That humanity is so cold that it won't help Umberto, who worked all his life, raise even a little money to retain his lodgings, but a fox terrier can unconditionally support him, is a theme that resonates even in contemporary times. We do not feel like we are watching a crafted film, on the contrary, we feel we are intimately involved in Umberto's struggle, and continuing disappointment. Yet, the camera is not his friend -- not in the sense that he doesn't photography well, but that there is an air of being aloof -- more, we find, of not knowing how to react than not wanting to react.

Put into cultural context, the anti-generational (pensioner vs. landlady) in a country trying to forget the war, but reminded of it whenever the see an old man, the film moves the audience in many ways. Still, we look around, almost 50 years...
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