The Passionate Thief

“The people and passions will steal your heart away!”

Gioia (Anna Magnani) is an aging film extra who hurries through Rome on New Year's Eve, wanting only a place at somebody's party. Her night drifts into the plans of a pickpocket, Lello (Ben Gazzara), and an out-of-work actor, Umberto (Totò), and Monicelli follows all three as the hours run down toward midnight. The film treats loneliness as a weight people carry through a holiday crowd, glad to find any company at all.