2012 Tarkovsky Prize 2nd Place: Frances Saux

TWO WOMEN

By Frances Saux

Seeing your favorite characters suffering on screen hurts. It is meant to hurt; the filmmaker wants to show you something that will stick in your minds. He wants to make you care. Two Women, a film by Vittoria De Sica, builds up to its horrific rape scene by developing the film’s characters so they are appreciated and understood by the audience. The movie’s strong female leads, three-dimensional female characters, and compassionate relationship between the two protagonists ultimately create a greater impact on the audience, sending the message that women will always struggle in a patriarchal society.

Traditionally, films use women for their sex appeal, and to create romantic tension in the plot. In Two Women, though, the character of Cesira shows the audience that she stands independently from men. Early on, she establishes herself as free and autonomous in a scene where their train breaks down and, instead of waiting for somebody to fix the tracks, Cesira and her daughter go the journey by foot, holding their suitcases on top of their heads, ignoring the comments made by the men on the train. Her primary goal in the film is not romantic in nature; she wants to remain safe from the war and to raise her daughter well. When, at the end of the film, male soldiers rape them, the audience feels it strongly because they know that Cesira does not usually put up with men. Because of this, they feel it as a tragedy.

However, independence is not Cesira’s only character trait. She is also kind, compassionate, and good humored, and does begin a romance with one of the male leads without seeming to oppose her beliefs. Her daughter, Rosetta, has an equally strong personality. Over the course of the film, she searches for her identity as she transitions from childhood to adulthood. The awkwardness of this change reveals itself in the scene where one of the male characters walks into the room while she is changing. Cesira laughs it off, saying that she is only a little girl, but Rosetta feels terribly embarrassed. Even though her mother thinks she is still young, she is old enough to feel this kind of shame. After the rape scene, Rosetta loses her childlike qualities. This change is not lost on the audience; they understand the impact of that scene in the film through character change and reactions.

The most important, and the most developed relationship in the film is Cesira’s relationship to Rosetta, and this relationship suffers the most as a result of their rape. Throughout the film, Cesira demonstrates her ability to be a loving and nurturing mother, as well as a good teacher and role model. Rosetta, in turn, shows unconditional love for her mother. Then, at the pivotal scene in the movie, even this strong bond takes a toll. The rest of the story is spent finding each other’s love and trust again, and in the very last scene, the mother and daughter sit together, feeling loved, and feeling safe again.

In Two Women, the filmmaker creates and develops the characters of Cesira and Rosetta, makes them three-dimensional, and shows the strength of their relationship, so that finally, when he breaks them down in the rape scene, the audience feels a strong emotional impact. By doing this, it is vividly telling us about the difficulties women face in the times of war, and the injustices they face in a world of men.