The Eyes, the Mouth

The Eyes, the Mouth
The Eyes, the Mouth
	Film poster
Directed by	Marco Bellocchio
Written by	Marco Bellocchio; Vincenzo Cerami; Catherine Breillat;
Produced by	Enzo Porcelli
Starring	Lou Castel
Cinematography	Giuseppe Lanci
Edited by	Sergio Nuti
Music by	Nicola Piovani
Production; companies	Odyssia; RAI; Gaumont;
Release dates	1982 (Italy); 1984 (France);
Running time	93/101 minutes
Language	Italian

The Eyes, the Mouth (Italian: Gli occhi, la bocca, French: Les yeux, la bouche) is a 1982 Italian–French drama film directed by Marco Bellocchio.^[1]^[2]

Plot[edit]

After the suicide of his twin brother Pippo, Giovanni, an actor past his prime, returns to his provincial hometown in Emilia-Romagna. Giovanni's brother Agostino and his uncle try to convince the mother that the death of her son was not self-inflicted but accidental. To the family's consternation, Pippo's former lover Wanda, a South American immigrant who lives in an apartment which he paid for her, shows no sign of grief. Giovanni learns that Pippo lamented that Wanda didn't love him and that she regularly meets with a young doctor. Although he blames her for his brother's death, Giovanni starts an affair with her.

Cast[edit]

Lou Castel as Giovanni (Italian voice: Sergio Castellitto)
Ángela Molina as Wanda
Emmanuelle Riva as the mother (Italian voice: Anna Maria Gherardi)
Michel Piccoli as Uncle Nigi (Italian voice: Giulio Brogi)
Antonio Piovanelli as Wanda's father
Viviana Toniolo as Adele, Giovanni's sister
Giampaolo Saccarola as Agostino, Giovanni's brother (as Gianpaolo Saccarola)
Antonio Petrocelli as the doctor
Maria Romagnoli
Paolo Bacchi
Osanna Borsari
Daniele Mondini
Giada Mondini

Background[edit]

Like many of Bellocchio's films, The Eyes, the Mouth contains autobiographical parallels to the director's life, here the death of his twin brother who committed suicide in 1968.^[3]

Release[edit]

The Eyes, the Mouth was shown in competition at the 39th Venice International Film Festival.^[4]

Legacy[edit]

A restored version of the film was screened at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, in 2014.^[5]

References[edit]

^ Laura Morandini; Luisa Morandini; Morando Morandini (2010). Il Morandini 2011. Dizionario dei film. Zanichelli. ISBN 8808227227.
^ Chiti, Roberto; Poppi, Roberto (1991). Dizionario del cinema. Vol. 5, Issue 2. Gremese. p. 96.
^ Brook, Clodagh J. (2010). Marco Bellocchio: The Cinematic I in the Political Sphere. p. 21.
^ Reggiani, Stefano (3 September 1982). "Bellocchio, i pugni nel passato". La Stampa. No. 187.
^ "Gli Occhi, la Bocca (The Eyes, the Mouth). 1982. Directed by Marco Bellocchio". Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 9 October 2023.

External links[edit]

The Eyes, the Mouth at IMDb
The Eyes, the Mouth at Festival La Rochelle Cinéma (in French)
The Eyes, the Mouth at Ciné-Ressources (in French)
The Eyes, the Mouth at Archivio del Cinema Italiano (in Italian)

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[Morandini-1] Laura Morandini; Luisa Morandini; Morando Morandini (2010). Il Morandini 2011. Dizionario dei film. Zanichelli. ISBN 8808227227.

[Chiti_Poppi-2] Chiti, Roberto; Poppi, Roberto (1991). Dizionario del cinema. Vol. 5, Issue 2. Gremese. p. 96.

[Brook-3] Brook, Clodagh J. (2010). Marco Bellocchio: The Cinematic I in the Political Sphere. p. 21.

[4] Reggiani, Stefano (3 September 1982). "Bellocchio, i pugni nel passato". La Stampa. No. 187.

[moma-5] "Gli Occhi, la Bocca (The Eyes, the Mouth). 1982. Directed by Marco Bellocchio". Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 9 October 2023.

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