Neorealism was an artistic movement that emerged after the destructive WWII in Italy. Neoformalist analysis of the filmography usually seeks objectivity, presuming a determinist and materialistic stance. Bordwell & Thompson define Neorealist works as films that strive for faithful representations of social realities, particularly the wartime or post-war material struggles of the Italian working class (325). To fulfill the central tenet of Neorealism, these films demonstrate more or less of the following stylistic traits: 1. Loosening of plot linearity. 2. Use of amateur actors. 3. On-location shooting (Bordwell&Thompson, 325).
Based on Bordwell’s criteria, Vittorio De Sica’s Umberto D would loosely qualify while Federico Fellini’s The Nights of Cabiria would be placed out of the category, even though these works share more similarities than differences. The thematic deviation is the key factor in such a distinction. While Umberto D shows the life of a retired official — a Neorealist protagonist characterized by moral decency but economic marginalization — struggling to pay back the debt to avoid eviction, The Nights of Cabiria focuses on the love life of a stubborn prostitute navigating upper-class circle, which is at odds with the conventional leftist subject matter.
The Nights of Cabiria also demonstrates a significant stylistic departure from Neorealism within the Neoformalist framework, in which Umberto D would fit. While Carlo Battisti, the main of Umberto D, is a real-life retired linguist, an amateur actor, Giulietta Masina, who plays Cabiria, is a professional whose farcical performance in Fellini’s film earned her the Best Actress Award at Cannes. The artificial lit stage performance of hypnosis is also at odds with documentary aesthetics like natural lighting and on-location shooting, which are present in De Sica’s Umberto D.
However, while relatively objective, the Neoformalist definition of Neorealism remains ideological and overly context-dependent, shying away from the deeper ontological explorations in the Neorealist movement. It fails to explain why intellectually conscious auteurs, including Vittorio De Sica, Federico Fellini, and Michelangelo Antonioni, gravitated towards, and later “inconsistently” away from, the rigid matrix of certain representations and formal choices deemed essential to Neorealism by Neoformalists. As Bazin argues, it is not constructive to conceive realism as an “end” instead of a “means” (87). Instead, the essence of Neorealism lies in what Stephen Delorme calls the “gestures” filmmakers take in regard to reality, underlying all external manifestations bounded by socio-economic conditions. It is crucial to examine how these filmmakers conceive their relations with reality in practice, whether through elevation, criticism, admiration, denunciation, affirmation, or denial. Hence, Neorealism can be retheorized as “a specific kind of relationship between means and ends” (Bazin, 87) by referencing the writings of key figures such as Zavattini and Bazin and comparing Umberto D and The Nights of Cabiria. This relationship is defined as a way to see the world without prejudices but with empathy, and an honest portrayal of human beings’ existential conditions, achieved through a commitment to “phenomenological realism” (Bazin, 87). Contrary to claims of its decline, the essay argues that Neorealism persisted and deepened after the 1950s.
What is the Neorealist conception of reality? Neoformalists often takes that for granted as a static, ideological, and context-dependent construct, which raises the question: why did Neorealists create fictional works like Umberto D and The Nights of Cabiria rather than adhering strictly to cinema vérité? What might initially seem like an insistency actually points to the ontological and phenomenological dimensions of these filmmakers’ approach. For Neorealists, reality is not an objective, external realm but a series of perceptions filtered through human consciousness. To understand the world, then, is to understand how others perceive it (Sokolowski, 10).
Filmmakers, therefore, must approach reality with “a desire for understanding, for belonging” (Zavattini, 64). Neorealists aim to capture and communicate the human consciousness through the camera — an “automatic apparatus” that faithfully records appearances (Bazin, 13). The machine indexes the light from the outside world, offering the possibility of a truly phenomenological attitude free from human prejudices. This aligns with Zavattini’s principle of ethical fictionalization, as outlined in Some Ideas on the Cinema. For Zavattini, fictionalization is not about distorting reality but about distilling and analyzing it, compelling it to reveal the underlying essence of human experience, the existential truths beneath the surface. These truths must remain “true to life,” reflected in appearances rather than imposed through artificial “story”, “spectacles”, “drama,” or “exceptional personage” (Zavattini, 68).
This focus on the exploration of existential realities through phenomenological appearances remains consistent from Umberto D to The Nights of Cabiria. In Umberto D, we come to understand the character through the subtle contrast between his well-ironed suits and trembling hands, shuffling steps during the protest. In The Nights of Cabiria, Cabiria is not reduced to an “indecent prostitute” but is shown as an energetic woman running around and dancing mambo in the Roman suburbs, despite being robbed and thrown into the river. In this way, both films encourage us to set aside value judgments based on occupations, genre tropes, or intertextuality, which are often exploited in Hollywood for storytelling efficiency. Instead, they invite us to understand and empathize with characters, recognizing their dignity and freedom in their actions and choices. This echoes Satre’s concept of life as a “basic project”, further revealing the humanist and existentialist philosophies of Neorealist filmmakers.
Moreover, the Neorealist conception of the existential reality is not as static as the one assumed in the Neoformalist framework. In Neorealist films, time—whether in the Heidegerrian sense, or within the context of historical chronology— is constantly shaping the two aforementioned co-constitutive dimensions of existential realities: our consciousness and the world we intend/perceive.
This is reflected in the ongoing focalization of temporality as a fundamental aspect of existence in both Umberto D and The Nights of Cabiria. Deleuze’s analysis of the scene in Umberto D., where the maid goes through her routines, exemplifies the time-image. In a long shot, De Sica captures her rising, lighting the fire, looking out the window, spraying ants, filling the coffee pot, and checking her pregnancy — actions stripped of any potential narrative function (Deleuze). These moments become “pure appearances”, immersing the audience in a Bergsonian duration: a continuous flow of time and activity of consciousness that resists artificial fragmentation into measurable units. Through this, we resonate with and contemplate the emerging drabness and anxiety of her existence. Similarly, in The Nights of Cabiria, during the night of the day when Cabiria is dumped and robbed, Fellini shows her dancing mambo in the dirty and damp streets of Rome— a de-dramatized action. The unfolding of her dynamic gestures reflects an an ongoing defiance against the crushing materiality of the space, tragic memories or any external imposition of drama, drawing the audience’s attention to the vitality of her very state of “Being”. In this way, both De Sica and Fellini are creating a shared and psychologized experience of pure time between the audience and the characters, and in this way celebrating human existence.
Therefore, the Neorealist revolution is characterized by filmmakers’ efforts to “give to the representation of reality at the expense of dramatic structures” (Bazin, 87). An ideal representation requires the reconciliation between two dimensions of existential realities: the scope of appearances, which refers to the range of observable moments that collectively embody the whole, and the psychological depth, which reflects the evolving inner consciousness that constantly imparts meanings. Bazin summarizes it as “the ‘verticality’ of its author’s themes and the ‘horizontality’ of the requirements of narrative”(Bazin, 84). The challenge, then, is how to structure these capsules without the enslavement of drama as an artificial abstraction.
In this sense, the revolution is only half successful in Umberto D, even though the reconciliation is more mature. In earlier Neorealist films like Bicycle Thieves, the protagonist as the perspective is often opaque and static, with verticality giving way to horizontality, focusing too much on the mere display of collective sufferings. In Umberto D, the broader social appearances are filtered through the evolving consciousness of the protagonist, enabling the audience to experience Umberto’s despair as he gradually loses dignity and strains his relationships in various social interactions and spaces. However, the episodes are still tied together, though loose, through a storyline. Frequent deviations into the aforementioned moments of “pure time” (Deleuze) are overshadowed by the need to anchor many appearances to a dramatic narrative structure, as Umberto tries to pay back the debt — a relatively unnatural inciting incident, or plot device that Zavattini would consider “superimposed” (64).
Such artistic exploration also mirrors the changing historical conditions in Italy, which pushed the psychological dimension of people’s existence to the forefront. In 1947, America announced the Marshall Plan, a massive financial package to be invested in the reconstruction of Europe. Italy was the third largest recipient, receiving more than 12 billion dollars between 1948 and 1952, leading to an annual growth rate of more than 5% per year. The economic miracles alleviated some material issues like poverty and lack of housing, but also gave rise to spiritual ones, including modern alienation and a sense of unfairness due to social stratification—issues that became increasingly urgent for artists to address.
Against such a backdrop, Fellini advanced the Neorealist revolution (Bazin, 90). Unlike the loosely structured narrative of Umberto D., The Nights of Cabiria eliminates external goals or inciting incidents altogether. Instead, these events or episodes do not “happen”, rather, they “befall” Cabiria, tied together by the thread of her psychological motivations (Bazin, 84), or what Bazin calls the “the ‘verticality’ of its author’s themes” (84). As a result, they all become moments of “pure time” (Deleuze), serving as “phenomenological description of the characters” appearing only occasionally in Umberto D due to the enslavement of “dramatic linkings” (Bazin, 90). For instance, in the opening scene, after being robbed and pushed into the river by her lover, Cabiria’s obstinacy and clinging to the illusion of love sets the emotional tone and foreshadows her eventual heartbreak. As we analyze the following episodes — such as her brief encounter with a celebrity, her interaction with the distant leftist, the humiliation of being hypnotized to express her desire for love and being laughed at, and the final love affair with the fraud — it becomes evident that these events are not organized arbitrarily. Instead, these episodes correspond to the stages of Cabiria’s psychological evolution: disappointment, the relighting of hope, desperation for a final chance, and ultimate disillusionment. At the same time, each “scenario” is coherent, organic and descriptive in itself, arising from the character’s inner life, while also propelling her toward the next stage in her emotional journey. Simultaneously, like Umberto D, The Nights of Cabiria offers us a glimpse into the Roman suburban landscape through Cabiria’s perspective, maintaining the “horizontality” of the script. In this regard, The Nights of Cabiria should be seen as a successor to Umberto D as part of the Neorealist endeavors.
Neorealism should be reconceptualized as an ethical way of seeing the world with empathy and understanding — a genuine curiosity about the existential truths/realities of human beings. It serves as a starting point where certain artifices are permissible. The use of professional actors and artificial set design does not detract from realism; rather, it paradoxically enhances the authenticity of these representations by adding precision and psychological depth. Specifically, the dynamism of Cabiria’s physicality — her dancing, hypnotization, and volatile temper requires some professional talents like Giulietta Masina to recreate.
Through this theorization of Neorealism as attempts to represent and explore reality ontologically, we can rediscover the hidden continuities and nuances lost in Neoformalist periodization. This proves the importance of focusing on the consistent “gestures” beneath stylistics as a potential new paradigm of studying cinema history (Delorme). The legacy of an artistic movement can and indeed extend far beyond its initial socio-political conditions, influencing filmmakers globally. From Abbas Kiarostami’s naturalist cinema and philosophical exploration of authenticity to the humanist and lively works of the Dardenne Brothers and Sean Baker’s lively featuring marginalized social groups, these examples demonstrate how the spirit of Neorealism continues to resonate in diverse cinematic contexts, rendering it not just as a historical movement but a living philosophy that continues to evolve, with its ethical concerns and vision of empathy and social consciousness persisting in contemporary cinema.
Works Cited
1. Bazin, André, “Cabiria: The Voyage To The End Of Neorealism.”, in What Is Cinema? (Volume II), Translated by Hugh Gray. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005, pp. 83 – 92
2. Bazin, André, “The Ontology of the Photographic Image”, in What Is Cinema? (Volume I), Translated by Hugh Gray. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005, pp. 9 - 16.
3. Deleuze, Gilles. Cinema 2 : The Time Image. Continuum, 2005.
4. Rédaction, La. “Édito N°687, Mars 2013 LE Style et Le Geste l l’actualité Du Cinéma.” Cahiers Du Cinéma, 26 Feb. 2013, www.cahiersducinema.com/editos/edito-n687-mars-2013-le-style-et-le-geste/.
5. Satre, Jean-Paul. Existentialism Is a Humanism. Edited by John Kulka, Translated by Carol Macomber. Yale University Press, 2007
6. Solowski, Robert, ‘What Is Intentionality, and Why Is It Important?’, in Introduction to Phenomenology. Cambridge University Press, 1999, pp. 8–16
7. The Nights of Cabiria, dir. Frederico Fellini (1957)
8. Thompson, Kristin, and David Bordwell. Film History : An Introduction. 3rd ed.. McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2010.
9. Umberto D, dir Vittorio De Sica (1952)
10. Zavattini, Cesare. “Some Ideas on the Cinema.” Sight and Sound, vol. 23, no. 2, Dec. 1953, pp. 64-69.
