Strange feelings

The saddest moments in the movie came when their older brother, Augusto, was reprimanding Giulia after the dinner in his office for sending that letter to Lucia and then venting his frustrations on Ale when he came in. The moment after Ale leaves Augusto's office and sits on the bench, we hear Augusto talking on the telephone with Lucia, Giulia and Ale are sitting on the bench outside, and the music kicks in - it sounded like a "theme of desperation" and Giulia desperately embraces Ale (to the point of biting him on the shoulder) almost as if she was silently weeping. Wow. I was really taken back by such a display of emotion. You can tell that, in spite of their "handicap," they are well-aware they aren't normal and view themselves as a "hindrance"/"weight" on their brother's personal life - and that they are unable to do something about it. This same song played lightly when Ale was "reading" the newspaper to his mama. He suddenly bolts to his knees, places his head on her lap, and says, "I'm very unhappy," as she strokes his hair. These are very powerful scenes that added human depth to characters one would normally think of "deficient" and "handicapped." Excellent score by Morricone. I heard the first few bars in the beginning and I thought, "This sounds an awful lot like something Ennio Morricone would do" and bam! His name appeared on the credits right after!


Do The Mussolini! Headkick!

Yes, I know what you mean. I felt relief when it turned out he wasn't going to drive the car off the cliff, even laughing, and thinking he was a comic character, a morbid dreamer who luckily doesn't have the ability to follow through on his romantic inclinations. But then he killed the mother. Up to the last minute, I thought he might hold back as he did before. Even after this, though, I found myself in sympathy with him and the sister, seeming so free and happy as they threw out the window all the old things cluttering their life. It was only near the end that I realized what I was actually watching...the self-realization of a fascist. Anything that stands in the way of his feeling free (yes, I know he claims to seek his brother's liberation but ultimately he's the one who feels repressed) he will get rid of, seeking only the glory of self-gratification. But of course in the end he's just as crippled as the rest of them and his own lack of mercy inspires the same in his sister. Really an excellent film, veering from comedic to disasterous, charming one second, evil the next (often both at the same time). I'm glad I stayed up for it.

Yeah, the conclusion of this left me with a light trail of conflicting emotions... it's difficult to either sympathize or damn any one of the "brood" ('cept poor Leone)... Sandro was the least deplorable in some sense, owing to his great pitiful confusion, quite evident from the opening scenes... Augusto wanted all of them dead to begin with... there's a great scene where he is depicted shooting rats... a projection of his overtaxed conscience?

I love the vague enormity of the script, with its emotional loopholes and dead-ends... for a moment there, it seemed as if Sandro was going to blackmail Augusto. The kiss at the end intimates jealousy.... basically, the dust never settles.

All of these inconclusive storylines and confused motives lead to this... ominous blur, which is handed down brutally in that climactic scene... A fitting inheritance from a film about madness.

rather be forgotten than remembered for giving in.