Fists in the Pocket ending explained

What happens

Alone with Giulia, Alessandro puts on an opera record and sings along, performing for no one. He has a seizure and collapses. Giulia watches, offers no help, and calmly leaves him to die. The one person who understood him now judges him.

The last image

Alessandro lies convulsing on the floor while Giulia watches, then calmly turns away and leaves him there.

Three readings

1 · Cold moral judgementAfter Leone's drowning, Giulia finally sees Alessandro clearly and refuses to save him.

2 · The family consumes itselfTheir closeness was always claustrophobic, so the house ends by destroying its own.

3 · Bleak, unresolved endingHer silence stays opaque, so the film never says whether this is justice, fear or coldness.

What it says

The film never lets Alessandro's rage pass as liberation. His revolt ends in a lonely performance and a death nobody mourns. The ending condemns him while still aiming its anger at the family that made him.