Sciuscià (ragazzi)
(Shoe Shine, Shoe-Shine)
(The title is a Sicilian corruption of the English word "shoe-shiner.")

Italy (1946): Drama

At a track near Rome, shoeshine boys are watching horses run. Two of the boys Pasquale (Franco Interlenghi), an orphan, and Giuseppe (Rinaldo Smordoni), his younger friend are riding. The pair have been saving to buy a horse of their own to ride. The boys meet Attilio (Guido Gentili), Giuse's much older brother, and his shady friend at a boat on the Tiber. In return for a commission, the boys agree to deliver black market goods to a fortune-teller (Maria Campi). Once the woman has paid, Attilio's gang suddenly arrives. Pretending to be cops, they shake the woman down. With a payoff from Attilio, the boys are able to make the final payment and stable their horse in Trastevere over the river. The fortune-teller identifies Pasqua and Giuse. Held at an overcrowded boys' prison, they are separated. Giuse falls under the influence of an older lad in his cell, Arcangeli (Bruno Ortenzi). During interrogation, Pasqua is tricked into betraying Giuse's brother to the police. With their trial still in the future, the two friends are driven further apart... (David Carless, IMDb)

Directed by Vittorio De Sica, and with Cesare Zavattini doing his trademark poetic screenplay, Shoe-Shine definitely deserves its place as one of the first foreign films to with the Oscar®. The Neo-realist De Sica does include some comic relief in the movie, and it's not all serious and depressing. For example, the line from Giuseppe to Pasquale as they're walking up a flight of stairs: "Elevators sure are great," and Pasquale's answer: "Yes, I slept in one for quite a while."

· Special Award 1947 - "The high quality of this motion picture, brought to eloquent life in a country scarred by war, is proof to the world that the creative spirit can triumph over adversity."

· Writing (Original Screenplay) 1947: Sergio Amidei, Adolfo Franci, C. G. Viola, Cesare Zavattini

1 nomination, 1 Special Award