AllMovie

Anna Magnani won Best Actress at the 1947 Venice Film Festival for her stirring comic performance in this charming film, which she co-wrote with director Luigi Zampa, Suso Cecchio D'Amico, and Piero Tellini. Magnani portrays Angelina, an impoverished housewife who begins a passionate battle to improve the standard of living in her slum neighborhood in the days following World War II. The problems of flooding, suitable housing and other hardships take a backseat to Magnani's whirlwind energy and courage, but she and Zampa never forget the warmth behind the humor.