R.D.F.: Rumori di fondo

This punk western, situated in a suburb of Rome, tells the story of two brothers. Zago, the youngest, has just come out of jail. His elder brother Francesco lives with his girlfriend Chiara in a gypsy camp hemmed in by workers' houses. The relationship between the three is dominated by poverty and humiliation. Zago in particular feels the need to escape this. He decides to rob a local blackmailer. Chiara and Francesco try to stop him, but also become involved with the robbery. Zago kills the blackmailer, and a witness informs the police. The corrupt police inspector Tiresia, who has run up major debts through his gambling addiction, comes to represent the arm of the law. In order to improve his reputation, he needs to solve this crime.The title of the film is a reference to the shout that resounds from the outer suburbs of major industrial cities. There is no future here, where all that counts is here and now: the primary needs, food and drink, love and hate, life and death. R D F Rumori di fondo is an impressive portrait of the seamy side of society, with an aggressive, varied music score and convincing, largely hand-held camera work that evokes a claustrophobic mood with grey cold colours and an extreme use of close-ups.