Giovanni used to be a humble, mild-mannered government clerk whose life was turned upside down when he met Giulio, a notorious forger who at once set about manipulating the over-confident man. Giovanni did what he should never have done: he associated himself with the crook. Giulio soon laid hands on Giovanni's money, ruined his career and manhandled him into marrying his own mistress, the beautiful Ginevra. It was of course an unhappy marriage but Giovanni found a little solace when his son Ciro was born. Seven years later though, Wanzer resurfaced...
Acting
Fabrizi's transformation from doormat to hollowed-out husk
Direction
Lattuada's suffocating framing of Giovanni's shrinking world
Cinematography
Shadows that feel like they're closing in
Director
Alberto Lattuada
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Aldo Fabrizi was primarily known as a comedian—Lattuada cast him specifically to weaponize audiences' expectations of warmth.
Adapted from a Gabriele D'Annunzio novel, this was Lattuada's feature debut and helped establish Italian cinema's post-war obsession with masculine crisis.
IT
