Il segno di Venere

In this neorealismo rosa comedy that marked the transition from neorealism to commedia all’italiana, Dino Risi creates the portrait of two young women from a modest background. Agnese (Sophia Loren) and Cesira are cousins who could hardly be more different from one another and share an apartment together in Rome. While Agnese is constantly wooed by men, Cesia has a hard time finding a husband. Yet unlike Agnese, she does at least have a profession, and a fortune teller has told her that she will find happiness in the sign of Venus. One of the contenders is poet Alessio (Vittorio De Sica), who is notoriously hard up, yet rich in amorous gestures. (hjf)