La Terra trema (1947)

Luchino Visconti directs a story about a fisherman family who mortgage their home in the hope of independently going on their own and making more money instead of fishing for one of the big companies in town.  Cast with actual fisherman from a small Italian village for authenticity, this is a gut-wrenching film that shows how difficult it is for the little fish to go up against the big fish.  I will say I first thought it was too long (and it is) but it's surprisingly paced well enough to make the long running time durable.  Grade: A-