Major Film Directors
Emily Bonanno
Film Paper 2006

Agli Occhi di Visconti (Through the Eyes of Visconti)

Luchino Visconti, an auteur typical of the neorealist movement, takes the social and economic mood of Post-Fascist and Fascist Italy and transforms it into masterpieces of film. He is able to grasp the dilemmas and controversies of the era and speak as the subtle voice of the everyday common people. In the movie “Rocco and His Brothers,” Visconti demonstrates, through the elements of characterization, symbolism and setting how a family struggles against social and economic hardship, thus placing the film in the neorealist realm of art. Visconti’s film Rocco and His Brothers, clearly depicts his message that “the key to understanding of the spiritual and psychological conflicts is always social, even if the conclusions [he] reaches are always those which concern individuals whose cases [he is] describing." The development of Visconti’s characters reveals how the brother’s reactions and their social situations determine their failure or success in life. Simone, a renowned champion boxer, earns the respect of the community and appears to be headed towards a successful life. However, his jealousy and obsession with Nadia, his greed for fame, and his increased gambling and drinking, cause his deterioration and eventual downfall. Clearly he lacks a balance in his life, which is summed up by Henry Bacon when he states that “money and economic relationships are immediately posited as a crucial factor controlling human and sexual relationships.” (P 18) Rocco also becomes a boxer; but, unlike Simone, he attempts to establish a stable healthy relationship and gain the respect of both his family and the community. Luca and Ciro, the youngest of the family, learn from the mistakes of their older brothers. They realize how to achieve a workable balance between family and success and not allow greed to destroy them. Ciro, who watched everything fall apart, takes a realistic approach by attending night school, earning a steady income and becoming the family’s breadwinner. At the very end of the film, Ciro predicts a similar meaningful outcome for his younger brother Luca. Visconti’s style utilizes symbolism to bring insight into the characters’ thoughts and memories and to develop his theme. The house of Simone’s manager, Morini, is well appointed and obviously of a much higher status than Simone’s home. Visconti uses Morini’s higher socioeconomic status to emphasize Simone’s feelings of inferiority and self loathing, which intensify as he asks Morini for money. As Simone takes continuous swigs of Morini’s liquor, Morini snidely comments about the downfall of Simone’s career. This scene serves as an obvious acknowledgment of Simone’s decline since, in earlier days, Morini would never have permitted his boxer to drink. Simone is plagued by his abuse of alcohol and desperation for money. As the camera sweeps the room, framed images of women are brought into focus and seem to surround Simone, beckoning the sub-conscience anger he still has towards the love he was never able to fulfill with Nadia. Visconti sets up Simone as the “caged animal” of the scene. He is provoked by the tormenting words of his manager and the images that fill the room. To further emphasize Simone’s anguish, Visconti utilizes images by the painter Il Giorgione, who was one of the first painters to use subject matter to evoke mood. Thus, Giorgoione’s divinity paintings effectively convey Simone’s troubled soul. The images of wealth and also women surround Simone, making him feel increasingly worthless and beaten down by his superior. When Simone’s manager finally calls Simone “disgusting,” Simone’s pent up anger is immediately triggered through violence, only this time the once renowned boxer is defeated by an unworthy opponent. The scene ends with one of Il Girogione’s peaceful divinity paintings on the television screen, representing the peaceful state of mind that forever eludes Simone. The angelic faces on the screen seem to mock him. Sadly, Simone never achieves peace with himself, and instead is in a continuous fighting match with those around him. Two of Visconti’s films, La Ossessione and La Terra Trema, share visual moods and character conflicts which are similar to Rocco and His Brothers. In La Ossessione, as in Rocco and His Brothers, the passionate secretive love relationships destroy the main female characters and the future of their lovers. In La Ossessione Giovanna, stuck in an unhappy marriage of convenience, has a secret affair with Gino at her husband’s trattoria. Gino eventually becomes obsessed with Giovanna, and as a result, the two murder her husband in order to be together. Gino’s guilt begins to overshadow his obsession and he decides to leave Giovanna. Giovanna however, convinces Gino to stay with her by telling him she is pregnant. As they drive away together, there is an accident, Giovanna is killed and Gino is arrested for her death. Like Nadia’s Simone, of Rocco and His Brothers, Gino’s obsession has changed his life forever. Nadia becomes Simone’s obsession despite her disinterest in his attempt to court her. Although Nadia indicates to Simone that she is in their relationship merely for fun, Simone becomes obsessed with her. Simone, a renowned boxer and respected member of his family, is rejected by Nadia, thus beginning his downfall. He is further pushed towards violence upon learning that his brother Rocco and Nadia have a love relationship. As a result, Nadia is murdered by Simone in a jealous rage fueled by rejection and betrayal. Through these character’s conflicts with one another and themselves, Visconti “depicts a desperate attempt to conflate mutually incompatible needs and wishes, dreams and reality.” (Bacon, p.20) Giovanna’s dream to live a happy life with Gino and Nadia’s attempt to live a normal life with Rocco result in the death of these two main female characters. Only a dark future looms ahead for Simone and Gino as they are arrested for the murder of their lovers. The themes of La Terra Trema parallel those of Rocco and His Brothers. For example, one of the ways in which Visconti depicts both families social and economic situation was by their appearance. Both families were looked down upon because of their shabby attire. In La Terra Trema the brothers all go to find work after their fishing ship (the source of their livelihood) has been destroyed. Dressed in rags, they are ridiculed when they are forced to return to their former employer. In Rocco and His Brothers, when the brothers arrive at the local boxing gym for the first time, the manager refers to them as country boys. As the brothers all casually emerge from the locker room wearing their long underwear, laughter erupts in the gym. Both families were hindered and humiliated by their obvious poverty. Their attire revealed their economic status and impeded their social and economic climb. Another example of Visconti’s emphasis on social class is his choice of setting for the family’s living situation. In La Terra Trema, all the men of the family must share the same bedroom; in the beginning of Rocco and His Brothers, the entire family, including the mother, shared a single bedroom. In both films, Visconti uses the characters’ physical appearance and home life to emphasize their struggle against poverty. Henry Bacon’s reference to La Terra Trema that: “The different images-photograph, mirror, the cinematic image itself-reflect and represent the past, the present and the future, the tension between immanence and aspiration at the core of Visconti’s art.” ( p. 43 ) may also be applied to Rocco and his Brothers. Visconti’s use of the family portrait in both is a consistent reminder of the importance of family and represents the sacrifices made in order to stay together. Although the father appears in both families’ portraits, he is not in their present day life. This represents the families’ effort to remember life as it was and also the struggle in trying to succeed without having their father figure. In Rocco and his Brothers the eldest son, Vincenzo, is expected to take care of the family when the father has passed away. His life is uprooted as he struggles with himself and the responsibility to take care of the family, yet he is persistent in honoring them. This is evident in Rocco’s speech when he asks Vincenzo to “remember that a mason when he starts to build a house, he throws a stone on the shadow of the first person that passes by [because] you have to make a sacrifice to make the house become solid.” Visconti places the family portrait in focus behind him to show that Vincenzo’s burden of responsibility was his sacrifice for his family. Similarly in La Terra Trema, the eldest brother Ntoni takes the fatherly role of trying to steer his family towards a better financial life. Although the family becomes successful for sometime, their downfall causes Ntoni to blame himself. Despite each family’s struggles, both do their best to stay together, in an effort to remain as “living portraits.” Although Visconti’s actors represent everyday common people, their story is ordinary, yet it is delivered profoundly. Viconti’s use of symbolism is highly effective in eliciting emotions from the viewer. Through symbolism, character development and setting Visconti is able to take the hardships of real Italian life, rarely expressed at the time, and place it in public view in the form of cinema. In spite of Visconti’s emphasis on the social and economic factors that determine one’s lifestyle, his characters illustrate that Visconti never loses sight of the fact that human beings have free will to make choices that can alter the outcome of their lives.