Alessio Orano is the main character here, too good-looking not to be likeable, but soon you learn to hate him, and the film is permeated by feelings of disgust and hatred on one hand and admiration on the other, although you can't forgive him his maltreatment of Ornella Muti, the wife he has chosen to be the most beautiful of all, but she has a mind of her own. It is based on a true story, it all happened in 1965, and the film has been made on location in the western outskirts of Palermo, mainly the village of Partinico. When she objects against his mafia methods, he tries to force her to submission by violating her, which only increases her resistance, and she finally goes to the police, thus turning the whole village and society against herself. It's a towering conflict developing with monumental relentlessness, there are not many casualties but the force of the general movement especially among the women is the more dynamic for not leading to murder but only to some lynching made the more upsetting for striking innocence. It's a great Sicilian drama, the mentality of this proud and stubborn people easily going into passions gets under your skin and becomes palpable by the barren landscapes under a relentlessly scorching sun. Ennio Morricone's very efficient music adds to the impact of this very dynamic film, with a "wedding dinner" you will not be likely to forget. Who wins in the end? Ornella Muti's tears is no answer, just a lead to a never-ending process, as the problem of the oppression of women never can be solved.
