marginalized and dispossessed.

Banned upon its release for obscenity, the film endures today as a landmark of modern Italian cinema—featuring one of Magnani’s most powerful performances and revealing Pasolini in the process of forging his signature style.

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