Il Bidone
The second film in master Italian director Federico Fellini’s “trilogy of loneliness” – with La Strada and Nights of Cabiria – Il Bidone (aka The Swindle) is a powerful, humorous and heartbreaking portrait of an aging man’s redemption from a life of crime and deception.
Augusto (Academy Award winner Broderick Crawford, in a role originally intended for an ailing Humphrey Bogart) is a con artist, one of a trio of swindlers preying on poor peasants in the Italian countryside. However, when Augusto is unable to offer devotion and support to the daughter he loves he is struck by the meaningless of his trade.
Following themes explored in the first film of the trilogy, La Strada, and later in La Dolce Vita, Fellini portrays a man torn between decadence and personal conscience, but whose innate humanity drives him to seek salvation.
Critic Reviews:
- " The most obscure film of the highly visible Federico Fellini. " – Dave Kehr
- " The progression from comedy to tragedy signals Fellini's most religious work " – Fernando F. Croce
- " One of Fellini's most emotionally rich works. " – Richard Propes
