Shoeshine
1946 · Movie · 91 min · ★ 7.8 · 95% critics
In postwar Rome, two poor boys shine shoes and scrape together money to buy a horse, hoping for a better life. After being used in a crime they don’t fully understand, they’re sent to a harsh juvenile prison where pressure, fear, and unfair treatment begin to tear at their bond.
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Details
- Original title
- Sciuscià
- Years
- 1946
- Release date
- 1946-04-27
- Language
- Italian
- Runtime
- 91 min
- Critic score
- 95/100
- TMDB rating
- 7.8/10 (273 votes)
About
If you’re drawn to emotionally heavy, realistic dramas about poverty and a strained friendship under an unforgiving system, this may hit hard; Not for you if you want uplifting stories or easy viewing like Bicycle Thieves.
Pros: deeply moving story; vivid postwar hardship; strong child performances | Cons: relentlessly bleak tone; occasional melodrama; uneven pacing at times
Themes
- fortune teller
- rome, italy
- italy
- black market
- juvenile prison
- orphan
- juvenile delinquent
- post world war ii
- military police
- shoeshine boy
Awards & recognition
- Academy Honorary Award
- National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
- Academy Award — Best Writing, Original Screenplay · 1948 · nominated
Cast & crew
Franco Interlenghi
as Pasquale Maggi
- RS
Rinaldo Smordoni
as Giuseppe Filippucci
- AM
Annielo Mele
as Raffaele
- BO
Bruno Ortenzi
as Arcangeli
Emilio Cigoli
as Staffera
Gino Saltamerenda
as il Panza (uncredited)
- PS
Peppino Spadaro
as L'avvocato Bonavino (uncredited)
- AN
Antonio Nicotra
as Bartoli, l'assistente sociale (uncredited)
- LG
Leo Garavaglia
as il commissario (uncredited)
Directed by Vittorio De Sica