La Strada Quotes

The Fool : What a funny face! Are you a woman, really? Or an artichoke?

Movie: La Strada
The Fool : Maybe he loves you?
Gelsomina : Me?
The Fool : Why not? He is like dogs. A dog looks at you, wants to talk, and only barks.

Movie: La Strada
The Fool : I am ignorant, but I read books. You won't believe it, everything is useful... this pebble for instance.
Gelsomina : Which one?
The Fool : Anyone. It is useful.
Gelsomina : What for?
The Fool : For... I don't know. If I knew I'd be the Almighty, who knows all. When you are born and when you die... Who knows? I don't know for what this pebble is useful but it must be useful. For if its useless, everything is useless. So are the stars!

Movie: La Strada
Gelsomina : The Fool is hurt.

Movie: La Strada
Zampanò : [ reciting his act by rote before a crowd ] Here we have a piece of chain that is a quarter of an inch thick. It is made of crude iron, stronger than steel. With the simple expansion of my pectoral muscles, or chest, that is, I'll break the hook. [ collecting money from the crowd ]
Zampanò : Thank you, thank you. Now, to do this feat, I must fill myself up like a tire. If a blood vessel should break, I would spit blood. For instance, in Milan a man weighing 240 pounds lost his eyesight doing this trick. That is because the optical nerves take a beating, and once you lose your eyes, you are finished. If there's any delicate person in the audience, I would advise him to look away 'cause there could be blood. [ with seemingly great effort, he breaks the chain ]

Movie: La Strada