Rocco and His Brothers (Rocco e i suoi fratelli)

Cast

Alain Delon
as Rocco Parondi

Renato Salvatori
as Simone Parondi

Annie Girardot
as Nadia

Katina Paxinou
as Rosaria Parondi

Roger Hanin
as Morini

Paolo Stoppa
as Boxing Impresario

Suzy Delair
as Luisa

Claudia Cardinale
as Ginetta

Spiros Focás
as Vincenzo Parondi

Max Cartier
as Ciro Parondi

Rocco Vidolazzi
as Luca Parondi

Corrado Pani
as Ivo

Alessandra Panaro
as Ciro's Fiancee

Claudia Mori
as Laundry Worker

Adriana Asti
as Laundry Worker

Franca Valeri
as Vedova

Enzo Fiermonte
as Boxer

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Critic Reviews for Rocco and His Brothers (Rocco e i suoi fratelli)

Audience Reviews for Rocco and His Brothers (Rocco e i suoi fratelli)

• Jan 04, 2018

  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.
  Antonius B Super Reviewer
• Nov 30, 2015

  Although unnecessarily overlong for the kind of story it wants to tell and sometimes tending more toward soap opera melodrama than neorealism, especially in a cathartic scene in the end, this is a spellbinding, moving and brutal film with a great score and a powerful social commentary.
  Carlos M Super Reviewer
• Sep 28, 2012

  Heartbreaking and moving, Rocco and His Brothers paints a brilliant picture of a young man trying against all odds to keep his family together. Amid growing debt, scorned lovers, the bias against southerners in Northern Italy, and physical restraints, Rocco manages to keep his family together through personal sacrifice and compromise. This Neorealistic representation of life as a southerner in northern Italy grips the heart and ultimately forces you to feel compassion for Simone even as he murders Nadia.
  Jason 123 D Super Reviewer
• Sep 21, 2011

  The varied personalities of the brothers are no coincidence since Visconti's episodic structure has the specific purpose of displaying those social stratums that form part of everyday's conflicts under the smart pretext of "we are all brothers; our society is a massive family". Its roots can be appreciated in the new wave of American directors of the 70s, most predominantly Scorsese, yet this powerful epic has not quite been surpassed in both its intentions and its honest, tragic nature. A powerful statement even for today's standards. 99/100 P.S. Hunt down the three-hour version. There is a reason for that.
  Edgar C Super Reviewer

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