This poignant film tracks the fraught relationship between boorish carnival strongman Zampano (Quinn) and his simple-minded assistant Gelsomina (Masina), a naïve innocent he buys from an impoverished family and cruelly mistreats — at least until a taunting circus clown (Basehart) intervenes, giving Gelsomina an opportunity for freedom.

One of Fellini's most enduring masterpieces, "La Strada" is achingly sad, and yet at times almost giddy, thanks to Fellini's feel for the transient, uncertain lives of traveling-circus performers (a lifelong interest of his). The film is further lifted by Masina's empathetic portrayal of the childlike Gelsomina, whose fragility and innocence are damaged — but never wholly erased — by Quinn's ignorant bullying. "La Strada" is a tragic but accessible film that will not fail to move even the hardest of hearts.