In an unspecified city in winter, lonesome outsider Mario (Marcello Mastroiani) takes interest in stranger Natalia (Maria Schell, impressively shedding her Austrian accent) after seeing her stand on a bridge crying. She gives him highly mixed signals. At first I thought she was just painfully shy, but it turns out that she's been waiting night after night for an unnamed love interest (Jean Marais) whom she half-believes will never return. That rather complicates the decision of how much of a chance to give Mario, who turns down other suitors for her.
As in so many romantic dramas -- and another of director Luchino Visconti's hits, The Leopard -- the plot is remarkably simple to summarize. It feels less sparse when we get flashbacks as Natalia tells Mario about her love, a middle-aged tenant of her mother's. I would not have cast Marais in this role; his face is too severe to hint at attraction or likely attractiveness. Then again, maybe Visconti wanted to make Natalia's feelings look even less sensible.
The plus side to the simple plot is its relative credibility. I found myself thinking of the works of Richard Linklater, albeit with less constant dialog. Oddly, this may render the story both less idyllic and sweeter, because we can more easily project someone we know, if not ourselves, into the story.
Happy ending? That depends on your POV. But by Russian novel standards, it's at least merciful.
I won't say it's my kind of movie, but neither does it turn me away. I expect to watch at least one more Visconti film.
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