Latin Cinematic Heritage The cinema of Fellini is marked by a passion for life often revealed in the glowing face of the director’s wife, Giulietta Masina, who stars here in one of his finest films. Masina is Gelsomina, a pantomime artist in the spirit of Chaplin, who, being sold to strongman Zampanò (Anthony Quinn), serves as his dutiful assistant and eventually develops a genuine affection for the brute.