Fists in the Pocket

The term “dysfunctional family” may not have been coined when this film first came out and made a splash on the international festival circuit, but it is certainly a jaw-dropping illustration of the concept. Marco Bellocchio’s first film was made in his mother’s house, and he clearly had some issues to work out: blindness, epilepsy, idiocy, incest, and murder for starters. He certainly brought intensity and passion to the project, which elicits reactions ranging from horror to laughter. Personally, I didn’t know how to react, though the film was transfixing as well as head-scratching. I distantly remember a positive response to his second film, China Is Near, though I may be mixing it up with Bertolucci’s roughly contemporaneous Before the Revolution, but now the Criterion Collection has resurrected his first, and though it is something to see, I can’t recommend seeing it. (1965, dvd, n.) *5+*