Rocco and His Brothers - Characters & Cast

His primary motivation is an almost saintly devotion to his family, especially his mother and his self-destructive brother, Simone. He is driven by a belief in forgiveness and the sanctity of family bonds, values rooted in his southern upbringing, which prove tragically incompatible with the new world of Milan.

Rocco begins as a gentle, optimistic, and deeply loyal brother. His core identity is rooted in preserving the family at any cost. His arc is tragic; his goodness and unwavering forgiveness, particularly towards Simone, become his fatal flaw. By sacrificing his love for Nadia and his own future to shoulder Simone's debts and crimes, he enables further destruction. He ends the film a broken man, victorious in the boxing ring but spiritually defeated, having failed to save his brother or his family's honor.

Simone is motivated by a desperate and ultimately lazy desire for fame and wealth, encouraged by his mother. His actions are driven by insecurity, intense jealousy of Rocco, and an obsessive, possessive love for Nadia. He lacks the moral foundation to resist the corrupting influences around him, constantly choosing the easiest, most destructive path.

Simone starts as the family's best hope for success, a charismatic and physically powerful figure pursuing a boxing career. However, he is quickly corrupted by the city's temptations, spiraling into alcoholism, debt, and violence. His jealousy of Rocco's success and relationship with Nadia consumes him, leading him to rape Nadia and ultimately murder her. His arc is a steep descent from flawed ambition to irredeemable villainy, embodying the most destructive effects of the urban environment on a weak character.

Initially motivated by survival, Nadia's core desire becomes a longing for a genuine connection and a better life, which she believes she can find with Rocco. After being abandoned by him, her motivations become more complex, a mix of despair and a desire to hasten Simone's downfall. Ultimately, she is a victim whose agency is tragically stripped away.

Nadia is introduced as a cynical prostitute, a product of the city's harsh realities. Her relationship with the brutish Simone is transactional and volatile. Rocco's kindness and innocence inspire a genuine change in her; she falls in love and sees a chance at redemption. Tragically, this redemption is stolen from her. After Rocco sacrifices their relationship for Simone's sake, she falls back into her old life, only to be brutally murdered by Simone. Her arc is a tragic journey from jaded survival to hopeful love and back to victimhood, making her the ultimate casualty of the brothers' conflict.

Ciro is motivated by a desire for stability and to build a respectable life for himself within the new system. He believes in progress and order, and his actions are guided by a strong moral compass that aligns with civic duty rather than blind family allegiance.

Ciro represents the path of successful, if unsentimental, assimilation. He is diligent, attends night school, and secures a stable job at the Alfa Romeo factory. Unlike Rocco, who clings to the past, and Simone, who is destroyed by the present, Ciro adapts to the new social order. His arc culminates in him rejecting Rocco's plea to protect Simone after Nadia's murder. He chooses the law and the values of his new society over the flawed, traditional loyalty of his family, representing a definitive break with the past.

Her primary motivation is a fierce desire to see her sons succeed and escape the poverty that defined their life in the South. However, her understanding of success is materialistic, and she often favors the son she believes will bring the most prosperity, contributing to the rivalry and ultimate tragedy.

Rosaria is the forceful, domineering mother who instigated the family's move to Milan to escape poverty. Her arc is one of tragic disillusionment. Initially, she encourages Simone's boxing ambitions as a quick path to wealth, but she is unable to control the destructive forces she unleashes. As her family disintegrates, her authority wanes, and she is left to witness the devastating consequences of her ambition, clinging to a broken family and lamenting their fate.