Tranquille donne di campagna (1980)

At the height of the Fascist era, Alberto, an insecure young man whom everyone considers mentally ill, lives at the family’s country estate with his authoritarian father, Guido; his mother, Anna; his younger sister, Elisa; his “aunt” Floriana, Guido’s cousin and a former operetta star who has retired from the stage, the true owner of the country house under whose roof they all live and the only one with any money; and the maid, Aida. Guido is a true despot: he cheats on his wife with prostitutes and sexually abuses Aida. He often goes to Floriana arrogantly asking for money, and she reproaches him for his poor management of the estate. Alberto has an incestuous relationship with his aunt, Floriana, and a turbulent relationship with his father, from whom he unsuccessfully tries to escape. A visit from Floriana’s niece, Gloria, who has a romantic relationship with Alberto, seems to bring Alberto to a decisive turning point: going to live with Gloria in Milan and finally breaking free of his father’s oppression. Alberto even shoots at his father with a revolver, but none of the six shots wounds the man. Guido’s temper, however, is also directed at Gloria, who has accused him of being exactly what he is; it culminates in brutal physical violence and then Gloria’s rape, which Alberto witnesses, powerless, cowardly and craven. After suffering the assault, Gloria packs her bags and leaves the estate. At this point, Guido’s behavior becomes so unbearable that the women are driven to plot his physical elimination, then disguise it as suicide. He goes down to the cellar in search of wine, then climbs to the upper level of the scaffolding, where he sees Anna, Aida, and Alberto, who have already prepared a rope with a noose on the scaffold level. The man is already standing beneath it. Seeing Anna, Alberto, and Aida on the ground floor, he starts insulting them as usual, but fails to notice Floriana behind him. She swiftly puts the noose around his neck and, in an instant, pushes him into the void. The man hangs limp from the rope as the unmistakable sound of his neck breaking is heard. Guido is dead. Those present later decide to report the incident to the podestà, and, inevitably, it will be deemed a suicide.