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Alain Delon and Annie Girardot in Rocco y sus hermanos (1960)

Reseñas de usuarios

Rocco y sus hermanos

69 reseñas
9/10

"There's no hope now!"

ROCCO AND HIS BROTHERS is a crime drama about the struggle of a poor Italian family from the South with an unknown and "modern" city life. This family drama is full of emotional turmoils and tragic upheavals.

The four sons of a poor rural Italian family from the South travel with their mother to join their oldest brother in Milan. Each of the five brothers must adjust to a new life in the big city. Their mother is a strong bond that connects them. However, it is difficult to be a harmonious family in the big city. A beautiful prostitute is a cause of discord in their family...

Every new experience in the lives of these people is a kind of incident. The protagonists are not able to change their lives. The family is what makes life. Life without the family does not make sense. This is a realistic view of a bitter life, which have gradually extinguished. Emotions are not consistent with the nature of some of the protagonists. Therefore, strong outbursts of emotions are a little bit grotesque. Jealousy, devotion to family or an unrequited love are completely normal life situations. In this case, these are incurable life's wounds. Emotionalism and realism are so intertwined that it is impossible to draw a clear line in some key scenes. Therefore, certain events in this film can not be called a life experience, more a tragedy.

The atmosphere is obscured. It is a reflection of a life in the fog, without a clear future. Some scenes are truly shocking. Their significance is even greater, because, human spirit is excommunicated through these scenes.

Alain Delon as Rocco Parondi is a loyal, generous and naive young man. He carries a burden of deep pain and family responsibilities on his shoulders. A character, who is trying to find the best in people. His performance has certainly captured the hearts of many viewers.

Annie Girardot as Nadia has offered a great performance. A young and beautiful prostitute is torn between two philosophies of life. However, she is not able to choose between a false urban hedonism and true love. Others have chosen for her. It is a tragedy of her character. Renato Salvatori as Simone Parondi is a restless and depressed loafer. A violent man, who can not settle down. The big city is full of good opportunities, but some of them may be a great challenge for an inexperienced young man.

Their support are Katina Paxinou (Rosaria Parondi) as a hysterical and helpless mother, Max Cartier (Ciro Parondi) is a kind of voice of reason, Spiros Focás (Vincenzo Parondi) is a quiet and calm oldest brother and Claudia Cardinale (Ginetta) is his emotional wife.

This is a dynamic story about members of Parondi family which is falling apart under an influence of crime, mutual misunderstanding and superstition.
  • elvircorhodzic
  • 30 mar 2017
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9/10

What a humanity of living! What a complexity of humans!

It is quite widespread to evaluate a movie after forty or more years in terms of time test. In many cases, we may claim that some movies are like wine: the older they are, the better they occur to be. Yet, not many movies are great in the intensity of being captivating on multiple levels. This can be said about ROCCO E I SUOI FRATELLI by Count Visconti, a film considered not only by its director to be his best one but still appreciated by lots of viewers worldwide. Let me consider some of its strongest points that I noticed while seeing the film.

The most important thing that drew my attention in ROCCO E I SUOI FRATELLI was the wide range of life situations, themes and feelings which one can enumerate endlessly. The viewer is truly given an insight into profound development of charming affection, bitter humiliation, outrageous mockery, sweet desire, wretched rivalry, Utopian idealism, cruel vengeance, sad disappointment, intense sorrow, indefatigable disillusion, upsetting despair directing themselves towards final hope. By analyzing the content and trying to identify with the characters (note that it is not "observing" the characters but "identifying" with them like in classic Greek tragedies), the viewers dive into life situations which, at the same time, can be present in their own experiences: family ties, unemployment, social status, honor, social pressure, plotting, crimes...are they not all up to date now as they were in 1960? But this aspect cannot be separated from the characters.

CHARACTER ANALYSIS. Rocco (Alain Delon) is an idealist, a very good person but too noble to succeed in this world. He appears to be a sort of biblical king David whose pardoning and love lead him to omit the teaching example and forget those who really care for him. His brother Ciro (Max Cartier), however, is a good realist who knows what the family means, how it matters; yet, who does not ignore the purifying punishment for wickedness. He seems to be as good hearted as Rocco; however; his mind is indeed more "earthly." He heads for goodness filled with honest intentions but keeping both feet firmly on the ground. Vincenzo is most individual and, thanks to getting married, most separated from the family. The "villain" brother is Simone (Renato Salvatori) who becomes a successful boxer but gradually turns to declining psychological strength poisoned by desire, jealousy and vengeance. In between comes a poor mother Rosaria Parondi (Katina Paxinou) who copes with true psychological suffering of lost hope and humiliation. An interesting character is a "fallen woman" Nadia (Annie Girardot) who is as changeable and as romantic as a classical tragic female in her dreams but down to earth and desperate in her acts. When it seems possible for her to fulfill the dreams of a better life, it is too late...

There is so much profoundity and complexity in the movie that one could dwell in the themes for long. However, let me focus on the ARTISTIC FEATURES of the movie, too.

Visconti's movie is a very valuable cinematic work with truly stunning cinematography, perfect direction, excellent script, wonderful moments. Anyone who decides to see this film should not ignore three moments that appear to be the milestone of film's harmony. The first one is Rocco and Nadia on the top of Milanese cathedral where she opens her psyche to him and, at the same time, his reaction is like a great blow of individual reality affecting the mutual one: "We'll never meet again" The second moment is the scene when all the family except for Simone celebrate Rocco's championship in boxing. The two bells that ring: the first one being a mysterious visit, the second one being Simone's entrance leave critical thoughts and conclusions. The third is the final moment when Ciro talks to their youngest brother Luca about life, future, and errors that should never be made again. However, that is not all. There is something more that makes Visconti's film an artistic pearl, PERFORMANCES.

All cast do excellent jobs portraying their characters in a genuine way with a necessary invitation for viewers to identify. Alain Delon is unforgettable as Rocco: gentle, kind hearted, sometimes weak, sometimes very straightforward in personal decisions. The opposite counterpart appears to be Renato Salvatori who perfectly portrays Simone - so wild, so tremendously unstable, so easily led to fear, addiction and tragic despair. Another performance that deserves appreciation is Katina Paxinou's in the role of mother Rosaria: religious with a bit of superstition, so dominant over her sons, and generally so good hearted. A mention should be made of a minor role of Claudia Cardinale who plays Ginetta, Vincenzo's wife.

ROCCO E I SUOI FRATELLI is a must see, a movie that everyone should watch profoundly addressing three levels of attention: first, a sole interest in Visconti being one of Neorealist directors aside DeSica, Rossellini and others; second, the artistic side including cinematography, direction, charm, performances; third, insight into both content and characters, their realistic complexity, humanity of life. Then, these three hours of watching will not occur in vain.
  • marcin_kukuczka
  • 5 jul 2008
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9/10

Visconti's masterwork

This is perhaps Visconti's most powerful work, though today it may seem a little overwrought and dated.

"Rocco e sui fratelli" from 1960 is about a rural family (Katina Paxinou as Rosaria, Alain Delon as Rocco, Renato Salvatori as Simone, Spiros Focás as Vincenzo, Max Cartier as Ciro and Rocco Vidolazzi as Luca) who move from southern Italy to Milano, hoping to make a better life for themselves.

The brothers are all different, and therein lies the story, with the focus particularly on Rocco (Delon), a gentle soul who cares about his family and his family's honor, and Simone (Salvatori), a man with an addictive personality who only cares about himself.

Both Rocco and Simone fall for the same woman, a hooker (Anne Girardot) and come to blows - physically, since both Simone and Rocco train as boxers.

This isn't always an easy film to watch as it contains violence, rape, and murder. It also is extremely melodramatic by today's standards, with Paxinou's strong performance as the mother perhaps being viewed today as over the top. Acting styles have changed.

It's also a rather misogynistic film - well, it is Italy, it is another time period, and I'm not one who believes in cancel culture. It is also overly long - I saw the cut version, I believe, 168 minutes. I think certain scenes were cut due to censorship.

Though the film is in black and white, the look of Italy is amazing and expansive, as is the acting, particularly from Delon and Salvatori as they come up against one another in a biblical story. Claudia Cardinale pre-nosejob has a small role.

Delon, of course, is gorgeous. Hard to believe he'll be 85 this year.
  • blanche-2
  • 15 jul 2020
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10/10

WOW! Terrific Epic Scale Family Drama, Visconti's Best!

Now I understand why Visconti regards this classic as his personal favorite!!

Overwhelmingly Terrific! The acting, design, music, cinematography, and especially direction are superb.

This epic, grand, personal, and highly dramatic tale of five brothers and their mother who move from Southern Italy to Milan to change their station in life is filled with wonderful vignettes and powerful set pieces.

The fight between two of the brothers in the slums of the city is one of the most harrowing and touching scenes ever in cinema history. This is the kind of fight which actually means something. When they hit each other you feel it down to the core of your being, not just watching mindless brutality like you would in some brainless movie.

The cast is uniformly good with standouts from Katina Paxinou as the long suffering mother, Annie Girardot as the doomed prostitute who is the catalyst of the story, and especially Alain Delon who is blessed with a cinematic beauty which adds poetry to everyone of his close-ups. The one actor who really surprised me was Renato Salvatori as the violent brother Simone. His gradual and completely believable change from sweet young man to violent brute is incredible to watch.

This film satisfies every true movie lovers dream. To visit a place you don't know, with characters who fascinate you, and are framed in a true CINEMATIC style, that succeeds on every level.

GO SEE THIS MOVIE!! I will add my voice to those who cry out for the DVD release of this true classic.
  • antonio-21
  • 6 sept 2000
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10/10

Visconti's masterpiece

  • irajoel
  • 1 abr 2001
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10/10

A GREAT FILM from ITALY (1960)

This is a great Italian film directed by Visconti, which somehow escaped me until tonite 2/22/02.. I had heard about it and the praise it received at that time, (1960) but just never got to see it. I was seeing Foreign films at that time, I remember seeing La Dolce Vita, The Virgin Spring, and Hiroshima Mon Amour at our local foreign movie theatre in Essex County , The Ormont in East Orange.. long gone.. but missed this. Well, thanks to TCM, Ive had another sleepless night & have just seen a truly great Italian movie/ or great movie, period!!..What a saga ! what passion, what emotion !! The story of a southern Italian peasant family's journey and relocation to the big city... is just superb film making..The deterioration of the brothers relationship is almost pure GreeK Tragedy (there is a glimmer of hope with the youngest brother)...superbly acted especially by Renato Salvatori, as Simon, the most troubled of all the fratelli, and young, beautiful, Alain Delon as the younger brother Rocco who desperately tries to save his brother from destruction; and Annie Giradot, as Nadia the prostitute who adds to this families woes is just sensational in a role that should have won her all kinds of trophies. It was no mistake that Visconti used Greek Oscar winning actress, Katina Paxinou, in the role of an Italian mother( instead of say, Anna Magnani ?), her performance brings to mind all the heroines of Sophocles & Aesculus... yes tragedy and emotion of epic proportions..played to the nth degree... beautiful cast excellently directed... by Viscont1... thanks to TCM Im catching up on his great movies "SENSO" a few months back and now "Rocco" this is a treat.. also in cast a very young beautiful Claudia Cardinale as Ginetta.. This is film making at its best..dont miss it.. to be seen again and again..
  • olddiscs
  • 22 feb 2002
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10/10

stunning neorrealism

Visconti at his peak. We are in the fifties, when Italian economy experiences a post-war boom. A Sicilian family arrives to Milan running from south's poverty. They dream with a new life at the industrial pole of the north. But Milan is not precisely a land of opportunities. Exploitation and xenophobia is the common destiny for those who came from south of the country. This film is a perfect sequel to "La Terra Tembla", one of the earliest Visconti's looks on Marxism. The hopes and lives of this five brother's family sink onto a pit at the same time as they destroy themselves. "Rocco and ..." is intensely played by the entire cast, including a young and delicate Alain Delon as the idealistic Rocco, an exquisite Annie Girardot as a prostitute trying to survive to her own hell and a terrific Renato Salvatori. But is the figure of the peasant mother, played superbly by Katina Paxinou, the most remarkable piece of this operatic story. Claudia Cardinale made some kind of Italian debut in this film. Nino Rota composes his most pitiful score and the black and white photography is stunning. The scene at the rooftop of Milan's Duomo is one of my all-time favorites. The American version is usually cut so try to find the original or some DVD restoration. A must see film.
  • Bocio
  • 5 jun 2000
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10/10

An astonishing work of almost religious intensity

I was lucky enough to catch this extraordinary film late last night on a cable channel. It's about a widow from southern Italy who moves to Milan with her five sons. Gradually they become embroiled in the big city, some becoming corrupted by its ways, others profiting. Rocco, played by Alain Delon, is an innocent, looking at his brothers and life in general with saintly patience. When his beneficent attitude comes under pressure, he doesn't give in to self-interest, choosing to sacrifice his own happiness, and that of the woman he loves, for his family. Family is really what 'Rocco and his Brothers' is all about. I've never got into Visconti, but seeing this film has made me want to see more of his work. Also, this move has one of the most powerful images I've ever seen, as the maddened Simone advances towards the doomed prostitute Nadia. It's an image so remarkable I actually shouted aloud when I saw it. I urge you to see this film. It's a remarkable, passionate, beautifully photographed drama that will stay with you for a long time.
  • YouRebelScum
  • 21 abr 2003
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6/10

Excellent acting but tale of misguided filial obligation doesn't ring true

  • Turfseer
  • 25 dic 2010
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10/10

Thank God for Italy...

Although the French Nouvelle Vague gets all the press, it is the Italian neorealist movement that has had the greatest impact on American cinema. Let's face it, aside from some of Godard's editing tricks in Breathless, what kind of influence did the Nouvelle Vague really have? Godard. Truffaut. Chabrol. Rohmer. Rivette. Resnais. Decent filmmakers all, but, when one looks closely, more interesting for their influences than for their influence. But the Italians, oh, the Italians. Bava. Fellini. Rossellini. De Sica. Bertolucci. Visconti. I think it is safe to say that, without the films of these incredible innovators, American movies would have rotted away into nothing. It was the post WWII Italian neorealist movement, and its heady brew of Marxism and melodrama, that inflamed the imaginations of filmmakers like Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese, and led them, especially in Coppola's case, to use many of the same personnel on their own productions. Vittorio Storaro. Giuseppe Rotunno. Nino Rota. Ferdinando Scarfiotti. Danilo Donati. Where would the great American films of the seventies be without the contributions of these astoundingly talented artists and technicians?

Rocco and His Brothers is a jaw-dropping work, so ferociously brilliant that it takes your breath away. As a Visconti fan, I have been waiting to watch it for years. Yet, despite my eagerness, the DVD sat on top of the television for two weeks before I finally popped it in. Curiously, I had the same reaction to The Leopard, another Visconti masterwork, a couple of years ago. As I get older, I find it harder and harder to abandon myself to a work of art. Great works of art force one to give oneself over to them completely, suspend judgment, accept them unconditionally. When one is young and unformed, the process is easy; as one gets older, and the carapace of personality hardens, the process becomes more difficult. There is a good reason for this; the effort is often not worth while; one comes out of the experience diminished, drained, let down.

Rocco and His Brothers holds no such disappointment. It is a vast, capacious work, complex, generous, passionate, and intensely moving. The talent on display here defies analysis: Alain Delon is luminous as the saintly Rocco; Katina Paxinou achieves Shakespearean grandeur as the Parondi family matriarch; Giuseppe Rotunno's cinematography is starkly beautiful; and Nino Rota's music is heartbreaking. I do not want to give too much of this film away, but I must point out that, contrary to what some reviews on this site have to say, this film is not just about the corruption that big city life brings to a peasant family. Rocco may be a saint, but his all-forgiving nature drives much of the tragedy that unfolds. It is Ciro, the compassionate but just brother, and successful entrant into Milan's urban proletariat, who will lead the family into an uncertain but perhaps hopeful future.

Let me just finish by pointing out how wonderful it is to see a movie that ends with a meaningful and distinctive final shot. You don't see much of that anymore.
  • mido505
  • 17 jun 2006
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Brilliant beyond belief

  • bernebner
  • 4 jul 2002
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6/10

Has its place in film history, but too long, melodramatic, and misogynistic

Often lauded as a landmark film of Italian neorealism with great influence on filmmakers to come, 'Rocco and His Brothers' tells the tale of four brothers who move with their widowed mother to Milan, joining their eldest brother who is already there, and now getting engaged. They are impoverished and just getting by, and the subtext of the film is the move from southern Italy. While their hometown is never shown, its poor economic conditions are mentioned a few times, and remembering its traditions and keeping alive the idea of someday moving back there is important to them. One of the issues with the film is in the disconnection of all this to the main story, which is a highly melodramatic love triangle between two of the brothers and a feisty woman who turned to prostitution after her own difficult upbringing. Another issue is the film's length - it's far too long, feeling both ponderous and pretentious. Lastly, the film is misogynistic and therefore tough to watch, particularly in the second half.

I hated not just the character of Simone (Renato Salvatori), but how director Luchino Visconti shows women succumbing to him after he forces himself on them - the old 'no means yes' - and not just with the prostitute/girlfriend (Annie Girardot), but with the laundress before her. While he is the 'bad guy' of the movie, the fact that his brothers accept his increasing violence towards women, and the film is essentially sympathetic to it, left a bad taste in my mouth. You could say it's all realistic in the way Zola's depictions of the lower classes were, not shying away from how cruel people can be, but Rocco's reaction seems especially ludicrous. His enabling of Simone is immoral if you think about it, yet he's held up by the movie to be a Christ-like figure.

Girardot plays tough, sassy, provocative, and yet vulnerable well, and was the highlight of the movie for me. There are several nice scenes, including one in which a group of young men stand in a field at night silently in shame, but the reason they're ashamed is very unpleasant to watch. The scenes with Girardot and Rocco (Alain Delon) on a streetcar and later on top of the cathedral in Milan are both beautiful. Seeing the 'common people' celebrating, with all of that energy and the silly toasts the brothers come up, is one that felt truly authentic. It also ended on a thoughtful note and nice final shot.

The five brothers seem to represent a family man, saint, sinner, pragmatist, and hope for the future, but they seemed a little like caricatures to me. The older brother's part is superfluous (though because of it we do get to see Claudia Cardinale in the small role of his wife), and the many boxing scenes are silly. Paring these down considerably would have helped with the three hour run time, which feels like sprawling excess. It obviously has its place in film history, but there are better and more enjoyable ones to watch.
  • gbill-74877
  • 3 ene 2018
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3/10

Overlong and Overacted Melodrama

A poor Italian woman moves with her sons from the country to Milan. Although a segment is devoted to each of the five brothers, the focus is on Delon (the saint) and Salvatori (the brute). Delon is so sensitive that he gets teary-eyed if the wind blows too hard. There's a ridiculous scene where the two fight over a prostitute. The film covers several years, and it seems initially that Visconti is going to present every mundane event in excruciating detail. It's a chore to sit through three hours of random episodes, dull boxing scenes, and embarrassing melodramatics. Pretty much everyone overacts. At least the cinematography is decent and Rota contributes a nice score.
  • kenjha
  • 7 abr 2011
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10/10

a true masterwork

State-of-the-art directing, acting (Katina Paxinou, Alain Delon, Annie Girardot, Renato Salvatore), photography, superb musical score. A film to bring any sensitive and open mind to tears near the end. The destruction of a family order, jealousy, betrayal between brothers and the saintliness of Rocco, always ready to forgive, thinking more about his family than himself. All this in black and white! I hope film directors will never give away this format. By the way, I would like to know whether the plaque in Rosaria's new apartment (when Rocco's back from the army) reads "Pafundi" instead of "Parondi" on purpose (why?) or was it a flaw? I also would like to know which language do some characters spoke on stage(I think it's french), namely Rocco and Ginetta. I am watching a Russian edition whose dubbing is disastrous. Thanks to the ease of DVD players I could choose the Italian soundtrack and disable subtitles...
  • daflauta
  • 30 mar 2006
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10/10

Family Values?

  • ameyer1790
  • 10 may 2012
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Natural and accessible characterstudy: beautiful, not pretentious

I feel that this is just as much about his brothers as it is about Rocco. I don't even think Rocco is the key figure in the story. The film is constructed of five chapters in each of which the emphasis is more or less on one of the five brothers (Vincenzo Parondi, Simone, Rocco, Ciro, Luca). The chapter about the youngest brother contains remarks about about their attitude towards life and the philosophy for the future. But it never gets heavy-handed because everything is so natural and the whole is very accessible. The story is about the struggle of a family from the south of Italy that moves to the city (in the first minute) and struggles with jealousy, wrath, regrets, confusion and citylife. But the most important element throughout the film are the bonds between the members of the family, which you guessed from the title ofcourse.

Cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno (Amarcord, Regarding Henry, Il Gattopardo -> all three not comparable BTW) and the other makers of this film where not ambitious or pretentious while making this masterpiece: that would really have been besides the point they were making and unnecessary too, because the story and the pace don't need it and the cast is brilliant.

Some more references. The score was done by Nino Rota (Godfather, Amarcord, Il Gattopardo): the tune that helped making Godfather famous was already more or less completed here in 'Rocco'. The film might have been inspired by Ladri di biciclette (1948) and may in turn have been the inspiration for Raging Bull (1980), the Outsiders (Coppola, 1983) and even the Godfather, although 'Rocco' has nothing to do with neither mafia nor with America. In 1963 Delon, Cardinale (who has a very small role in 'Rocco') and Visconti would work together on Il Gattopardo. But 'Rocco' has to be Visconti's greatest! (besides Morte a Venezia, which is a TOTALLY different film BTW). Also see Hotel New Hampshire (1984).

10 points out of 10 :-)
  • rogierr
  • 9 jul 2001
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9/10

The life of southern Italian inmigrants in Milan

  • esteban1747
  • 19 sept 2001
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9/10

Great

  • Cosmoeticadotcom
  • 31 ene 2013
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10/10

A FEAST of a Movie That Always Satisfies - Renato Salvatori's Moment of Glory

  • poetcomic1
  • 7 mar 2015
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10/10

Pregnant with dramatic human emotions

  • kijii
  • 24 nov 2016
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7/10

Rocco and His Brothers

I'm not sure this ought not to have been called "Simone" and his brothers as it's that sibling (Renato Salvatori) whose actions seem to resonate most across this family. They are led my matriarch "Rosaria" (Katina Paxinou) from their roots in Italy's south to find a new home in Milan. That's because elder son "Vincenzo" (Spyros Fokas) has moved there to be with his girlfriend "Ginetta" (Claudia Cardinale). Almost immediately, there's a bit of a lively inter-family squabble that sees the her and her other sons "Rocco" (Alain Delon), "Simone", the more sensible "Ciro" (Max Cartier) and their much younger brother "Luca" (Rocco Vidolazzi) all struggling to make ends meet with "Vincenzo" doing what he can to assist. Jobs are hard to come by and so they all resort to milking the system to put a roof over their heads whilst "Ciro" gets a job and the others do what they can to raise some cash. The narrative is loosely compartmentalised with each brother getting a little bit of the storyline but increasingly they centre around the handsome but unreliable "Simone" who proves useful in the boxing ring and who starts to make some money and to date "Nadia" (Annie Girardot). She's a lady of the night with whom he falls heavily for, but when she discovers that he his stealing to pay his way with her, she asks "Rocco" to return the gifts and moves to another town. Now "Rocco" receives his draft papers and having sent his last lire to his mother, bumps into "Nadia" and soon a romance of their own is bubbling. This one, though, is not based on supply and demand and when his brother discovers this news, he and his friends set up a scenario with heinous ramifications. With "Simone" now on quite an obviously self-destructive path, "Rocco" - himself now a distinguished boxer after his time in the army disgusted by his brother, and "Nadia" loathing just about everyone - including herself, things become more and more toxic for the "Parondi" family. It's that toxicity that Luchino Visconti captures evocatively as this characterful story develops along lines that are anything but predictable. Sure there is vengeance, but it's exercised in such a subtle and accumulating manner as to provide us with a denouement that proves entirely unsatisfactory but somehow entirely appropriate. It's Salvatori who steals this for me, but Girardot also shines as does Paxinou as the epitome of the Italian mother whose character is largely responsible for some of the sparing but punchy histrionic humour that peppers this family drama. The setting of a nation still recovering from the ravages of war, with money tight and opportunities unevenly spread throughout the place tells us potently of the trials and tribulations of relocation and of fitting-in as much as anything else, and some of the monochrome photography contrasts just as strikingly their slum dwellings with the more beautiful architecture of Milan suggesting that even there, there are rags and riches stories to be told and perhaps even to anticipate too. As in so many stories, boxing is used effectively as not just a conduit for hope, but also one for hatred and ambition and it's with this persona that Delon is at his most effective as his increasingly conflicted and decent "Rocco" finds life nigh on impossible. The final segment falls to the impressionable young "Luca" who might feel just a little short-changed, but who might also prove to be the one most affected and with the most to look forward to. It's vibrant, angry, clever and possibly my favourite Visconti film and if you can sit for a few hours and watch it on a big screen, then it's well worth the effort.
  • CinemaSerf
  • 14 feb 2025
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9/10

This is great

Maybe the best italian movie i have ever seen... until now. In 2001 i saw this film for the first time and it seems it could be done in our days.

Brilliant!!!
  • Bizas
  • 31 may 2001
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6/10

"I would like to long for a car."

Having seen Death In Venice before this, I'm taken by surprise when I see two pieces by a director who, with one, disconnected me with his coerced subtlety and understatement, and with this one, ultimately lost me by exploding the melodrama to heights of overacting I have rarely seen. There are so many more films by Luchino Visconti that I want to see that I am bound to be impressed by some of them, but they will likely be the ones that find equilibrium, whether in overstatement or understatement, or neither. Neither of the aforementioned films, no matter how seethingly sensual they may be, have egged me on.

There is something to be said about Visconti's emotional instinct. For example, opening credits take a particularly long time, which complies with this film's elaborate concept of time. I would venture to say that time generally does slow down when watching Italian films, and that can be a really good thing. Usually. Here, it instead feels like it is magnifying everything, and the film, which could have been pared down to a neo-realist drama, becomes more and more like a soap opera. At first, I was thinking it would've been a great color film. After awhile, I was glad it wasn't. It was the only thing about it that didn't feel romantically embellished.

Alain Delon, Renato Salvatori and Annie Girardot comprise a very strong cast in this melodrama about the gap between family and society. Actually, in Italy, it's not melodrama. It's reality. They call it realism. We call it overacting. I am aware that this film is a Venice Grand Special Jury Prize winner, and overall a highly appreciated classic of Italian cinema, but there are simply too many contagious weeping scenes, nuggets of wisdom in the form of metaphors too eloquently put for supposedly unplanned conversations by struggling lower- class people, and by the last hour, it all seems to be arbitrary for the sake of producing tragedy.

The film is a depiction of class difference between Northern and Southern Italians. It includes an awesome boxing match between one of the eponymous brothers and another character. And there are other powerful moments such as when we see a field full of people standing in shame, a moment which propels a sudden change in tone an hour and a half in and feels like an epic turn. Delon as the sweet and loyal Rocco is emotively spongy and emphatic, but it is Salvatori who fills the screen with the grief of an agonized and wounded character. His performance is real and agitated, and Girardot is arresting as the pathetic prostitute. Nevertheless, there is a tilted fusion of dense emotionalism and realism to such a degree that the lines separating each become foggy and slight. However, such resulted in one very interesting line: "I would like to long for a car."
  • jzappa
  • 18 ago 2009
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4/10

Grossly overrated

  • salmig99
  • 9 jul 2011
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special

I am a fan of Visconti movies. for the Barroco nuances and poetry of small things. for beauty of details and courage to present slices of a neorealism in which is mixed nostalgic crumbs of a world fall and need of new society definition. Rocco was first movie by him who I saw it. a film - bitter story. picture of a family, map of searches, touching drawing of a victory of city and the love as delicate web. and, sure, one of wonderful roles of Alain Delon. in fact, a gate, or only a window to a time who becomes ours. because story is universal. and the figure of poor mother - letter of a never ending poem , is remarkable. end of an age. seed of a new form of self definition for Italian cinema. but, very important, testimony, not about a period. but a state of soul. must see it !
  • Vincentiu
  • 11 ene 2013
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