You are here:

The Mass Is Ended

Name: The Mass Is Ended
Director: Nanni Moretti
Released: 1985
Duration: 94 min

Representation Score

7.2/10

Good

1985

Director

Nanni Moretti

Runtime

94 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

Nanni Moretti’s work provides a sharp, postmodern critique of traditional Western institutions. By centering the story on a priest returning to a community defined by despair, the film deconstructs the perceived stability of religious and social frameworks. While the film excels in its intellectual engagement with institutional authority and mental health, it lacks demographic breadth. The narrative remains largely focused on a homogeneous social group, offering little visibility for racial or LGBTQ+ diversity. Ultimately, the film's strength lies in its psychological complexity. It trades idealized social clichés for a raw exploration of existential frustration and the failure of established hierarchies to provide meaning.

Watch this, not that →

Category Breakdown

Does The Mass Is Ended have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

There are no explicit LGBTQ+ characters or critiques of the assumption that everyone is straight or cisgender in the film. The focus is on the psychological state of Father Giulio and his social circle.

How does The Mass Is Ended portray gender?

Fair

The story centers on a male protagonist navigating a landscape of frustration. It disrupts traditional domestic ideals by focusing on psychological instability rather than a stable family unit.

How racially and ethnically diverse is The Mass Is Ended?

Limited

Set in Rome, the film appears to focus on a relatively homogeneous social group. The narrative reflects a traditional demographic focus typical of mid-80s European social realism.

How does The Mass Is Ended represent religion and culture?

Excellent

The film offers a sophisticated critique of the Church and traditional family structures. It uses existential despair to challenge the perceived moral efficacy of these institutions.

Does The Mass Is Ended include disability representation?

Good

Mental health conditions, including depression and suicidal ideation, serve as central narrative drivers. These struggles are integrated into the core conflict rather than treated as peripheral.

Present on Screen

Provides a sophisticated deconstruction of traditional religious and social institutions.
Integrates mental health and suicidal ideation as central, meaningful narrative drivers.
Challenges conventional clichés of the stable family and moral authority.

Limited or Absent

Lacks visible representation of LGBTQ+ characters or perspectives.
Features a relatively homogeneous cast with limited racial and ethnic diversity.
The narrative architecture remains heavily centered on a male protagonist.

Official Synopsis

Young Father Giulio returns to Rome, where he was born and raised, to replace a priest who has left the clergy to start a family. He is delighted to reunite with his loved ones, especially his mother, sister, and old friends. Once radical leftists like Giulio himself, the latter are now each coping in their own way with the defeat of the revolution. Soon, however, Giulio realizes that despite his best efforts, he seems unable to solve the problems troubling those around him.

How are these scores produced? →