The Wide Blue Road

The Wide Blue Road

NR 1957 · 103 min · ★ 6.2 · Drama

Squarciò, a fisherman, lives with his family on a small island off the Dalmatian coast of Italy. Like his fellow villagers, Squarciò struggles against harsh living conditions, a scarcity of fish in nearby waters and exploitation by the local wholesaler. But while the other fishermen continue to use nets, he goes out to the open sea to fish illegally with bombs. But Squarciò borrows money, loses his boat, and in a moment of supreme desperation, has to bomb directly off-shore, causing the hatred and rejection of his fellow fishermen. Trying to save his family, Squarciò and his young sons sail their new boat out beyond the local waters and bomb-fish again. But this time, the sea exacts a terrible toll…

Directed by Gillo Pontecorvo · Written by Ennio De Concini

Your Rating

Cast

Make it a double feature

3h 45m together

The Wide Blue Road

The Battle of Algiers

Both from Gillo Pontecorvo.

More from Gillo PontecorvoSee all →

The Battle of AlgiersThe Battle of Algiers · 1966
The Battle of Algiers
7.91966
MovieDramaWar
Paratrooper commander Colonel Mathieu, a former French Resistance fighter during World War II, is sent to Algeria to reinforce efforts to squelch the uprisings of the Algerian War. There he faces Ali la Pointe, a former petty criminal who, as the leader of the Algerian Front de Liberation Nationale, directs terror strategies against the colonial French government occupation. As each side resorts to ever-increasing brutality, no violent act is too unthinkable.
GiovannaGiovanna · 1955
Giovanna
7.01955
MovieDrama
This short is set in the early 1950s in a small textile factory in central Italy (Prato). Giovanna and her fellow female workers decide to enact a protest against the direction of the factory's dismissal plan, by occupying the factory and continuing to work until the proprietor cancels the dismissals. None of these women can really afford to lose their jobs, as it is the only income in the family. All workers receive moral and material support from their families, apart from Giovanna, who bravely endures her husband's disapproval. Almost all the women hold out for thirty-five days in spite of the proprietor's attempts to break their resistance. At first he blocks the road to the factory, then he cuts off electric power to increase their isolation; finally, he tries to convince them to accept the dismissal of at least a smaller number of them. But the women overcome these obstacles, determined to resist...
Operation OgreOperation Ogre · 1979
Operation Ogre
6.91979
MovieDramaHistory
Spain, 1973. Dictator Francisco Franco has ruled the country since 1939 with an iron fist; but he is now a very old and sick man. The future of the weakened regime is in danger. Admiral Carrero Blanco is his natural successor. The Basque terrorist gang ETA decides that he must die to prevent the dictatorship from continuing.
KapoKapo · 1960
Kapo
6.91960
MovieDramaWar
Determined to survive at any price, Edith, a young Jewish woman deported to an extermination camp, manages to survive by accepting the role of kapo, a privileged prisoner whose mission is to ruthlessly guard other prisoners.
Burn!Burn! · 1969
Burn!
6.81969
MovieHistoryDrama
The professional mercenary Sir William Walker instigates a slave revolt on the Caribbean island of Queimada in order to help improve the British sugar trade. Years later he is sent again to deal with the same rebels that he built up because they have seized too much power that now threatens British sugar interests.
OutcryOutcry · 1946
Outcry
6.71946
MovieDramaWar
A neorealist tribute to the Italian resistance fighters of World War II.
Love in the CityLove in the City · 1953
Love in the City
6.51953
MovieDramaRomance
Six vignettes explore love and desire in Rome, from prostitution and heartache to unwed motherhood and the male gaze.
Toto and CarolinaToto and Carolina · 1955
Toto and Carolina
6.51955
MovieComedy
During a police raid at Villa Borghese, the agent, a widower named Antonio Caccavallo, stays to get better acquainted with the young Carolina.
Farewell to Enrico BerlinguerFarewell to Enrico Berlinguer · 1984
Farewell to Enrico Berlinguer
6.51984
MovieDocumentary
A film of Enrico Berlinguer's funeral in Rome, briefly tracing his career as leader of the Italian Communist Party.
The Wind RoseThe Wind Rose · 1957
The Wind Rose
6.01957
MovieDramaDocumentary
An international anthology about the struggles of female workers around the world.
The UnfaithfulsThe Unfaithfuls · 1953
The Unfaithfuls
5.71953
MovieComedyDrama
A group of "respectable" people are all partly responsible for the suicide of a servant girl. They are pounced upon by a wily blackmailer, who knows that these people will pay dearly rather than inform on themselves or others.
12 Directors for 12 Cities12 Directors for 12 Cities · 1989
12 Directors for 12 Cities
5.61989
MovieDocumentary
Promotional omnibus film, made for the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, featuring portraits of 12 Italian cities.
Return to AlgiersReturn to Algiers · 1992
Return to Algiers
5.01992
MovieDocumentary
Gillo Pontecorvo, who directed the insurrectionary classic The Battle of Algiers in 1966, returns to the city of Algiers to view the progress Algeria has made - for better or worse - since the departure of the French colonialist forces thirty years earlier.
The StupidsThe Stupids · 1996
The Stupids
4.81996
MovieComedyFamily
An incredibly dull-witted family unknowingly stumble upon an illegal weapons deal while on the trail of their "stolen" garbage.
The Spring of 2002 - Italy Protests, Italy StopsThe Spring of 2002 - Italy Protests, Italy Stops · 2002
The Spring of 2002 - Italy Protests, Italy Stops
2002
MovieDocumentaryHistory
Franco Cristaldi e il suo cinema ParadisoFranco Cristaldi e il suo cinema Paradiso · 2009
Franco Cristaldi e il suo cinema Paradiso
2009
MovieDocumentary

More Like This

SolinoSolino · 2002
Solino
7.02002
MovieComedyDrama
The movie portrays the story of an Italian family emigrated in Germany in the 1970s. Romano (Gigi Savoia), the father, decides to open a pizzeria which, by mutual decision with the wife Rosa (Antonella Attili), will call Solino, leaving his sons Gigi and Giancarlo to work there. A hostile relationship comes to life between the father and his sons, which will end up in the escape of the boys from family.
BenedettaBenedetta · 2021
Benedetta
6.62021
MovieHistoryDrama
A 17th-century nun becomes entangled in a forbidden lesbian affair with a novice. But it is Benedetta's shocking religious visions that threaten to shake the Church to its core.
GenovaGenova · 2009
Genova
5.72009
MovieRomanceDrama
A man moves his two daughters to Italy after their mother dies in a car accident, in order to revitalize their lives. Genoa changes all three of them as the youngest daughter starts to see the ghost of her mother, while the older one discovers her sexuality.
The Old Man and the SeaThe Old Man and the Sea · 1958
The Old Man and the Sea
6.51958
MovieAdventureDrama
Santiago is an aging, down-on-his-luck, Cuban fisherman who, after catching nothing for nearly 3 months, hooks a huge Marlin and struggles to land it far out in the Gulf Stream.
The PostmanThe Postman · 1994
The Postman
7.91994
MovieComedyDrama
Simple Italian postman learns to love poetry while delivering mail to a famous poet; he uses this to woo local beauty Beatrice.
The Unknown WomanThe Unknown Woman · 2006
The Unknown Woman
7.22006
MovieThrillerDrama
A Ukrainian woman named Irena calculatedly insinuates herself into the lives of a young, affluent Italian family. Stopping at nothing to become the couple's trusted maid and the beloved nanny to their fragile young daughter, Irena risks everything in her quest to uncover the truth about the family.
The CiambraThe Ciambra · 2017
The Ciambra
7.12017
MovieCrimeDrama
Pio Amato, a 14 year-old member of a small Romani community in southern Italian town of Gioia Tauro in Calabria, is in a hurry to grow up. Pio follows his older brother Cosimo everywhere and from him he learns how to hustle and how to navigate the streets of his hometown. One night Pio sets out to prove to his brother that he is as good or better than him but, when things go wrong, a series of events will forever change the way he sees the world.
Il DivoIl Divo · 2008
Il Divo
7.62008
MovieDrama
Italy, early '90s. Calm, clever and inscrutable, politician Giulio Andreotti has been synonymous with power for decades. He has survived everything: electoral battles, terrorist massacres, loss of friends, slanderous accusations; but now certain repentant mobsters implicate him in the crimes of Cosa Nostra.
Ask the DustAsk the Dust · 2006
Ask the Dust
5.52006
MovieRomanceDrama
Mexican beauty Camilla hopes to rise above her station by marrying a wealthy American. That is complicated by meeting Arturo Bandini, a first-generation Italian hoping to land a writing career and a blue-eyed blonde on his arm.
Golden DoorGolden Door · 2006
Golden Door
6.52006
MovieHistoryDrama
The story is set at the beginning of the 20th century in Sicily. Salvatore, a very poor farmer, and a widower, decides to emigrate to the US with all his family, including his old mother. Before they embark, they meet Lucy. She is supposed to be a British lady and wants to come back to the States. Lucy, or Luce as Salvatore calls her, for unknown reasons wants to marry someone before to arrive to Ellis Island in New York. Salvatore accepts the proposal. Once they arrive in Ellis Island they spend the quarantine period trying to pass the examinations to be admitted to the States. Tests are not so simple for poor farmers coming from Sicily. Their destiny is in the hands of the custom officers.
Life Is BeautifulLife Is Beautiful · 1997
Life Is Beautiful
8.41997
MovieComedyDrama
A touching story of an Italian book seller of Jewish ancestry who lives in his own little fairy tale. His creative and happy life would come to an abrupt halt when his entire family is deported to a concentration camp during World War II. While locked up he tries to convince his son that the whole thing is just a game.
The WondersThe Wonders · 2014
The Wonders
6.82014
MovieDrama
In the Tuscan countryside, a family of traditional honey farmers struggles to make ends meet. The household consists of only daughters—four of them—led by the eldest, Gelsomina, who takes on the responsibilities of the family. When a small boy is sent to stay with them for rehabilitation, their routine is disrupted. As financial troubles threaten their home, Gelsomina sees an opportunity in a reality TV contest searching for 'Italy’s Most Traditional Family.' Willing to expose their secluded life for the prize money, she clashes with her father’s rigid ways in a bid to secure their future.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter