OSTIA

Cinemavixion Review

Sergio Citti's directorial debut, 'Ostia' (1970), is a potent and unflinching exploration of the Roman underbelly, co-written with the legendary Pier Paolo Pasolini. The film plunges viewers into the desolate periphery of Rome, charting the lives of brothers Bandiera (Franco Citti) and Rabbino (Laurent Terzieff), who subsist on petty crime and a morbid, symbiotic relationship. Their existence is violently disrupted by the arrival of Monica (Anita Sanders), a woman found unconscious, whose presence ignites a destructive spiral of jealousy and desire that irrevocably shatters their fraternal bond. The narrative weaves archaic myths with a profound sense of sin, culminating in a tragic and inevitable epilogue. 'Ostia' stands as a powerful, radical, and uncompromising cinematic manifesto, anchored by raw performances and a relentless thematic focus.