Abstract

Founded on a close analysis of “La ragazza in vetrinaµ (1961), one of the less known and most disregarded films by Luciano Emmer, this article focuses on the representation of female and male bodies appearing in the film in their relationship with landscape. The first section of the plot takes place in the dark and horrific space of the mine, connected to earth, while the second unfolds along the canals in Amsterdam, evoking the element of water and narrating the love story between the Italian immigrant Vincenzo and the Dutch prostitute Else. The essay offers a detailed stylistic analysis of the film, exploring on the one hand the unusual use of editing and on the other hand the recurrent presence of the long take, highlighting the role of the latter as marker of the physical presence of the bodies exploited by the oppressive dynamics of both the work in the mine and prostitution.