ACAB : All Cops Are Bastards

ACAB : All Cops Are Bastards

Year: 2012

Runtime: 105 mins

Language: Italian

Director: Stefano Sollima

CrimeActionDrama

A look at the controversial riot cops unit, told through the stories of three veteran cops and a young recruit.

Tense
Unclear ending
Emotionally heavy
High intensity
Steady pacing
Moderate complexity

Warning: spoilers below!

Haven’t seen ACAB : All Cops Are Bastards yet? This summary contains major spoilers. Bookmark the page, watch the movie, and come back for the full breakdown. If you're ready, scroll on and relive the story!

Timeline & Setting – ACAB : All Cops Are Bastards (2012)

Explore the full timeline and setting of ACAB : All Cops Are Bastards (2012). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

Early 2010s

Set in contemporary Rome, the film situates the Celerini amid a climate of political tension and rising nationalist sentiment. Public demonstrations, football clashes, and aggressive policing reflect a society on edge. The period's economic pressures amplify personal sacrifices and the volatility of the squad members.

Location

Rome, Italy

The story unfolds in Rome, where crowded stadiums, tense demonstrations, and daily policing intersect. The setting emphasizes an urban environment where immigrant housing disputes and social strain press on families. It highlights the contrasts between public authority and private life in a city under strain.

🏙️ Rome 🚔 Police operations 🏟 Stadiums 🌍 Italy

Last Updated: October 03, 2025 at 06:33

Main Characters – ACAB : All Cops Are Bastards (2012)

Meet the key characters of ACAB : All Cops Are Bastards (2012), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Cobra — Pierfrancesco Favino

Cobra is the most devoted member of the group, convinced that protecting his brothers in arms overrides the letter of the law. His unwavering loyalty drives him to take aggressive action when he feels his unit is under threat. As pressure mounts, his restraint frays and morality becomes increasingly flexible.

🛡️ Loyalty ⚔️ Violence 🧭 Duty 👮 Police

Adriano Costantini — Domenico Diele

Adriano has joined the squad for a high-paying salary to support his mother, but the cramped apartment and immigrant family squatting the unit push him toward volatility. Financial desperation fuels a quick temper and a willingness to rely on force. His personal hardship bleeds into his professional decisions.

💼 Ambition 💸 Economic Pressure 🏠 Family 🥊 Violence

Mazinga — Marco Giallini

Mazinga is the seasoned leader torn between duty and fatherhood, whose rebellious teenage son drifts toward a neo-fascist group. The stadium stabbing injures him, forcing a reckoning as colleagues mount a manhunt to avoid consequences. His authority is tested by physical injury and political undercurrents.

🛡️ Leadership 👨‍👦 Family 🩸 Injury ⚖️ Accountability

Negro — Filippo Nigro

Negro carries the weight of a painful divorce and denied visitation with his daughter, compounding the emotional toll of a demanding job. He grapples with personal heartbreak while facing the violence inherent in police work. The strain strains his ability to balance authority with empathy.

💔 Divorce 👨‍👧 Family 🥊 Violence ⚖️ Justice

Last Updated: October 03, 2025 at 06:33

Major Themes – ACAB : All Cops Are Bastards (2012)

Explore the central themes of ACAB : All Cops Are Bastards (2012), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

🛡️ Duty

The film probes the idea of duty as more than a job: it questions whether protecting comrades justifies crossing ethical boundaries. The Celerini's loyalty to one another often blurs with a hunger for control, leading to morally ambiguous choices. Duty here is tested by violence, corruption, and the cost to personal integrity. The men must decide where loyalty ends and accountability begins.

⚖️ Authority

Authority is shown as a system that can shelter or unleash brutality. Police power collides with political currents, immigrant tensions, and a fascist undercurrent in the city. The film exposes how institutions shape, and sometimes fail, the people who enforce them. The line between enforcement and oppression becomes dangerously thin.

🏠 Family

Family life presses in on the men: Adriano's struggle to support his mother, Mazinga's troubled relationship with his teenage daughter, and the fear of home becoming unstable due to housing crises. The drama at home mirrors the violence at work, showing how personal commitments push or pull them toward or away from restraint. Home becomes a testing ground for values under pressure.

🤝 Loyalty

Loyalty among the squad is both their bond and their potential downfall. The movie tracks how trust among colleagues can shield violent impulses or nurture accountability, depending on choices under stress. Betrayals or solidarities emerge as the city teeters between order and chaos. Loyalty is a double-edged sword that defines—or dooms—their futures.

Last Updated: October 03, 2025 at 06:33

Mobile App Preview

Coming soon on iOS and Android

The Plot Explained Mobile App

From blockbusters to hidden gems — dive into movie stories anytime, anywhere. Save your favorites, discover plots faster, and never miss a twist again.

Sign up to be the first to know when we launch. Your email stays private — always.

Explore Movie Threads

Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.

Gritty movies about corrupt systems like ACAB : All Cops Are Bastards

Stories that expose the moral decay festering within powerful, broken institutions.Explore movies like ACAB : All Cops Are Bastards that pull back the curtain on systemic corruption. If you liked the tense, heavy feel of ACAB, you'll find similar crime dramas and thrillers here, all focused on the grim reality of failed institutions and the people trapped within them.

grittytenseoppressivemorally conflictedangrysystemiccorruptbleak

Narrative Summary

Narratives in this thread typically follow characters—often insiders—as they confront the overwhelming corruption of the institution they serve. The story unfolds as a downward spiral, where attempts to uphold morality are crushed by systemic pressure, resulting in personal crisis and a bleak view of societal structures.

Why These Movies?

These films are grouped together for their shared commitment to a tense, oppressive mood and their thematic focus on the corrosive nature of power within established systems. They deliver a heavy emotional experience through steady pacing and high intensity, creating a cohesive vibe of institutional critique and moral despair.

Movies with protagonists cracking under pressure like ACAB : All Cops Are Bastards

Character studies of individuals unraveling from relentless professional and personal stress.Find movies similar to ACAB : All Cops Are Bastards that focus on characters pushed to their breaking point. If you appreciated the heavy emotional weight and tense, steady pacing of ACAB, this selection features dramas and thrillers about professionals whose lives are fractured by the demands of their grim jobs.

fracturedtensepsychologicalunravelingstressfulpersonal crisisdemanding jobheavy

Narrative Summary

The narrative pattern involves intercutting a character's high-stakes professional life with their crumbling personal world. The steady pacing allows the pressure to build relentlessly, with no relief, leading to a crisis point where the character's professional persona and private self violently collide.

Why These Movies?

These movies share a core focus on the character arc of collapse, driven by a heavy emotional weight and a consistently tense tone. The similarity lies in the immersive, stressful experience of witnessing a protagonist's slow-motion unraveling, making the viewer feel the oppressive weight of their circumstances.

Unlock the Full Story of ACAB : All Cops Are Bastards

Don't stop at just watching — explore ACAB : All Cops Are Bastards in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what ACAB : All Cops Are Bastards is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.

ACAB : All Cops Are Bastards Summary

Read a complete plot summary of ACAB : All Cops Are Bastards, including all key story points, character arcs, and turning points. This in-depth recap is ideal for understanding the narrative structure or reviewing what happened in the movie.

ACAB : All Cops Are Bastards Summary

ACAB : All Cops Are Bastards Timeline

Track the full timeline of ACAB : All Cops Are Bastards with every major event arranged chronologically. Perfect for decoding non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, or parallel narratives with a clear scene-by-scene breakdown.

ACAB : All Cops Are Bastards Timeline

ACAB : All Cops Are Bastards Spoiler-Free Summary

Get a quick, spoiler-free overview of ACAB : All Cops Are Bastards that covers the main plot points and key details without revealing any major twists or spoilers. Perfect for those who want to know what to expect before diving in.

ACAB : All Cops Are Bastards Spoiler-Free Summary

More About ACAB : All Cops Are Bastards

Visit What's After the Movie to explore more about ACAB : All Cops Are Bastards: box office results, cast and crew info, production details, post-credit scenes, and external links — all in one place for movie fans and researchers.

More About ACAB : All Cops Are Bastards

Explore More About Movie ACAB : All Cops Are Bastards

ACAB : All Cops Are Bastards (2012) Plot Summary & Movie Recap

ACAB : All Cops Are Bastards (2012) Scene-by-Scene Movie Timeline

ACAB : All Cops Are Bastards (2012) Spoiler-Free Summary & Key Flow