Bellocchio (Fists in the Pocket) updates Raymond Radiguet’s 1923 novel of amour fou if not the 1947 French film version, transposing the action to modern Italy in the throes of the state’s battle with the Red Brigades as sultry live-wire Maruschka Detmers (First Name: Carmen) diverts herself from her terrorist fiancé’s trial for a torrid affair with smitten teen Federico Pitzalis. Late in the game for the X, attention could still be stirred up by a single scene; here, the depiction of a sexual act (in a courtroom) accordingly elicited the rating.

In Italian with English subtitles

Print courtesy of Cinecittà Luce