I basilischi

I basilischi, English language titles The Basilisks or The Lizards, is a 1963 Italian comedy-drama film written and directed by Lina Wertmüller. It was Wertmüller's directorial debut.

Plot
Francesco, Sergio, and Antonio are three privileged young individuals residing in a typical provincial town, Minervino Murge, located between Puglia and Basilicata. The film portrays their lives, now saturated with apathy and provincialism, hindering any genuine desire to pursue more stimulating horizons.

When Antonio's aunt, an indifferent university student, offers him the opportunity to live with her in Rome and transfer his enrollment from the University of Bari to the capital, he eventually declines. Incapable of abandoning the ingrained prejudices, stereotypes, and rituals of his native province, he returns to the village, his decision irreversible.

The conclusion features a quote from the Southern Italian scholar Giustino Fortunato: "We are what race, climate, location, and history have determined us to be."

Cast

 * Antonio Petruzzi as Tony
 * Stefano Satta Flores as Francesco
 * Sergio Ferrarino as Sergio
 * Luigi Barbieri as Antonio's father
 * Flora Carabella as Luciana Bonfanti

Legacy
I basilischi was shown as part of the retrospective "Questi fantasmi: Cinema italiano ritrovato" at the 65th Venice International Film Festival. A 4K restoration of the film was screened at the Museum of Modern Art in December 2023.