But that's not the reason why I declare this film as the best melodrama, but because I identify with the character Salvatore. Yes, this film is the best European melodrama I've seen, even the best in the world, much better than the Indian ones with Raj Kapoor. I'll have to watch a few other melodramas I saw as a child and compare, but from what I can judge now as an adult, it's the strongest. I'm thinking of other films like the English "Our Mother's House" (1967), the French "The Adventures of Remi" Original title: Sans famille (1958), the Greek "The Shoe-Shine Boy" Original title: O loustrakos (1962) and another Italian "Misunderstood" Original title: Incompreso (Vita col figlio) (1966). The child Edoardo Nevola is extraordinary in the role of the orphan looking for his mother, and the director Glauco Pellegrini shows a very good knowledge of the human soul. Alida Valli is convincing in the role of the mother who abandoned her son, and Francisco Rabal is very good in the role of the man who wants a son. I saw the prolific Spanish actor Francisco Rabal in important films, true masterpieces, such as "Viridiana" (1961), "L'Eclisse (1962), "Belle de Jour" (1967), "The Desert of the Tartars" (1976). "Since I've been here in Rome I've always felt the need to steal and it's the atmosphere that's to blame", is a nice line at minute 58.30, said by the orphan boy Salvatore, to the thief played by Memmo Carotenuto. And the scene in which Salvatore provides a marionette-voice for a mother pining for her lost son, alongside marionette-theatre operator Gennaro, played by Eduardo De Filippo, it's extremely moving.

Italian cinema has deeply influenced world cinema through its socially conscious realism and modernist experimentation, but it also flourished in popular genres like peplum (sword & sandal), giallo thrillers, and broad comedies. Its narratives often weave together politics, contemporary social change, class consciousness, and family dynamics, balancing artistic ambition with entertainment that resonated widely.

Lamberto Maggiorani in Bicycle Thieves (1948)

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Will Ferrell, Angela Grillo, and Lap-Gei Cheung in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)

The drama genre is a broad category that features stories portraying human experiences, emotions, conflicts, and relationships in a realistic and emotionally impactful way. Dramas delve into the complexities of human life, often exploring themes of love, loss, morality, societal issues, personal growth, with the aim to evoke an emotional response from the audience by presenting relatable and thought-provoking stories.

Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)

Salvatore, known as "bread loaf", escapes from Caltanissetta's brewery to find his mother he never met. Before arriving in Venice, he stays in a small sea village where he meets people of various kinds.

Unión Industrial Cinematográfica (UNINCI)

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Gregory Peck, Ethel Barrymore, Charles Laughton, Charles Coburn, Ann Todd, Louis Jourdan, and Alida Valli in The Paradine Case (1947)

Memmo Carotenuto and Edoardo Nevola in L'uomo dai calzoni corti (1958)

Edoardo Nevola in L'uomo dai calzoni corti (1958)

Alida Valli in L'uomo dai calzoni corti (1958)

Sergey Datskevich in L'uomo dai calzoni corti (1958)

L'uomo dai calzoni corti

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