La Strada
Acceptable with guidance. Age: 18+. A Catholic review of this movie for parents.
Our review
Gelsomina is a poor, gentle girl whose mother sells her to a rough strongman who does shows on the road. He is mean to her, but a funny tightrope walker tells her that everything in the world has a purpose, even a little stone. This sad old Italian movie is for grown-ups. It is a story about a soul that matters when no one thinks it does. The Vatican put it on its 1995 list under Art, and the Catholic classification is adults only. Zampanò forces himself on Gelsomina early in the film, treats her cruelly, drinks hard, and kills a man in a fight. He leaves her on the road while she sleeps. What stays is the last scene, when a hard man finally learns what he threw away. Nothing here is shown as good that is evil.
For parents
Not rated. The Catholic classification is A-III, adults, and Lumen follows it. No secular age rating was retrieved. Things to know before you watch: a girl is sold by her mother. Wikipedia's summary says Zampanò forces himself on her, which is sexual assault, though this is a 1954 film and it is not shown graphically in the sources we read. He drinks heavily. He kills the clown, known as the Fool, with his fists and hides the body. Gelsomina's mind gives way and she dies offscreen. For adults and older teens with a parent, ask: what does the Fool mean when he says even a pebble has a purpose? Who made that purpose? Why can Zampanò weep only at the end? Is his grief the start of repentance? Wikipedia reports that Pope Francis named this as perhaps the film he loved most.