Allora, what kind of title is this? Well, an illuminating one, I would say. A.C.A.B. – All Cops Are Bastards is a little-known Italian thriller about the lives of the riot police squad in Rome. It’s hard-hitting, brutally honest, and engaging, a perfect debut for one of my favorite directors, Stefano Sollima. His next movie, Suburra, is even better, while I’m sure you know all about Gomorrah. This Italian crime masterpiece is still hugely popular. Then came the acceptable ZeroZeroZero and Sicario: Day of the Soldado. Solima was back to his old tricks with Adagio, and I think that about covers it. I actually first watched A.C.A.B. La Serie [2025-] and then this movie. I highly recommend that miniseries, also known as Public Disorder. In some aspects, it’s even better than the movie we’ll be talking about today.
A.C.A.B. – All Cops Are Bastards is a movie that grips you from the first few seconds. It grips you and forcibly immerses you in one messy and nasty night in Rome. In quick succession, we see a riot cop driving drunk on a scooter and falling, a drug deal in front of a supermarket, and a police sergeant picking up his beat-up son from the hospital. It sounds like a lot to take in, but this is where Sollima’s brilliance comes to the rescue. All these stories are interconnected naturally and without an overarching narrative. Perhaps you could argue that this overarching narrative is life itself, but that’s beside the point. Sollima takes a hard and honest look at the state of affairs in Italy, warts and all. And the sight isn’t pretty.
Something you might’ve missed, dazzled by all the history, stereotypes, and everything else surrounding this beautiful country. I have to make one thing clear early on: Italy is just like any other country. Those first few snippets could’ve happened anywhere. In fact, that whole sequence of events sounds more like something coming out of Florida and not the Eternal City. If you’re looking for clean-cut storylines, satisfying twists, and likeable characters, you won’t find them here. What you will find is something that’s going to make you forget all about those things. A compelling and complex characters going through intense situations, making mistakes, trying to atone, failing, and then getting up again. Getting up again, lighting a cigarette, and overlooking this concrete jungle.
The atmosphere is dark and gritty, just like the way I like it. A.C.A.B. – All Cops Are Bastards explores several themes, from the rise of fascism over immigration and public policy to personal anger, toxic masculinity, and all kinds of other issues. You have to remember that Italy was on the side of the Nazis during WWII. However, we do also remember La Resistenza and all those brave men and women who gave their lives for freedom. Let Bandiera Rossa play eternally to all these fascist fucks who want the return of the big daddy Mussolini. I suggest you Google how he ended up, as there are illuminating videos of him “hanging out” near Lake Como. When you see how the Italian cops behave and how cops all over the world behave, you see that they’re basically the same.
It’s easy to come to the conclusion that all cops are bastards, but that’s not the point. The point is to paint them as more than just thugs with a badge and to illuminate what’s actually going on. Granted, you can only see glimpses of this in the movie, while in the miniseries it’s more prominent. What’s actually going on is that the government is using them as a club to stamp out dissent. It doesn’t matter who’s in the government; their methods remain the same. Mostly because they simply work, at least up until a certain point. While we’re in Europe, we can point to a couple of regime changes that showed exactly this. Romania, 1989, and Serbia, 2000, are two good examples.
Both of which feature a ruthless police force beating up and sometimes even killing people who were just trying to live better lives. And that same police force miraculously changing sides right after the change of regime and becoming a “good police force”. To get back to the movie, the rookie in the riot squad, Adriano, joined them because they were offering the highest salary. A salary he desperately needs, as he and his mother face eviction. And cops in the riot squad routinely do evictions. So, in a bizarre twist, it might happen that Adriano has to evict himself, along with his own mother. There’s another thing we have to talk about. Cops really do have a dangerous job, and they’re mostly up against dangerous people.
I mean, just take a look at football hooligans. These people are unhinged and are looking for a fight with cops. They even take trophies. So, we have to admit that, in the current constellation of things, you have to have these ruthless motherfuckers go up against them. Perhaps all of this is human nature, along with the failure of our society to organize itself and stamp out these issues in the beginning. I guess that’s a topic for a different time. Finally, I have two very different movie recommendations after this movie. The first one is the grim Italian masterpiece Sulla Mia Pelle AKA On My Skin. Based on true events and absolutely haunting, this continues with an exploration of law enforcement.
Actually, not just law enforcement, but everybody involved. It’s one of those movies that you’ll remember for the rest of your life. The second one is the intense French action thriller, Athena. It also follows a group of riot cops but also includes the perspective of the “other side”. It’s just as gripping as the previous two, although a bit more flashy and visually dazzling.
Director: Stefano Sollima
Writers: Carlo Bonini, Daniele Cesarano, Barbara Petronio
Cast: Pierfrancesco Favino, Filippo Nigro, Marco Giallini, Andrea Sartoretti, Domenico Diele, Eugenio Mastrandrea
Fun Facts: The movie is based on a novel ACAB. All cops are bastards by Carlo Bonini. It’s also the first in Sollima’s Trilogy of Criminal Rome, followed by Suburra and Adagio.
Rating:
IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1893195/
