Accattone/Mamma Roma

“Accattone” is Italian slang for “beggar,” and this grim and gritty drama focuses on a pimp who falls on hard times when his sole source of income - a prostitute - is arrested. Franco Citti makes an impressive debut in the title role; the actor would appear in several other Pasolini films (ACCATTONE also gave director Bernardo Bertolucci his start, as a production assistant). In Italian with English subtitles.

Middle-aged prostitute Mamma Roma (Anna Magnani) retires from the streets and reunites with her teenage son, who has grown up in the country. Though she does everything in her power to provide a better life for him, the boy is drawn to delinquency. Anchored by Magnani’s towering central performance, this tragic portrait of Rome’s cruel underbelly is one of Pasolini’s most moving. In Italian with English subtitles.