***SPOILERS*** Touching and simple film about a 70 year old retiree from government service who's life falls apart when his greedy landlady decides to throw him an his pet dog out on the streets for non-payment of rent.
Unberto Ferrari's, Carlo Battisti, pension can't keep up with the rising cost of the post-war Italian economy and for the first time in some 20 years has fallen back on paying his rent. Umberto's landlady, Lina Gennari, sees his money problems as a golden opportunity to throw him out of his apartment. Mrs. Gennari plans to turn it into a dance hall where she can party with her boyfriend Paolo, Alberto Barbieri, and her high class friends.
Having no one to turn to for help Umberto is forced to sell all his personal possessions in order to cough up the money, 15,000 Lira's, to pay his back rent to Mrs. Gennari before the end of the month. Falling short by some 5,000 Lira's Umberto now faces becoming homeless with his dog and companion Flike becoming a stray and being put to sleep at the local dog pound.
With Umberto feeling helpless and even suicidal about the future two things happen that give him a new lease on life. Umberto's young maid Maria, Maria-Pia Cosilio, who's in a worse situation then he's in helps the old man see the better side of human nature. Maria is always there for him with her just being a friend to Umberto when no one else even bothered to care if he lived or died.
The 15 year-old Maria is afraid that her boss landlady Gennari will find out that she's pregnant which will have her fired from her job as a maid in her apartment building. It's Maria confiding to Umberto her pregnancy that has him try to find the person who put her in a "family way" to live up to his responsibility and marry her giving Maria's, as well as his, unborn child a proper name.
It's later in the movie where a now homeless Umberto wanders the streets of Rome with his pet dog Flike that he tries to get someone anyone to adopt the cute little mutt, whom the day before he just saved from being put to death at the local pound, as their pet. Not being able to give Flike away and not willing to beg for food money or a place to stay all that's now left for Umberto is to end it all.
****SPOILER ALERT**** A deeply depressed Umberto together with the only friend he has left the world Flike is about to jump in front of an oncoming locomotive and it's then and there he sees just what a good friend little Flike really is! It's the only time that Flike didn't meekly go along with his masters commands saving both his and Umberto's lives.
The last ten minutes of the movie are almost too depressing to watch with Umberto desperately trying to give Flike away with no one bothering to take him and give the sweet little dog a home. By the time the film ended it was Umberto who turned out to be by far the luckiest person in town by having a friend like Flike who was there for him when he needed a friend most.
Little Flike made the depressed old man realize that life, despite all its drawbacks, is precious and far more worth living then having it mindless and compulsively thrown away in order to avoid facing it.
Unberto Ferrari's, Carlo Battisti, pension can't keep up with the rising cost of the post-war Italian economy and for the first time in some 20 years has fallen back on paying his rent. Umberto's landlady, Lina Gennari, sees his money problems as a golden opportunity to throw him out of his apartment. Mrs. Gennari plans to turn it into a dance hall where she can party with her boyfriend Paolo, Alberto Barbieri, and her high class friends.
Having no one to turn to for help Umberto is forced to sell all his personal possessions in order to cough up the money, 15,000 Lira's, to pay his back rent to Mrs. Gennari before the end of the month. Falling short by some 5,000 Lira's Umberto now faces becoming homeless with his dog and companion Flike becoming a stray and being put to sleep at the local dog pound.
With Umberto feeling helpless and even suicidal about the future two things happen that give him a new lease on life. Umberto's young maid Maria, Maria-Pia Cosilio, who's in a worse situation then he's in helps the old man see the better side of human nature. Maria is always there for him with her just being a friend to Umberto when no one else even bothered to care if he lived or died.
The 15 year-old Maria is afraid that her boss landlady Gennari will find out that she's pregnant which will have her fired from her job as a maid in her apartment building. It's Maria confiding to Umberto her pregnancy that has him try to find the person who put her in a "family way" to live up to his responsibility and marry her giving Maria's, as well as his, unborn child a proper name.
It's later in the movie where a now homeless Umberto wanders the streets of Rome with his pet dog Flike that he tries to get someone anyone to adopt the cute little mutt, whom the day before he just saved from being put to death at the local pound, as their pet. Not being able to give Flike away and not willing to beg for food money or a place to stay all that's now left for Umberto is to end it all.
****SPOILER ALERT**** A deeply depressed Umberto together with the only friend he has left the world Flike is about to jump in front of an oncoming locomotive and it's then and there he sees just what a good friend little Flike really is! It's the only time that Flike didn't meekly go along with his masters commands saving both his and Umberto's lives.
The last ten minutes of the movie are almost too depressing to watch with Umberto desperately trying to give Flike away with no one bothering to take him and give the sweet little dog a home. By the time the film ended it was Umberto who turned out to be by far the luckiest person in town by having a friend like Flike who was there for him when he needed a friend most.
Little Flike made the depressed old man realize that life, despite all its drawbacks, is precious and far more worth living then having it mindless and compulsively thrown away in order to avoid facing it.