Thieves Doris Dowling and Vittorio Gassman are fleeing the cops with some stolen jewelry when they get separated at a train station. Dowling hides out by joining a transport train for women going to work as rice pickers. She befriends rice picker Silvana Mangano, and all is good until Mangano figures out who she really is ... and then Gassman shows up. A remarkable blend of neorealism with a social message and straight up genre exploitation. While the film draws a vivid portrait of what life is like for women working at the grueling job, it also REALLY highlights their boobs and bare legs ... and ends with violent crime film happenings. I kind of love this film.
Review of Bitter Rice
