One wonders if the directors would have been quick to admit it themselves but these films share some surprising similarities. Both the Milanese native Visconti and the Roman-adopted Fellini see the modern city as a crucible that mercilessly burns the dreams, ideals and morals of its inhabitants. Amid this urban corruption, innocence is a rare virtue indeed.
Visconti's picture opens at Milan's central station, as the fatigued Parondi family arrive from Lucania, completing the migration undertaken by so many Southern Italian families at the tail end of the 1950s. Though hoping for a more prosperous life, this countrified clan soon find themselves living hand-to-mouth in one huge room.
Skilfully employing an episodic structure that has been much imitated since, the director chronicles the fortunes of the five Parondi brothers: first-born son Vincenzo (newly engaged to a breathtaking Claudia Cardinale); slovenly, light-fingered Simone; hardworking Ciro; young Luca; and the well-meaning Rocco, memorably portrayed by Le Samouraï himself, Alain Delon.
Visconti focuses on two brothers in particular, Rocco and Simone, who train as boxers and are slowly drawn into the seedy Milanese underworld. As time progresses, they not only become rivals in the ring but also compete for the affections of the same woman.
This superbly scripted tale of boxing and brotherhood is well acted across the board, with two of the finest performances coming from actresses, namely Katina Paxinou as the worrying mother who rules her sons with an iron fist and Annie Girardot, as the jaded hooker who sparks a fatal rift between them.
Chris Wiegand
Before becoming a director, Visconti worked as an assistant to Jean Renoir.
