prison and redemption

His films repeatedly explore spiritual redemption and moral transformation within worlds of crime and violence, notably in Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and The Departed.

His minimalist approach to cinema captures the psychological imprisonment and slow path toward redemption in works like A City of Sadness and Flowers of Shanghai.

He examined social confinement, spiritual liberation, and the redemptive power of human connection in films like Accattone and Mamma Roma, blending neo-realism with metaphysical inquiry.