Cesira and her 13-year-old daughter, Rosetta, flee from the allied bombs in Rome during the second world war. They travel to the village where Cesira was born. During their journey and in the village, the mother does everything to protect Rosetta. However, on one occasion they both get raped by soldiers hiding in a church. This cruel event is too much for the always powerful fighting Cesira and she suffers from a breakdown. During their stay in the village, a young intellectual, Michele falls in love with Cesira who does not know how to reply to the advances of such a gentleman.
Cesira (Sophia) visits a male friend, Giovanni (Raf Vallone). It is heavily implied that they have sex.
Cesira (Sophia Loren) and Michele (Jean-Paul Belmondo) come upon a woman who is crazed with grief over the shooting of her baby. During the scene, the woman bares her right breast and begins calling out, asking if anyone wants some milk.
violence
Towards the end of the film, the two women take shelter in a church. A dozen or so Moroccan soldiers who had seen the two women earlier, search for and discover the women there. The soldiers overpower the mother and daughter and rape them. The scene shows the mother's head being repeatedly slammed against the ground until she loses consciousness when she attempts to resist. Eleonora Brown gives a very intense performance as she portrays the daughter crying out to her mother for help while the soldiers pin her down. While the rape is not actually shown, events before and after are quite detailed and very thoroughly and realistically portrayed.
profanity
None.
alcohol
A group of people share a bottle of wine.
Cesira laughs and stumbles because she is drunk in one scene.
frightening
The scene where the women are surrounded and raped by Moroccan soldiers is intense.
