Miracolo a Milano (Miracle In Milan) (1951)
Director: Vittorio De Sica
Starring: Emma Gramatica (Lolotta), Francesco Golisano (Totò), Paolo Stoppa (Rappi), Brunella Bovo (Edvige), Anna Carena (Marta)
displaced European refugees following the end of WWII
An old woman discovers a baby in her cabbage patch and decides to raise the child. When the woman dies, the boy, Totò, is placed in an orphanage. Despite his disadvantages, the boy leaves the orphanage a fairly happy fellow. But post-war Milan is not a place brimming with opportunities. Totò ends up homeless and a bit disillusioned. So he organizes his fellow homeless and they build a shanty town in a vacant lot.
Now in this setting, one is going to need a fairy tale to make it in life. The squatters discover oil in the land of the no-longer lot. And the fantasy gets greater: Totò sees a vision of the old woman who gives him a magic dove that will grant him anything he wishes.
Historical Background:
See Ladri di biciclette (Bicycle Thief) (1949).
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