Aldo Piscitello, a minor government clerk, is forced in 1934 to join the Fascist party. When the war comes, he finds himself able only to talk ineffectually in secret against Mussolini, even as his own son Giovanni is sent into battle. By the end of the war, Aldo has found the courage to stand up for his beliefs, but by then it is too late.
Acting
Spadaro's face does what his character cannot say.
Direction
Zampa sneaks horror into bureaucratic banality.
Director
Luigi Zampa
Umberto Spadaro
Aldo Piscitello
Ave Ninchi
Rosina Piscitello
Enzo Biliotti
Il podestà
Massimo Girotti
Giovanni Piscitello
Delia Scala
Elena Piscitello
Ernesto Almirante
Il nonnino
Aldo Silvani
Il farmacista
Milly Vitale
Maria, the pharmacist's niece
Giovanni Grasso
Mascoli
Olinto Cristina
Sacchi
Agostino Salvietti
Fegarotta
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Made during Italy's reckoning with fascist collaboration, when many families had their own Aldo.
Zampa called it 'the tragedy of the decent man' — the most dangerous kind of complicity because it's relatable.
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