Fists in the Pocket

1965 ‘I pugni in tasca’ Directed by Marco Bellocchio

Ale, a deeply disturbed young man subject to seizures, benignly decides to murder members of his dysfunctional family for altruistic reasons.

Lou Castel Paola Pitagora Marino Masé Liliana Gerace Stefania Troglio Jeannie McNeil Mauro Martini Gianni Schicchi Alfredo Filippazzi

Alternative Titles

De Punhos Cerrados, Mit der Faust in der Tasche, Las manos en los bolsillos

drama

105 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Robert Beksinski ★★★★ 1

Maybe a precursor to such deranged familial films like Dogtooth. This dark Italian movie conjures up enough angst and mental weariness that the absurdity that follows seems completely in the realm of possibility.
Fists in the Pocket is a jarring experience but it is one that creeps up on the viewer in subtle fashion. From the moment the film begins we notice the oddities of the family with incestual undertones, mental disturbances, filth, dependence with abnormalities and ailments of various members and a clockwork like existence. Perhaps one could say the film was a ticking time bomb waiting to end in tragedy but instead its fate turned out to be more akin to a slow disease eating away from the…
Review by russman ★★★½

i'm typing this review with my nose
Review by Keaton B ★★★★½

As dark as it is captivating, this post-neorealist gem allegorically captures the anarchy and the turmoil of the 60's. Brilliantly played by Lou Castel, who decides to murder the members of his wealthy family as if that was the only way to cure them, the protagonist if full of restless energy but doesn't quite know how or where to channel it. The spirit of the time is certainly alive in this film, but it transcends it with its acuity. The institution of family is not the film's only target, but it's the primary one. This supposedly happy catholic family turns out to be rotten to the core. The cure may be extreme, but it isn't treated as the wrong one.
Review by Kurdt ★★★½

Unsettling Italian neo-realism. A family filled with epileptic siblings, a blind mother, incestual undertones, all housed within a filthy home - that's a recipe for trouble. One of the brothers finally has it dawn on him how much easier life would be without having to be stuck within this hell and having to care for his siblings. It would be better if they were all dead, he thinks. Not just for him, but for them too. It's hell living with mental disorders and permanent blindness, he'd just be putting them out of their misery he argues.
There really isn't much of a plot to describe here, it's more of a stark look at a horrific idea and running with it.…
Review by Sally Jane Black

What a great title. It captures the essence of this film entirely, I think. It is frustration, balled up and hidden away, knowing no release, the precursor to desperate acts and mad stupidity. The whole film is pressurized. Poverty, disability (mental and physical), isolation, and failure inspire horrors within a strange family in an Italian town, and the fallout is... fucked up.
The principle characters are all somehow flawed in the eyes of each other and/or the world. An epileptic, an incestuous thrill seeker sister, a mentally handicapped young man brother, a blind old mother, and the supposedly normal elder brother--but rather callous--all live together in a too small home, and the combination of their woes and poverty are holding…
Review by Matt Winfield ★★★★

💀Daily Horror Hunt #17 – November Horror 2019💀
22. Watch a horror movie that you would put on if you were on a horrible first date.
Well that just about fills my quota for depressing movies for the rest of the year. Jeez, such a dark movie despite the beautiful snowy, Italian countryside. Maybe not a horror movie like it was tagged as, but still a soul-churning, frightening movie to watch unfold.
It's a trip through the mind of Alessandro, a sick, twisted teenager who has had his hopes and dreams forcefully pushed aside to care for his blind mother and mentally unwell brother. He finds his only escape from his strained existence is to slowly start killing off his…

Recent reviews

Review by logosuz ★★★★½

Aktif Yabancı Ale özel olsa da işlevsiz ailelerden işlevliyi çıkartınca sağlanan denklik sayesinde toptan işlevdışılık yadsınacak kadar azalabiliyor.
Rocco'nun da böyle etkin bir kardeşi olsaydı keşke.
Review by Baudenz ★★★★½

9/10
Review by tyhorta ★★★★★

Still a better relationship than the one I have with my family.
Review by zeloche ★★★½

j’ai pas tout compris je crois mais j’ai bien aimé quand meme j’adore le personnage d’Ale, et Giulia elle est trop belle omg.. l’esthétique est super cool et le rythme lent correspond grv bien à l’ambiance ! les musiques sont super bien et les acteurs jouent trop bien surtout Ale bref je regrette grv pas de l’avoir regardé ct une recommendation de Danny en plus
Review by Salvets_ ★★★★★

Danse Macabre
10/10
Review by RedRobJr ★★★★½

This is a dark and audacious film. When I read that it exploded on the scene when it was released I believe it. Except for the oldest son, and the mother, the rest of the family is epileptic/ mentally ill, to varying degrees. Lou Castel, as Alessandro, the main protagonist is unforgettable. The scene where he kills his mother is chilling. Black humor underlies the whole film. The little details, like the two younger sons eating spoonfuls of sugar right from the bowl, are memorable. Like no other movie
Review by ZachDykstra ★★★★

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

I would love to see the police investigation of the mother's death where they were like: "blind woman driven out by her son to the middle of nowhere falls off a cliff by accident, I guess. No further questions. Enjoy your lucrative inheritance."
Review by marina ★★★★½ 2

deixar o gato subir em cima da mesa é coisa de família italiana então
Review by Seanery ★★½

This has to be one of the most boring movies about a psychopath I've ever seen. When someone finally died I thought it would pick up... but no.