A neorealist film about a rural Italian family who comes to Milan longing to integrate into city life, but ends up getting lost in that desire. Visconti, who is good at photographing epics of aristocratic families, also shows epic temperament when he shoots low-level families. The three-hour film takes a family from hope to despair.
The mother took her four sons from the countryside to Milan to join the eldest son Vincent. As a result, they were kicked out of the house by the landlord due to too many people, and the family could only squeeze in the cold basement. They are poor and eager to work, and they are happiest when it snows. Even in the blistering cold, they can get a job clearing the snow.
The second brother Simon is a professional boxer, while the third brother Locke often trains with Simon. Locke aspired to be a fighter like Simon, but his talent was not as good as Simon's at the time. Luckily, Locke got a delivery job at a laundry, so life was pretty decent. Until the prostitute Nadia came to their house one night to borrow clothes, Nadia's appearance broke the family's peaceful life.
The coquettish and sexy Nadia caught the eyes of Simon and Locke, but the introverted Locke didn't know how to approach women. So Simon took the lead to come together with Nadia. In order to please Nadia, Simon spends a lot of time with Nadia, taking time off for appointments, slack in training, and even stealing clean suits from the laundry to look more classy. And Simon's fiery temper and rough character are gradually exposed in getting along. Nadia finally left Simon, and Simon fell.
Locke met Nadia by chance after returning from being a soldier for a year. The two had sparks in the conversation and came together. After Simon found out, he let his companions control Locke and raped Nadia in front of Locke. The rape scene is straightforward and distressing. Nadia collapsed, helpless and embarrassed and disappeared into the night. Locke huddles with Simon.
Nadia found Locke and wanted to run away, but Locke didn't want to cause turmoil in the family. He didn't want to see Simon fall. He put his family above his personal feelings, so he rejected Nadia. But he overestimated Simon's nature, and Simon started drinking, gambling, and his boxing ability plummeted. He was completely lost in the life of the money-lover and owed huge loan sharks. Locke's physical fitness improved a lot, so he began to participate in boxing matches to pay off Simon's debt. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't change Simon's doomed fate. Simon stabbed Nadia, who was about to leave him, with a knife on the day Locke won the boxing championship. Locke's efforts were all in vain, Simon, lost in his lust, sent himself to prison, and the originally hopeful family fell into the abyss.
In this film, Visconti did not focus on describing the influence of social environment on individual behavior like other neorealist works, but put his pen and ink on the portrayal of the characters' hearts. Faced with the hustle and bustle and temptation of the metropolis, the young people in the countryside are completely lost, and in the face of money and status, they are willing to degenerate, making the whole family into despair. Locke's role is also very meaningful. He has a deep sense of responsibility for his family and is honest. He is the opposite of Simon and is completely altruistic. But perhaps, unrestrained love is also a kind of evil. When love becomes the soil for evil, it becomes an accomplice.
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