"Isabella la ladra" and "La bugiarda" are the same movie. Diego Fabbri's play (1956) was turned into a film (starring the drop-dead gorgeous Francesca Dellera) by Franco Giraldi, who foregrounded the satirical layer of the theatrical work, pointing out the moral hypocrisy of the Italian ruling class in the fifties. Laying as usual particular stress to the feminist/feminine content, Giraldi is able to depict Isabella as a new, emancipated woman who's striving to find her place in society. Isabella fights back men's dominance and social conformity: her lies are the armour in which she seals her body, preventing it to be either a mere sexual tool or a human incubator.
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