Virgilio Gazzolo

In a small Sicilian village strange events occur. A young boy is murdered. It gets more complicated and the local detectives are having trouble to solve the mystery...

Rossellini's three-part series is like a Renaissance painting come to life: a portrait of fifteenth-century Florence, ruled by the Medici political dynasty. With a lovely score from composer Manuel de Sica, this grand yet intimate work is a storybook conjuring of a way of life and thought. (criterion.com)

Femi Benussi stars as one of the heirs of a local drunk but very rich industrialist. When he's hit by a train. It turns out that he has left a large inheritance for his youngest son to be received when the boy turns 20. Before that can happen he too is suspiciously killed in a railway accident! Before you know it the remaining competitors for the dough begin getting bumped off! Will the police be able to stop the killer before the village is painted crimson?

By concentrating on supremely important questions in a cool, apparently artless way, Rossellini's film (made for TV) forces a very dramatic tension. The life of Saint Augustine during the decadence of the Roman Empire becomes the axis for debates on politics and power, morality and conscience: how can a state survive with Christian morals? From this seemingly impossible (and un-filmable) brief, Rossellini achieves moments of devastating clarity. (surrealmoviez)