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Jan 12, 2016 Web Exclusive By Austin Trunick

Bitter Rice is set in the rice paddies of Northern Italy during planting season: a time when poor women from the far reaches of the country arrive by the train load for several months of steady—if back-breaking—work. On the run from the law after stealing a set of diamonds worth millions, Francesca (The Lost Weekend’s Doris Dowling) goes into hiding among the menial labor force of the rice fields. She becomes a quick frenemy of eighteen-year-old Silvana (screen siren Silvana Mangano in her first role), who helps secure her a job without a union contract, but holds her criminal past—and knowledge that the million-dollar jewels are hidden in her mattress—against her. Matters become more complicated when Francesca’s romantic-partner-in-crime (Vittorio Gassman) re-appears with a new scheme—and eyes for the younger Silvana.

The femininely-charged setting sets Bitter Rice apart from the masculine, urban underworlds typically inhabited within the noir genre. It was a major hit both at home and in the U.S. when it was released in 1950, and it’s easy to see why audiences flocked to the film. It looks highly exploitative on the surface; a paddy-wide, mud-wrestling match/hair-pulling catfight was a major marketing point and, my god, just look at the poster art! The movie was sold on its sex appeal, but found its power to endure in its shifting dynamics and unique locale. There are moments—such as when the field laborers, who aren’t allowed to speak during work hours, communicate through improvised songs—that are unlike anything you’ll see in another film of the era.

Criterion’s Blu-ray looks and sounds good, especially in high-contrast nighttime and interior scenes. Included on the disc is an hour-length, biographical documentary on director Giuseppe de Santis made by his frequent collaborator—and Bitter Rice screenwriter—Carlo Lizzani (who also appears in a separate, seven-minute interview specifically about this film.) Bitter Rice is an easy recommendation, particularly as it’s one of Criterion’s budget titles.

www.criterion.com/films/27805-bitter-rice

Author rating: 7.5/10