A deceptive film about the last days of World War Two in northern Italy, starts out like a gentle comedy but becomes increasingly brutal.
A number of townsfolk set off into the country fearing bombing, hoping to find Americans - two show up, briefly, but it's the horrible bunch of Italian Fascists who blow up a church and then attack the villagers that are the real problem, particularly in a messy battle in a field of wheat.
What happened to the pregnant wife, bombed in the church, whose marriage we see right at the start? I don't know, but love blossoms between an older couple... then seems to fade out.
Omero Antonutti, Margarita Lozano, Claudio Bigagli, Miriam Guidelli, Massimo Bonetti.
Memorable music by Nicola Piovani and photography from Franco di Giacomo. Won most of the David di Donatello Awards that year, and Grand Jury Prize at Cannes.
Would like to see more Tavianis, including Padre Padrone (also with Antonutti, made in Sardinia), Kaos and Good Morning Babylon, if it ever comes out with English subtitles.
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