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The Bandit

Name: The Bandit
Director: Carlo Lizzani
Released: 1969
Duration: 108 min

Representation Score

4.3/10

Fair

1969

Director

Carlo Lizzani

Runtime

108 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

The film serves as a social critique of class-based oppression and systemic injustice. It excels in challenging the power of the landed aristocracy and providing female characters with meaningful ability to act. However, it remains limited by its historical setting, which lacks modern multi-layered markers. The narrative is confined to the traditional and racially homogeneous realities of 19th-century Sicily. Ultimately, the film's progressive value lies in its anti-establishment themes and its exploration of moral relativism through the lens of the disenfranchised peasantry.

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Category Breakdown

Does The Bandit have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The film follows the traditional social structures of 19th-century Sicily, focusing on arranged marriages and romantic tensions. There is no representation of LGBTQ+ identities or stories.

How does The Bandit portray gender?

Fair

Gemma challenges traditional gender roles by actively seeking to escape her predetermined social position. This subversion of the submissive female stereotype offers a nuanced character development.

How racially and ethnically diverse is The Bandit?

Fair

The cast and setting are primarily homogeneous, reflecting the specific regional context of 1865 Sicily. The film highlights internal class distinctions among the Italian peasantry.

How does The Bandit represent religion and culture?

Good

The story critiques traditional institutions by highlighting the systemic dispossession of peasants by the landed aristocracy. Vigilantism is portrayed as a reaction to institutional corruption.

Does The Bandit include disability representation?

Minimal

There is no evident portrayal of physical or neurodivergent disabilities in the narrative.

Present on Screen

Gemma actively defies patriarchal arrangements, demonstrating a significant role in driving the story.
The narrative offers a sharp critique of class-based oppression and systemic land dispossession.
The film explores complex themes of moral relativism and institutional corruption.

Limited or Absent

The film lacks representation of non-assuming gender matches what was assigned at birth gender identities or queer narratives.
The setting and casting reflect a homogeneous population with little racial diversity.
There is no visible representation of physical or neurodivergent disabilities.

Official Synopsis

Sicily, 1865. Two peasants, Gramigna and his father are tricked by Baron Nardò and robbed of their field, which then the baron lets to Assunta, her daughter Gemma and her fiancé Ramarro. Determined to take revenge, Gramigna begins to hunt down Nardò's complicit mediators. Unbeknownst to Gramigna, Gemma, to escape her arranged marriage, goes after him. Love and violence will follow all till their desperate ends.

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