Anna Magnani turns in one of the greatest performances of her legendary career in Bellissima—a scathing indictment of postwar Italy’s reckless pursuit of celebrity. After learning of a Cinecittà Studios casting call for a child actor, working-class nurse Maddalena Cecconi (Magnani) transforms into a consummate stage mother, overhauling the life of her seven-year-old daughter (Tina Apicella) and steamrolling everyone else, including her disbelieving husband (Gastone Renzelli), in order to secure a successful audition. But Maddalena gets more than she bargained for when an unscrupulous industry insider (Walter Chiari) asks for cash (and more) in return for greasing Cinecittà palms—a deception
