I have to admit, when I first grabbed this, it was on a recommendation from someone else, and I knew nothing about it at all, other than it was about the Police. What I got was a rather warts and all depiction of the lives of four Riot Squad Police Officers. The story begins with a new recruit joining the ranks who comes from the gutter himself, frequenting with the character types that the rest of the squad normally find themselves up against. The other topic that is explored heavily here is immigration and themes of patriotism and racism. Many layers of this are looked at and the film is especially clever at depicting the thin grey line between characters who are wanting Italy to turn to days of old and those who wish for the same but put the blame on the immigrants. Other subplots involve one character who is going through a messy divorce from an interracial relationship, another has his son joining the Italian equivalent of the National front while a third is on charges of brutality while the rookie seems to have an alternative motive for wanting the join the force. What the film lacks in a central plot thread it makes up for with its raw portrayal of these mens lives. The biggest problem might in fact be that you find it hard to sympathise with any of these characters as none of them are especially likable. On other films this would be more of a problem, but in this movie it doesn't stop you from getting into the story, because their lives are so compelling and while you may not like their characters you gradually have an understanding of where their anger comes from as your given an insight into their complex role they have to fulfil while balancing their personal and professional lives. Politicans do not give off lightly, using the police to resolve problems of their own making and then barely treating them any better than the people they often are in conflict with. They ultimately take the law into their own hands to resolve some grievances making me wonder how much such things really do go on. Its not an easy watch, but its worthwhile, and as someone else said, even if you don't agree with the directors political stance (I'm not sure what it was, as the protesters and hooligans aren't portrayed in a good light either) its a well made film with sterling performances from the four leads. This is a side to Italy that we wouldn't normally see. All Cops Are Bastards, perhaps so, but they're human just like the rest of us.

good movie, but don't get why some of the viewers attack on extreme left wings. Let me yell you i would consider my self Left or extreme left and i really liked the film. In the film we witness these riot cops lives and psychology, in fact director hidden targets the government/state's real role on police brutality, moreover these riot cops lives like school kids in a way, they don't have proper personal lives, take the cop who is stabbed, his son hangs out with faschist, he is over 40 and no proper connection with his son, and what about the new comer who reports his fellow copper(and i think thats what real police officer should do but than again thats another thing) i think the ending was good as we see what ever they do they still got their job back, and thats the reality, i mean how many times you witness a police officer been kicked out or convicted for the 'crime's he/she has done.what ever happens they got their job back mostly. A recent example to that(not even a riot police) the police officer who shot the black guy(forget his name) in tottenham which eventually led rioting in London then all of England, but than again the police officer who shot the guy still did get away. Any way back to the film, its realistic, in fact it wouldn't be realistic to show them just bloodthirsty people, there are always morals, conditions and psychology for these action (and class culture)

The movie was an excellent insight of the Italian riot police ("celere"), through the everyday lives of 4 policemen. During the whole movie the tension is always high and it's been for me one of the rare cases where I never, at any point, took the part of the protagonists. Who are, as the title says, literally mean bastards. Despite that, it's a very powerful and emotional movie that reflects how the Italian society has degraded in the last decades (racism, violence, intolerance, corruption, etc)The use of the photography and the music (great soundtrack!) is always well placed, adding more depth to many scenes. The movie is loosely based on the book with the same name, which is a reportage of a journalist based on true stories heard from real policemen.I saw it at the Love & Anarchy movie festival in Helsinki, where the director was present and answered the audience's questions. I strongly disagree about the movie being pro-police or fascist. Actually, it's pretty much the opposite. In fact, it takes an almost perfect neutral point of view, trying to show the bare facts. All the opinions come from the viewer, not from the director. He (Stefano Sollima) was also pointing that out since he didn't want to express his judgment. And by the way, he's politically left oriented but the movie has nevertheless been criticized by all the sides: Police, hooligans, right parties and left parties (meaning that he managed to reach his goal...)

ACAP is a raw and honest attempt at showing the ignored lives of riot cops, at least their personal lives and internal issues are seldom spoken of! Shot and narrated in a Documentary style, it gives the movie a gritty reality, well complemented by some good performances from the cast. The background score does add value to the drama, the ending truly class.Italian being an alien language, I had to keep my eye on subtitles as well, which did mar my movie experience - I did watch it a second time without subtitles. I had to make a thorough study on the whole plot, the immigration issues and the hatredness for cops - it was all new to me. And once i got the hang of the issues being discussed, I really did love the movie, yea it might not be the the action thriller or biopic thriller the global audience would go after, but it deserves to be in the Global panorama, for the rawness and gruesome reality it shows, obviously the technical side should take a bow for making an outstanding movie product. 7.5/10