Violent Life (1962)
"Una vita violenta" (original title)

Tommaso, giovane di borgata, per conquistare l'amore di Irene organizza una serenata che finisce in una rissa, durante la quale ferisce un uomo con un coltello. Viene arrestato e condannato... See full summary »

Directors:

Paolo Heusch, Brunello Rondi

Writers:

Pier Paolo Pasolini (novel), Franco Brusati (screenplay),

Stars:

Franco Citti, Serena Vergano, Enrico Maria Salerno

Cast

Credited cast:
Franco Citti	...	Tommaso
Serena Vergano	...	Irene
Enrico Maria Salerno	...	Bernardini - the trade-union representative
Angelo Maria Santiamantini	...	Lello
Benito Poliani	...	Zucabbo
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Micaela Dazzi
Alfredo Leggi
Piero Morgia	...	Carletto
Paola Petrini	...	La suora

Storyline

Tommaso, giovane di borgata, per conquistare l'amore di Irene organizza una serenata che finisce in una rissa, durante la quale ferisce un uomo con un coltello. Viene arrestato e condannato ad alcuni mesi di carcere. Durante la permanenza nella casa di pena, si ammala di tisi. Ricoverato in sanatorio, conosce un sindacalista comunista, che si interessa a lui e lo esorta e lo aiuta a prendere coscienza, sociale e politica. Tommaso si rimette in carreggiata e decide di sposare Irene. Un giorno, per salvare una donna, si getta nelle acque gelide dell'Aniene, ma questo gesto di altruismo e di coraggio gli provoca una ricaduta della malattia e, poco dopo, la morte.

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Also Known As:

Violent Life

Filming Locations:

Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Zebra Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

User Reviews

A Violent Life

Franco Citti gives a very convincing performance as a corrupted youth who wants to change his ways for the better in this film based on a novel by Pier Paolo Pasolini.

Citti plays Tommaso, a member of gang of Roman street thugs. The film makes no attempt to portray these characters with any sympathy. They are vicious and uncaring, vivid examples of so-called "juvenile delinquents", but much more believable than most US film counterparts. Two exploits by the gang early in the film--the robbery and rape of a parked couple, and the assault on a gas station attendant--are so brutal that they are hard to watch. Tommaso is a low-life thug. No explanation for his personality is given apart from a suggestion that he feels cheated and beaten down by life. One day he encounters Irene (Serena Vergano) and sees in her a chance for redemption. Tommaso wants--or thinks he wants--a "normal" life. If he marries Irene and gets a job through connections, things should fall into place for him. But he never comes to an understanding that he must make more of an effort on his own behalf. He must become a responsible person. After an arrest for stabbing an opponent in a street brawl, Tommaso finds himself in prison and then in a sanatorium for recovery from a debilitating disease (likely tuberculosis). He leaves the institution, finds Irene again and attempts to piece together his imagined normal life. It never works out, because fate and Tommaso's own hopelessly corrupt nature intervene and win in the end.

This late example of Italian neo-realist cinema has a lot going for it. Besides Citti's fine contribution, there is dynamic cinematography and an impressive musical score by Piero Piccioni. The brooding sound of the main title under grim images of Rome's underbelly will be irresistible to fans of this kind of film.A grim, disturbing and engrossing film.