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Bitter Rice

Original title: Riso amaro · Turkish title: Acı pirinç

“An earthy drama of human passions among women rice workers in the Po Valley.”

1949 · 1 h 48 min
Directed by Giuseppe De Santis
CrimeDrama

Cast

Silvana Mangano Doris Dowling Vittorio Gassman Raf Vallone

Credits

Written by: Giuseppe De Santis

Plot

In the flooded rice fields of the Po Valley, thousands of women, the mondine, work the season's planting for little pay. Francesca, a thief on the run with her lover, hides among them and befriends the lively Silvana, who dreams of an easy life. Rivalry, desire and a plan to steal the harvest lead to violence. Giuseppe De Santis's 1949 film joins neorealist attention to labour with the glamour of Silvana Mangano, and was a huge popular success, famous for its images of the women in the paddies.

Sinekatalog’s take

Giuseppe De Santis's neorealist drama follows rice-field workers in the Po Valley and a thief hiding among them. Silvana Mangano became a star, and the film's mix of social realism and melodrama is vivid and earthy.Sinekatalog’s own editorial review – not a user or critic quote.

Ratings

IMDb: 7.6 / 10 (5,741 votes)
IMDb rating and vote count from the IMDb ratings dataset (October 2026). Scores change over time.

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