Martin Eden

Parents need to know that Martin Eden is a fascinating Italian historical romantic drama (with English subtitles) about class mobility, and contains frequent swearing and some mild violence. Martin Eden (Luca Marinelli) is determined to elevate himself from his working class background but in doing so he betrays some of his values. The film plays on social stereotypes, but in an obvious and deliberate way, so as to demonstrate how restrictive social class can be, and how people are judged and treated purely based on their background. There is some violence -- including punches being thrown and someone placing their hands around another's neck. But the scenes themselves are short-lived. A wife is seen with a black eye after her husband had threatened her during a drunken rage. Caharacters frequently smoke and there is some drinking. One brief sex scene takes place, but it's non-graphic with the characters remaining clothed. "F--k," "motherf---er," and "s--t" are frequently used, and there is reference to a "handjob." The movie is loosely based on Jack London's 1909 novel of the same name but with the action taking place in Naples, Italy as oppossed to the book's Californian setting.