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 that culminates in Maddalena’s shattering disillusionment over the material and spiritual costs that she has paid for the flimsiest of dreams. Delivering both humor and heartbreak, Bellissima is the triumphant result of Magnani and Visconti discovering collaborative magic at their artistic peaks.