Rocco and His Brothers

The Parondi family leave their home in southern Italy to try to make a better life in the northern town of Milan. The mother, Rosaria, is accompanied by her four sons, Rocco, Simone, Ciro and Luca, and hopes to stay with her eldest son, Vincenzo, who is already settled in Milan. The family's unexpected arrival coincides with Vincenzo's engagement to Ginetta, and does not please Vincenzo's prospective future in-laws. Once the family have found accommodation, the sons set about trying to find work. Luca does odd jobs, Ciro studies for a diploma which will get him a job in a car factory, Rocco works in a dry-cleaning shop and Simone begins to pursue a promising career as a boxer. Just when things appear to be going well, it all starts to go wrong. Once he realises that Rocco has stolen his girlfriend, Nadia (a former prostitute), Simone is consumed by jealousy and starts to rebel. In a heroic bid to keep the family together, Rocco surrenders Nadia to Simone, but by this stage the harm has been done. Simone's character has taken an irreversible turn for the worse...