Two Women

Right after the bombing of Rome, Cesira and her daughter Rosetta flee to Cesira's native Ciociaria. They leave behind the safety of the city and face a harsher wartime life in the countryside. The move marks the beginning of a precarious new chapter for the family.

The night before they depart, Cesira sleeps with Giovanni, a married coal dealer in the neighborhood. Giovanni agrees to look after her shop in her absence, offering a fragile form of help. The encounter underscores the moral compromises and vulnerabilities that wartime life imposes.

Upon arriving in Ciociaria, Cesira attracts the attention of Michele, a young intellectual with communist sympathies. Rosetta immediately forms a bond with him, seeing him as a father figure. Michele becomes a welcome, if uneasy, presence in their new life.

Michele spends time with Cesira and Rosetta, shaping their daily life in the village. Rosetta's sense of safety deepens as she bonds with him, complicating the family dynamic. Michele's presence offers intellectual companionship amid hardship.

During the occupation, German soldiers seize Michele and force him to act as a guide through the mountainous terrain. His absence removes a protective male figure from Rosetta and heightens Cesira's anxiety. The threat of violence shadows their movements through the hills.

With the Allies capturing Rome in June 1944, Cesira and Rosetta decide to return to the city. They face dangers on the road as German forces may still be nearby. The return trip promises a return to missing normalcy that remains elusive.

On the way back, the two are gang-raped inside a church by a group of Moroccan Goumiers, soldiers attached to the invading Allied Armies in Italy. Rosetta loses her virginity and suffers deep trauma, while Cesira endures her own violence and fear. The assault shatters the sense of safety they had clung to.

Rosetta becomes emotionally detached, no longer the innocent child she once was. She withdraws from her mother and from everyday life, and her trauma reshapes how she sees the world. Cesira struggles to reach through to her daughter in the aftermath.

After seeking shelter in a neighboring village, Rosetta disappears during the night, sending Cesira into a panic. She fears her daughter has run off to look for Michele, though the truth may be elsewhere. The disappearance adds urgency and fear to their already perilous journey.

Cesira initially suspects Rosetta has gone to find Michele, but she later learns that Michele was killed by the Germans. The revelation compounds their grief and Rosetta's growing distance. The war's violence mirrors the personal tragedy they endure.

Rosetta returns having spent time with an older boy, who gives her silk stockings. Cesira is outraged by her daughter's behavior, yet Rosetta remains emotionally distant. The encounter marks another fracture in their relationship.

When Cesira informs Rosetta that Michele is dead, Rosetta cries again, returning to the childlike crying from prior trauma. The moment reawakens maternal concern even as distance remains. The family clings to each other in the face of ongoing war.

The film ends with Cesira comforting Rosetta, offering tenderness as they navigate trauma and uncertainty. Their bond endures despite fear and loss, symbolizing resilience in a world at war. The closing image centers on the mother–daughter connection that has carried them through everything.