"Bitter Rice"
1949
Directed by Giuseppe de Santis

In the dreary rice fields of the Po Valley, a thief on the run meets a hard-working, beautiful girl. Silvana Mangano portrays the seductive rice worker who betrays her comrades in order to steal the thief's loot, a role which rocketed her to international stardom. Intended as a social critique by Marxist writer and director Giuseppe De Santis, Bitter Rice became a surprise international hit because of its overt sexuality.  With Vittorio Gassman, Raf Vallone, Doris Dowling and Lia Corelli. Italian with English subtitles. B&W.  106 minutes.