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Fists in the Pocket

Play trailer Poster for Fists in the Pocket 1965 1h 45m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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93% Tomatometer 14 Reviews 81% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Augusto (Marino Mase) is the oldest son in a dysfunctional Italian family that includes a blind mother (Liliana Gerace), a selfish sister, Giulia (Paola Pitagora), and two epileptic brothers, Alessandro (Lou Castel) and Leone (Pier Luigi Troglio). Augusto is planning to marry Lucia (Jennie MacNeil) despite Giulia's repeated attempts to drive them apart, but cannot do so while taking care of the clan. An angry and unstable Alessandro decides to help Augusto by killing their mother and siblings.
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Fists in the Pocket

Critics Reviews

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Judith Crist New York Magazine/Vulture Madness and murder, inversion and perversion are carried to almost ludicrous proportions but Bellocchio never loses control of a manner or a mood and there are a number of superb performers on hand to enforce the validity of the film. Oct 1, 2019 Full Review Renata Adler New York Times It is sealed and stifling, gray and extremely powerful-about as attractive as somebody coughing wretchedly beside you on a subway. And as insistent. Jul 15, 2006 Full Review Ed Gonzalez Slant Magazine Shot impeccably by Alberto Marrama and dipped in hushed Ennio Morricone lullabies, the film's visual intensity presents the iconography of a world in transition. Rated: 3/4 Apr 12, 2006 Full Review Brian Susbielles InSession Film Considered a game changer in Italian cinema, writer/director Marco Bellocchio’s debut is a disturbing satire on the family. Feb 14, 2023 Full Review Jean-André Fieschi Cahiers du Cinéma [Bellocchio] has achieved the ambition of every young film-maker -- he holds up a mirror in which his own generation can recognize the conditions of its own existence. Feb 2, 2021 Full Review Nicholas Bell IONCINEMA.com As fascinating and compelling now as it was fifty years ago, Fists in the Pocket is a murderous portrait of familial dysfunction, like a Grey Gardens with a death wish. Rated: 4/5 Aug 11, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Scott R NYT 1000 list. A fascinating Italian family study, that was twisted, unnerving, and bizarre. Saw on YouTube. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 11/25/25 Full Review Audience Member Que filme profundamente triste, que família infeliz, que drama melancólico e depressivo, que atuações fortes e intensas, conseguem transmitir toda dor e desespero, toda bondade e altruísmo dúbio dos personagens... Marco, em sua obra, conseguiu transparecer toda a pureza e desespero dos acometidos de distúrbios, físicos ou psicológicos, a mazela de uma sociedade capacitismo e exclusão, obra divina. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review dave s Fists in the Pocket is an odd film, no matter how you look at it. It is a bleak and claustrophobic look at a family ravaged by physical infirmities and mental illness. Three brothers, a sister, and their mother live in a mountain villa in Italy. Only one of the brothers appears to be unafflicted. His younger brother, epileptic and seemingly psychotic, hatches a plan that would set his brother free from being the provider and caretaker for the rest of the family. The subject matter is unsettling, as is director Marco Bellocchio's style. Characters walk in and out of focus at times. Smoothly edited scenes will periodically cut in a seemingly needless shot. Overall, it is an impactful film that is topped off with a truly uncomfortable final scene showing a main character having a seizure while an operatic score is played. Odd. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Is it an allegory of the rise of fascism, its ultimate hypocrisy, and its eventual downfall? The films stays with you long after it is over. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Audience Member A strange, dark and intriguing film, covered in Ennio Morricone's haunting music. Still can't find the right words to explain the story of this dysfunctional family. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member Tragic and sad. Regardless, It is still fascinating and well made. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 11/28/17 Full Review Read all reviews
Fists in the Pocket

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Cast & Crew

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Marco Bellocchio

Director

Lou Castel

Alessandro

Paola Pitagora

Giulia

Marino Masé

Augusto

Liliana Gerace

Madre

Pier Luigi Troglio

Leone

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Fists in the Pocket

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Movie Info

Synopsis Augusto (Marino Mase) is the oldest son in a dysfunctional Italian family that includes a blind mother (Liliana Gerace), a selfish sister, Giulia (Paola Pitagora), and two epileptic brothers, Alessandro (Lou Castel) and Leone (Pier Luigi Troglio). Augusto is planning to marry Lucia (Jennie MacNeil) despite Giulia's repeated attempts to drive them apart, but cannot do so while taking care of the clan. An angry and unstable Alessandro decides to help Augusto by killing their mother and siblings.
Director
Marco Bellocchio
Screenwriter
Marco Bellocchio
Production Co
Doria
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Italian
Release Date (DVD)
Apr 25, 2006
Runtime
1h 45m
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