The Working Class Goes to Heaven
A frantic industrial fever dream where flesh meets cold steel, capturing the jagged soul of a man-machine who discovers his humanity only through the violent severing of a finger.
The Working Class Goes to Heaven
The Working Class Goes to Heaven

La classe operaia va in paradiso

17 September 1971 Italy 113 min ⭐ 7.8 (364)
Director: Elio Petri
Cast: Gian Maria Volonté, Mariangela Melato, Salvo Randone, Gino Pernice, Luigi Diberti
Drama
Alienation and Dehumanization The Failures of the Left Workplace Madness (The Trilogy of Neurosis) Consumerism as a Trap

The Working Class Goes to Heaven - Movie Quotes

Memorable Quotes

Un pezzo, un culo, un pezzo, un culo...

— Lulù Massa

Context:

Lulù says this while working at high speed, demonstrating his total immersion in the machine's rhythm.

Meaning:

This repetitive chant (One piece, one ass...) highlights Lulù's dehumanization, equating the production of mechanical parts with the basest human functions in a rhythmic, obsessive cycle.

Non morirai nel tuo letto, morirai qui sulla tua macchina.

— A Coworker / Militina

Context:

Used to describe the inevitable end for those who, like Lulù, give everything to the factory.

Meaning:

A grim prophecy of the worker's fate: total consumption by the industrial process until death.

Ho abbattuto il muro! E di là cosa c'era? La nebbia.

— Lulù Massa

Context:

The final lines of the film, spoken as Lulù returns to the assembly line.

Meaning:

Reveals the futility of the struggle and the lack of a clear utopian vision. Even when the "wall" is broken, there is no paradise, only more uncertainty.