Marco Bellocchio (; born 9 November 1939) is an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor.

Life and career

Born in

Bobbio Bobbio ( Bobbiese: ; lij, Bêubbi; la, Bobium) is a small town and commune in the province of Piacenza in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. It is located in the Trebbia River valley southwest of the town Piacenza. There is also an abbey and a dioc ...

, near

Piacenza Piacenza (; egl, label= Piacentino, Piaṡëinsa ; ) is a city and in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, and the capital of the eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with over ...

, Marco Bellocchio had a strict Catholic upbringing – his father was a lawyer, his mother a schoolteacher. He began studying philosophy in Milan but then decided to enter film school, first at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome, then at th
Slade School of Fine Art
in London. His first film, ''

Fists in the Pocket ''Fists in the Pocket'' ( it, I pugni in tasca) is a 1965 Italian psychological drama film written and directed by Marco Bellocchio, his directorial debut. A dark satire of family and social values, the film centers on a young man suffering from ...

'', (''I pugni in tasca'', winner of the Silver Sail at the 1965

Festival del film Locarno The Locarno Film Festival is an annual film festival, held every August in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narrative, documentary, s ...

), was funded by family members and shot on family property, in

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

Films

Bellocchio's films include '' China is Near'' (1967), '' Sbatti il mostro in prima pagina'' (''Slap the Monster on Page One'') (1972), ''Nel Nome del Padre'' (''In the name of the Father'' – a satire on a Catholic boarding school that shares affinities with

Lindsay Anderson Lindsay Gordon Anderson (17 April 1923 – 30 August 1994) was a British feature-film, theatre and documentary director, film critic, and leading-light of the Free Cinema movement and of the British New Wave. He is most widely remembered for h ...

's '' If....'') (1972), '' Victory March'' (1976), ''

A Leap in the Dark ''A Leap in the Dark'' ( it, Salto nel vuoto, and also known as ''Leap Into the Void'') is a 1980 Italian film written and directed by Marco Bellocchio. It stars Michel Piccoli and Anouk Aimée, who won the Best Actor and Best Actress prizes resp ...

'' (1980), '' Henry IV'' (1984), '' Devil in the Flesh'' (1986), and ''

My Mother's Smile ''My Mother's Smile'' is a 2002 Italian film directed by Marco Bellocchio. The original Italian title is ''L'ora di religione (Il sorriso di mia madre)'' ("The Hour of Religion (My Mother's Smile)"). Summary The film tells the story of a man whos ...

'' (2002), which told the story of a wealthy Italian artist, a 'default-Marxist and atheist', who suddenly discovers that the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

is proposing to make his detested mother a saint. In 1991 he won the Silver Bear – Special Jury Prize at the 41st Berlin International Film Festival for his film ''

The Conviction ''The Conviction'' ( it, La condanna) is a 1991 Italian drama film directed by Marco Bellocchio. It was entered into the 41st Berlin International Film Festival where it won the Silver Bear - Special Jury Prize. Cast * Vittorio Mezzogiorno as ...

''. In 1995 he directed a documentary about the

Red Brigades The Red Brigades ( it, Brigate Rosse , often abbreviated BR) was a far-left Marxist–Leninist armed organization operating as a terrorist and guerrilla group based in Italy responsible for numerous violent incidents, including the abduction ...

and the kidnapping and murder of

Aldo Moro Aldo Romeo Luigi Moro (; 23 September 1916 – 9 May 1978) was an Italian statesman and a prominent member of the Christian Democracy (DC). He served as prime minister of Italy from December 1963 to June 1968 and then from November 1974 to July ...

, entitled ''Broken Dreams''. In 2003, he directed a feature film on the same theme, '' Good Morning, Night''. In 2006 his film ''

The Wedding Director ''The Wedding Director'' ( it, Il regista di matrimoni) is a 2006 Italian drama film directed by Marco Bellocchio. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. Cast * Sergio Castellitto - Franco Elica * Don ...

'' was screened in the

Un Certain Regard (, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films w ...

section at the

2006 Cannes Film Festival The 59th Cannes Film Festival was held from 17 to 28 May 2006. Twenty films from eleven countries were in competition for the Palme d'Or. The President of the Official selection Jury was Wong Kar-wai, the first Chinese director to preside over the ...

. In 1999 he was awarded with an Honorable Prize for the contribution to cinema at the

21st Moscow International Film Festival The 21st Moscow International Film Festival was held from 19 to 29 July 1999. The Golden St. George was awarded to the Japanese film ''Will to Live'' directed by Kaneto Shindo. Jury * Fernando Solanas (Argentina – President of the Jury) * Flor ...

. In 2009 he directed ''

Vincere ''Vincere'' (in English, 'To Win') is a 2009 Italian biographical drama film based on the life of Benito Mussolini's first wife, Ida Dalser. It stars Giovanna Mezzogiorno as Dalser and Filippo Timi as Mussolini. It was filmed under the direction ...

'', which was in the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival. He finished '' Sorelle Mai'', an experimental film that was shot over ten years with the students of six separate workshops playing themselves. He was awarded with the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the

68th Venice International Film Festival The 68th annual Venice International Film Festival was held in Venice, Italy between 31 August and 10 September 2011. American film director Darren Aronofsky was announced as the Head of the Jury. American actor and film director Al Pacino was p ...

in September 2011. His 2012 film ''

Dormant Beauty ''Dormant Beauty'' ( it, Bella addormentata) is a 2012 Italian drama film directed by Marco Bellocchio and starring Toni Servillo and Isabelle Huppert. The film was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 69th Venice International Film Fes ...

'' was selected to compete for the

Golden Lion The Golden Lion ( it, Leone d'oro) is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguishe ...

at the

69th Venice International Film Festival The 69th annual Venice International Film Festival, organized by Venice Biennale, took place at Venice Lido from 29 August to 8 September 2012. The festival opened with the Indian director Mira Nair's ''The Reluctant Fundamentalist'', and clos ...

. On 6 September 2012, Bellocchio condemned the Catholic Church's interference in politics after the premiere of his new controversial film about a high-profile euthanasia case. The film approaches the topic of

euthanasia Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different eut ...

, and the difficulty setting of legislation on end of life in a country,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, which has within its borders

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

. The subject is inspired by

Eluana Englaro Eluana Englaro (25 November 1970 – 9 February 2009) was an Italian woman from Lecco, who entered a persistent vegetative state on 18 January 1992, following a car accident, and subsequently became the focus of a court battle between supporters ...

's case. Following the decision of the jury of the Venice Film Festival, which has ruled the film from the Golden Lion, Bellocchio has expressed strong criticism against President

Michael Mann Michael Kenneth Mann (born February 5, 1943) is an American director, screenwriter, and producer of film and television who is best known for his distinctive style of crime drama. His most acclaimed works include the films ''Thief'' (1981), ' ...

Political activity

Bellocchio made a big impact on

radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...

Italian cinema in the mid-sixties, and was a friend of

Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, filmmaker, writer and intellectual who also distinguished himself as a journalist, novelist, translator, playwright, visual artist and actor. He is considered one of ...

. In 1968 he joined the Communist Union, and began to make politically militant cinema. However, in a 2002 interview, he remarked, "I can talk about my personal ideas but

Marxism Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

has little to do with it now. Today politics means administration. No party is now proposing a radical change of anything, and radical change is no longer very interesting to me as an artist." He is an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

. He was candidate for

Italian Parliament The Italian Parliament ( it, Parlamento italiano) is the national parliament of the Italian Republic. It is the representative body of Italian citizens and is the successor to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1943), the transitiona ...

in 2006, with

Rose in the Fist The Rose in the Fist ( it, Rosa nel Pugno, RnP) was a political alliance of parties in Italy. The RnP was composed of the Italian Democratic Socialists (SDI; a social-democratic party led by Enrico Boselli and Roberto Villetti), the Italian ...

list, a political cartel made by

socialists Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the eco ...

and

Italian Radicals The Italian Radicals ( it, Radicali Italiani, RI) is a liberal and libertarian political party in Italy. Founded on 14 July 2001 with Daniele Capezzone as their first secretary, the party describes itself as "''liberale'', ''liberista'' nd''lib ...

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

social liberal Social liberalism (german: Sozialliberalismus, es, socioliberalismo, nl, Sociaalliberalisme), also known as new liberalism in the United Kingdom, modern liberalism, or simply liberalism in the contemporary United States, left-liberalism ...

and

libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

party).

Filmography

Director

* '' La colpa e la pena'' (1961) * ''

'' (1965) * '' China Is Near'' (1967) * '' Sbatti il mostro in prima pagina'' (1972) * '' Victory March'' (1976) * '' Il gabbiano'' (1977) * ''

'' (1980) * '' The Eyes, the Mouth'' (1982) * '' Henry IV'' (1984) * '' Devil in the Flesh'' (1986) * ''

The Witches' Sabbath ''The Witches' Sabbath'' ( it, La visione del sabba, french: La sorcière, also known as ''The Sabbath'') is a 1988 Italian-French drama film written and directed by Marco Bellocchio. It is a pagan film and shows the rituals of witches. Cast * B ...

'' (1988) * ''

'' (1991) * '' The Butterfly's Dream'' (1994) * '' The Prince of Homburg'' (1996) * ''

The Nanny ''The Nanny'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from November 3, 1993, to June 23, 1999, starring Fran Drescher as Fran Fine, a Jewish fashionista from Flushing, Queens, New York, who becomes the nanny of three chi ...

'' (1999) * ''

'' (2002) * '' Good Morning, Night'' (2003) * ''

'' (2006) * ''

'' (2009) * ''

'' (2012) * ''

Blood of My Blood "Blood of My Blood" is the sixth episode of the sixth season of HBO's fantasy television series ''Game of Thrones'', and the 56th overall. The episode was written by Bryan Cogman, and directed by Jack Bender. Bran Stark and Meera Reed are resc ...

'' (2015) * '' Sweet Dreams'' (2017) * '' The Traitor'' (2019) * '' Marx Can Wait'' (2021) * ''

Exterior Night ''Exterior Night'' () is a 2022 Italian-language drama film co-written and directed by Marco Bellocchio based on the kidnapping and murder of Aldo Moro. The film is the second feature by Bellocchio based on the Moro case after ''Good Morning, N ...

'' (2022)

Writer

* ''Abbasso il zio'' (1961) * '' La colpa e la pena'' (1961) * ''Il ginepro fatto uomo'' (1962) * ''

'' (1965) * '' China is Near'' (1967) * ''Il popolo calabrese ha rialzato la testa'' (1969) – co-direction * ''Viva il 1º maggio rosso proletario'' (1969) – co-direction * ''Discutiamo, discutiamo'', episode of '' Love and Anger'' (1969) – co-direction * ''Nel nome del padre'' (1972) * '' Sbatti il mostro in prima pagina'' (1972) * ''Matti da slegare'' (1975), co-directed with Silvano Agosti,

Sandro Petraglia Sandro Petraglia (; born 19 April 1947) is an Italian screenwriter. He began his career in the early 1970s as a film critic, writing for the May 68 Beginning in May 1968, a period of civil unrest occurred throughout France, lasting some sev ...

, Stefano Rulli * '' Victory March'' (1976) * '' Il gabbiano'' (1977) * ''La macchina cinema'' (1979), co-directed with Silvano Agosti, Sandro Petraglia, Stefano Rulli * ''

'' (1980) * ''Vacanze in Val Trebbia'' (1980) * '' The Eyes, the Mouth'' (1982) * '' Henry IV'' (1984) * '' Devil in the Flesh'' (1986) * ''

'' (1988) * ''

'' (1991) * '' The Butterfly's Dream'' (1994) * ''Sogni infranti'' (1995) – TV documentary * '' The Prince of Homburg'' (1996) * ''La religione della storia'' (1998) – TV documentary * ''

'' (1999) * ''L'affresco'' (2000) * ''Elena'' (2002) * ''Appunti per un film su Zio Vanja'' (2002) * ''Addio del passato'' (2002) * ''

'' (2002) * '' Good Morning, Night'' (2003) * ''

'' (2006) * ''Sorelle'' (2006) * ''

'' (2009) * ''Sorelle Mai'' (2010) * ''

'' (2012) * ''

'' (2015) * '' Sweet Dreams'' (2016) * '' The Traitor'' (2019) * ''Marx can wait'' (2021) * ''Esterno Notte'' (2022)

Actor

* '' Love and Anger'' (1969) - Lecturer (segment "Discutiamo discutiamo") * ''N.P.'' (1971) - Preacher (voice) * ''Pianeta Venere'' (1972) * ''

The Canterbury Tales ''The Canterbury Tales'' ( enm, Tales of Caunterbury) is a collection of twenty-four stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. It is widely regarded as Chaucer's ''Masterpiece, ...

'' (1972) - voice of the greedy friar in the Summoner's Tale * '' Sbatti il mostro in prima pagina'' (1972) - Giornalista Conferenza (uncredited) * ''Tutto in comune'' (1974) * ''

Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom ''Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom'' ( it, Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma, billed on-screen ''Pasolini's 120 Days of Sodom'' on English-language prints and commonly referred to as simply ''Salò'' []) is a 1975 horror film, horror art film dir ...

'' (1975) - The President (voice, uncredited) * '' Il gabbiano'' (1977) - Servant (uncredited) * ''Vacanze in Val Trebbia'' (1980) - Il marito * ''L'ora di religione (Il sorriso di mia madre)'' (2002)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bellocchio, Marco 1939 births Living people Italian male film actors Italian atheists Italian film directors Italian screenwriters People from the Province of Piacenza David di Donatello winners European Film Awards winners (people) Nastro d'Argento winners Ciak d'oro winners Italian Marxists Italian socialists Radical Party (Italy) politicians 20th-century Italian politicians Critics of the Catholic Church Italian male screenwriters