The Scopone Game

A shanty district on the edge of Rome. The same thing happens every year: an old and very rich American woman arrives with her chauffeur and plays cards with a couple from the neighbourhood. The game is scopone. Each time she puts a large sum on the table; if the couple win they take it. They have never won. This year they play again. She knows the game well and sees in advance what they will do. The neighbourhood waits. Luigi Comencini directs. Alberto Sordi, Silvana Mangano, Joseph Cotten and Bette Davis are in the cast. The matter the narrative builds is hope; the couple believe every year that they will win, and that belief keeps them tied to the game. The form is black comedy; the narrative sets up a ridiculous situation and laughs nowhere at the end. The games are played by real rules and the tension comes straight from the table. Its political side is open; the film criticises charity taking the form of a game directly. Bette Davis was working in European productions in this period and the part is among her few in Italian cinema. The ending is hard and changes the whole narrative; the final scene given to the children was argued over for a long time. Who it is for: viewers who like Italian black comedy and narratives built on class. Who it is not for: the register is bleak, the characters painful, and the ending uncomfortable.