Bitter Rice is a neorealist film directed by Giuseppe De Santis in 1949. The story takes place during the rice harvest in the Po Valley in 1948 and deals with issues such as poverty, exploitation, and moral corruption. The film was a critical and commercial success, both in Italy and internationally, and is considered a landmark in Italian cinema.
Francesca, played by Doris Dowling, is a brassy, tough-talking woman who is on the run from the police after stealing a large sum of money. She decides to hide out in the rice fields where she meets Silvana, played by Silvana Mangano, a beautiful peasant worker who dreams of a better life. Silvana's boyfriend, Marco, played by Raf Vallone, is a disillusioned soldier who is about to be discharged from the army.
As the rice harvest progresses, tensions rise between the different characters. Francesca and Walter, played by Vittorio Gassman, plan a robbery of the local granary, while Silvana and Marco's romance blossoms. The conflicts and contradictions of the characters' lives are played out in the context of the harsh and unforgiving landscape of the rice fields.
De Santis's direction is characterized by his use of non-professional actors, location shooting, and a documentary-style approach to storytelling. The film's themes of social and economic inequality and the struggle for dignity and self-respect have resonated with audiences and critics alike for over seventy years.