First of all it must be specified, because this seems really necessary, that this is neither a neorealist movie nor, so to speak, some kind of revival of neorealism, but more simply an attempt to imitate the neorealist atmosphere and setting obviously with all the flaws that imitations can have.
That being said, it must be said that the direction is quite precise and neat, plus the cinematography is particularly noteworthy. Unfortunately, the acting, particularly of the protagonist who is also the director dealing with her first work behind the camera, appears excessively mannered and stereotyped, unnatural and with an excess of facial expressions that emphasizes how everything in reality is merely pure cinematic fiction (and rather didactic too, I might add). All the opposite of what true neorealism was, which was based on acting that was meant to appear as spontaneous as possible, so much so that as a rule amateur actors were widely used, and without the addition of various artifices or caricatures.
The screenplay could also have developed better, rather than focusing almost obsessively on the continuous repetition of stereotypes linked to the condition of women in those times, domestic violence, and the gender disparity that transcended belonging to different social classes. Obviously this complaint is more than laudable, but wouldn't it have been even more useful to the cause to further develop the description of the condition of women rather than limiting the entire movie to beatings, lower wages, shut up and obey?
The setting is the historical period in which in Italy the referendum was held to choose, as soon as the Second World War ended, between the monarchy and the republic with women obtaining the right to vote for the first time in this period. And all the historical references end here, except for a very brief reference to the "illegal market" and someone who "sold" people to the Germans.
The protagonist, symbol of all women who seek to free themselves and emancipate themselves, is torn between whether or not to leave her violent husband and the entire family to move to the north together with an old love of hers, but emancipation also consists in expressing the right to vote for the first time by going to vote in the referendum. And the ending in practice does not reach full completion, but probably this was intended to indicate that a step has been taken with the obtaining of the right to vote, but the road to the complete emancipation of women is still very long as unfortunately today's daily news still confirms.
