La ragazza in vetrina

La ragazza in vetrina was supposed to be a turning point in Emmer’s cinema but it went on to become a cursed film. In accordance with the evolution of Italian cinema, the director chose a story by Rodolfo Sonego which combines a tough theme, Italian migrants working in Dutch and Belgian mines (the tragedy in Marcinelle, near Charleroi, which left 262 dead, half of which were Italian, took place only four years earlier), with a raunchy one, about the red light district in Amsterdam. It combines his love of wandering and the sketch with a harsh new gaze, bolstered by the black-and-white cinematography of Otello Martelli, fresh from La dolce vita. The first half-hour of the film depicts the difficult lives of the miners; then it concentrates on two characters, one timid, the other self-confident, but both lonely and unhappy, as they meet two prostitutes. The unity of time and the idea of the voyage involving impossible encounters (Domenica d’agosto, Parigi è sempre Parigi) now takes on a documentary flavour and a deep bitterness. However, the film was blocked by the Italian censor, who held it up for months before finally issuing a 16 rating, after eliminating one scene considered too raunchy. Nevertheless, many felt that the censor’s real target was actually the description of the working conditions faced by Italian emigrants. Embittered by the experience, Emmer dedicated himself to Tv advertising until 1990. The full-length Italian version was only restored forty years after its release.

Emiliano Morreale