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Rocco and his Brothers -
This is another definitive entry in the subgenre of not so smooth transitions from country to city life. This also applies to the subgenre within this one of industrialization's impact on a country's identity; see Playtime, Cinema Paradiso, etc. I namedrop these movies, but after watching this one, a quote came to mind from a very different source, The Simpsons: "money doesn’t change people, it just helps them be who they really are." This movie succeeds in showing how this also applies to opportunities, i.e. the ones in Milan as opposed to those in the Parondis' hometown. Could gambler, palooka and all-around bully Simone be labeled as the villain? Sure, but if the Parondis did not have to relocate, he might have never met a woman like Nadia, a means to squander his earnings or had a reason to attack Rocco. As for him, could he achieve success as a boxing champion back home? Not likely, but he would not have had to. As the brother who most sincerely loves his family and their past life, each of his knockouts made me feel genuinely sorry for him. His fame and fortune may mend fractures the big move opened, but they also bring him farther away from his true self. Not every opportunity in the big city leads to a life like Simone's or Rocco's, which this movie is smart enough to point out. Ciro, for example, finds honest work and true love, even though it's an opportunity that will make his rural hometown less rural in the long run. It even goes so far to point out an exception to this rule. While a boxer can box in small and large towns, I doubt that the mother could sway many residents of her new larger and more complicated city with her old time religion. Watching her rationalize what transpires during the tragic climax made it all the more tragic, not to mention sad.
There are times when it is necessary to close up shop and migrate to a larger and/or completely different location. While the Parondis' experience is exceptionally tragic, the movie proves that regardless of the outcome, little, if anything, remains the same ever again. Whether due to a combination of the original cut being even longer or some footage being lost, there are times when it's as if the relationships between some characters are deeper than what the movie shows or implies. Even if the latter is the main explanation, I still had to rely on headcanon more than I would have liked. It remains an example of why the 1960's were such a great time for Italian cinema and as good a place as any to start as any with Visconti. Oh, and it also provides many opportunities to geek out over what influenced his biggest fans like Coppola and Scorsese.
This is another definitive entry in the subgenre of not so smooth transitions from country to city life. This also applies to the subgenre within this one of industrialization's impact on a country's identity; see Playtime, Cinema Paradiso, etc. I namedrop these movies, but after watching this one, a quote came to mind from a very different source, The Simpsons: "money doesn’t change people, it just helps them be who they really are." This movie succeeds in showing how this also applies to opportunities, i.e. the ones in Milan as opposed to those in the Parondis' hometown. Could gambler, palooka and all-around bully Simone be labeled as the villain? Sure, but if the Parondis did not have to relocate, he might have never met a woman like Nadia, a means to squander his earnings or had a reason to attack Rocco. As for him, could he achieve success as a boxing champion back home? Not likely, but he would not have had to. As the brother who most sincerely loves his family and their past life, each of his knockouts made me feel genuinely sorry for him. His fame and fortune may mend fractures the big move opened, but they also bring him farther away from his true self. Not every opportunity in the big city leads to a life like Simone's or Rocco's, which this movie is smart enough to point out. Ciro, for example, finds honest work and true love, even though it's an opportunity that will make his rural hometown less rural in the long run. It even goes so far to point out an exception to this rule. While a boxer can box in small and large towns, I doubt that the mother could sway many residents of her new larger and more complicated city with her old time religion. Watching her rationalize what transpires during the tragic climax made it all the more tragic, not to mention sad.
There are times when it is necessary to close up shop and migrate to a larger and/or completely different location. While the Parondis' experience is exceptionally tragic, the movie proves that regardless of the outcome, little, if anything, remains the same ever again. Whether due to a combination of the original cut being even longer or some footage being lost, there are times when it's as if the relationships between some characters are deeper than what the movie shows or implies. Even if the latter is the main explanation, I still had to rely on headcanon more than I would have liked. It remains an example of why the 1960's were such a great time for Italian cinema and as good a place as any to start as any with Visconti. Oh, and it also provides many opportunities to geek out over what influenced his biggest fans like Coppola and Scorsese.