The Eyes, the Mouth

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]

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
Distributed by	Gaumont Distribution
Release dates	1982 (1982) (Italy) 1984 (1984) (France)
Running time	93/101 minutes
Countries	Italy France
Language	Italian

Plot

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

• 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

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

The Eyes, the Mouth was shown in competition at the 39th Venice International Film Festival.^[4] The film was set to be screened on opening night, but was aborted due to its disobedience with a new censorship law, being delayed by a few days due to approval of an official visa from the regulators.^[5]

Legacy

A restored version of the film was screened at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, in 2014.^[6]