Rocco and his brothers
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Rocco and his brothers |
| Original title | Rocco ei suoi fratelli |
| Country of production | Italy , France |
| original language | Italian |
| Publishing year | 1960 |
| length | 177 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Luchino Visconti |
| script |
Suso Cecchi D'Amico Pasquale Festa Campanile Massimo Franciosa Enrico Medioli Luchino Visconti |
| production | Goffredo Lombardo |
| music | Nino Rota |
| camera | Giuseppe Rotunno |
| cut | Mario Serandrei |
| occupation | |
| |
The film Rocco and his brothers (original title: Rocco ei suoi fratelli) by Luchino Visconti from 1960 is part of his trilogy about southern Italy . The film, shot in black and white, belongs to the late phase of Italian neorealism . He takes on people and motifs from the book Il ponte della Ghisolfa by Giovanni Testori.
action
Italy in the 1950s: after the death of her husband, the widow Rosaria Parondi travels with her four sons Rocco, Simone, Ciro and Luca from impoverished Lucania in the south of Italy to Milan , which is richer than large parts of Italy and therefore a focal point for serving many poor rural people. Vincenzo, the eldest of the five brothers, has lived in Milan for some time and has now found a permanent job as a construction worker. The youngest brothers, Luca and Ciro, are still children and teenagers, respectively, while the other brothers have already finished school. Vincenzo is celebrating the engagement with his girlfriend Ginetta and her family when his family unexpectedly arrives. On the very first evening, Rosaria fell out with the Ginettas family, because they feared that the mother would want to feed all of her sons at her own expense, which Rosaria perceived as an insult. The Parondi family has to move into poor social housing.
Rosaria hopes that Vincenzo can find them a job, which is difficult given the situation on the job market. Simone and Rocco are soon introduced to boxing by Vincenzo , but only Simone, the fittest, is "discovered" by the former boxer Morini. Simone soon celebrates his first small boxing successes and falls in love with the prostitute Nadia, who, however, does not want to enter into a permanent relationship with him. Rocco is now starting his military service in another city and about a year later meets Nadia, who was recently released from prison where she had to serve a sentence for prostitution. Rocco starts talking to Nadia, whom he only knew briefly before, and gives her hope that she can give up her old existence and make something of her life. When both are back in Milan, they start a relationship.
The family's situation is slowly improving, so Vincenzo and Ginetta can marry and the Parondis can finally leave the social housing. Ciro has successfully completed his school education and finds a modest and, but long-lasting, job in a car factory, laughed at by Simone. Simone's own boxing career has stalled and he is fired by his employers after a disgraceful defeat. Cecchi, Vincenzo's boxing coach, discovers Rocco's boxing talent and takes him under his wing. Simone becomes a merciless rival of Rocco, not only because he is now the successful boxer, but above all because of his relationship with Nadia. One night Simone raped Nadia in front of Rocco's eyes and knocked him unconscious. Rocco repeatedly forgives his brother's misdeeds and even ends his relationship with Nadia, although he loves her, on the grounds that only she can rescue his brother from his crisis. Nadia, who had hoped for a better life with Rocco, reluctantly returns to Simone and becomes increasingly bitter. Nevertheless, the unemployed Simone sinks more and more into alcohol addiction and criminal activities. Rocco keeps helping him, although his more pragmatic brothers Ciro and Vincenzo advise against it, and despite his aversion to boxing, signs a ten-year boxer contract to repay a sum of money stolen from Simone.
On the day Rocco has his first big fight, Simone murders Nadia, who is again working as a prostitute, out of jealousy and injured vanity. After his victory, Rocco gives a melancholy speech in front of his family in which he expresses the solidarity of the family and the longing to return to Lucania, which for him has become a long way off because of his long-term contract. Then Simone bursts into the family celebration and reports on his murder of Nadia. Rocco tries again to forgive and protect his brother, but Ciro reports the murder to the police and Simone is arrested a little later. The family, once a cornerstone of the southern Italian tradition and way of life, is increasingly losing its function and cohesion in the big city. Quote: "We have become enemies".
Finally the youngest sons Ciro and Luca can be seen talking to each other. The youngest son wants to return to southern Italy one day, but Ciro warns that the south continues to have major problems and has also changed since childhood. Nevertheless, in the end, both express their hope for a change that brings an improved living situation for the people.
production
In addition to Milan , the shooting locations were the northern Italian municipality of Bellagio , the western Italian port city of Civitavecchia and Lago di Fogliano , a coastal lake south of Rome. In the scene in which Rocco leaves Nadia, the roof of the Milan Cathedral with the view of the city serves as a backdrop. Filming turned out to be difficult for the director. Filming permits that had already been granted were revoked several times by various city administrations. So he had to switch to actually unsuitable places.
Even the Italian version was mostly dubbed, but not by the actors.
reception
Rocco and his brothers were awarded prizes at the Venice Film Festival in 1960, but only shown in a restored version in full length on German television ZDF in 1993 . In the GDR, however, the film was shown in theaters as early as 1962, and also in the DFF from 1974 . The world premiere of the film took place with cuts because it was accused of shocking brutality and pessimism. Nonetheless, Visconti's film was a commercial success in Italy. Because of his powerful and convincingly played emotions, it not only led to Alain Delon's breakthrough , but also to the further recognition of Visconti as a director.
Two years later, Luchino Visconti, Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale worked together again in The Leopard .
The stage version, translated from Dutch into German, premiered on September 27, 2008 in the Jahrhunderthalle Bochum , in a co-production by Toneelgroep Amsterdam and RuhrTriennale , directed by Ivo van Hove .
Based on the classic film, there is also a full-length narrative ballet in two acts (I fratelli - The Brothers), which Mauro Bigonzetti created in 2006 for the Stuttgart Ballet and which was on the program again in the 2010/2011 season.
Characterization of the main characters
Rosaria is the maternal authority and center of the Parondi family; she also has to replace the deceased father for the "boys", as they are called in the German version. For her as well as for Rocco, the most important thing is the family and their cohesion.
Vincenzo is the eldest son of the Parondi family. He moved from Lucania to the affluent north of Milan and started his own family there. He tries to find work for his brothers and brings Simone and Rocco into contact with boxing.
Simone is the physically strongest, but psychologically unstable of the brothers. Blinded by the “glittering world” of the big city, he lives beyond his means and succumbs to the illusion of quick wealth. He is obsessed with Nadia, a prostitute, and the image she embodies for him. Through several thefts and the murder of Nadia, he is guilty and ultimately causes the family to fall apart.
Rocco tries to keep the family unity; he is sensitive, naive and willing to sacrifice. In favor of his brother Simone, he renounces Nadia and even takes out a huge loan for him. At first he works in a laundry and is then the less passionate but ultimately more successful boxer. Despite all that he has suffered from Simone, he stands by him because he is his brother.
After finishing school, Ciro was given a permanent position at the Alfa Romeo car factory and - like Rocco - was integrated into society. He realizes that from a certain moment it no longer makes sense to support Simone, because his behavior ruins the family. Eventually, he reports it, thereby dividing the family. He passes on his view of things to his youngest brother Luca.
Luca , the youngest Parondi, embodies hope for a better future. He would like to return there with Rocco, who shows a strong bond with his old homeland. When talking about it with Ciro, he is skeptical. It remains to be seen whether the return journey will be started.
Nadia uses her body as a livelihood, initially reacting calmly and confidently. Rocco breaks through her armor, makes her happy but also vulnerable; she is now starting an apprenticeship as a typist. After the disappointment caused by Rocco, who withdraws from her in favor of his brother Simone, she resumes her previous work. She wants to destroy Simone, who is sinking ever deeper, and pays for it with her life.
Awards
- In 1960 director Luchino Visconti received the Silver Lion and the Special Jury Prize for Rocco ei suoi fratelli at the Venice Film Festival
- 1961 Goffredo Lombardo, the producer of the film, received the "David di Donatello" for the best film production (together with Dino De Laurentiis)
- In 1962, Rocco ei suoi fratelli was recognized as the best European film at the Bodil Festival in Copenhagen.
Reviews
"An expressive, tragically inflated social drama, located between the neorealism of Visconti's early works and the expansive epic of his later family portraits."
Web links
- Rocco and his brothers in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Rocco and his brothers in the synchronous database
Individual evidence
- ↑ Release certificate for Rocco and his brothers . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , July 2006 (PDF; test number: 24 571 V / DVD / UMD).
- ↑ IMDb locations
- ↑ a b IMDb Trivia
- ↑ Rocco and his brothers. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .