Rocco and His Brothers (1960)
Rocco and His Brothers (1960) is a raw, tragic family saga about the Parondi clan, a poor southern Italian family that relocates to Milan in search of work and a better future. The film follows the five brothers — Vincenzo, Simone, Rocco, Ciro and young Luca — across several years, with each segment centering on a different brother as they confront the pressures of city life, work, ambition and loyalty. Tensions intensify after Simone, an aspiring boxer, becomes involved with Nadia, a prostitute; the affair later spirals into a devastating rivalry when Rocco, the sensitive and devoted brother, falls in love with her. The feud between brothers ultimately leads to violence and tragedy. The film blends crime, drama and sport elements while offering a sharp social critique of migration, poverty, masculinity and the erosion of traditional family bonds. It moves episodically through moments of quiet domestic struggle, the harshness of factory and street life, and the brutality of the boxing ring, building a sense of inevitability as characters make fateful choices. The Parondi matriarch’s insistence on family-first loyalty heightens the moral pressure on each son, even as individual desires pull them apart. As a viewer you should expect an emotionally intense, slow-burning experience: powerful performances, gritty realism, and scenes that linger on personal sacrifice and moral collapse. The film is both intimate — focusing on the brothers’ interior conflicts — and epic in scope, tracking years of change in postwar Italy. It’s bleak and heartbreaking but deeply humane, rewarding patience with a complex portrait of family ties tested to the breaking point.
Actors: Alain Delon, Renato Salvatori, Annie Girardot
Director: Luchino Visconti
Runtime: 179 min
Genres: Crime, Drama, Sport
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84
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8.3
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