布拉吉饰演反法西斯民族英雄阿多斯·曼南尼的儿子,在父亲被暗杀的30年后回故乡出席市长的赠匾仪式,从父亲当年情妇的口中得悉暗杀其父的凶手是当地人,乃决心查出真相,父亲生前的三位好友向小阿多斯讲述父亲的事迹,而父亲的宿敌贝卡夏则想办法要把他赶走。最后小阿多斯拨开重重迷雾,发现父亲竟是密通法西斯的间谍。众人在识破其背叛行径后竟然用追封“烈士”这种两全其美的方式来处死其父,并维护抵抗者的声誉。儿子最终也没有把真相揭露出来,而屈服于这一被蒙蔽的表象。 贝托鲁奇在家乡意大利拍摄的代表作之一,表现出相当强烈的个人风格,特别表现出他对父辈文化的质疑,但也兼顾了情节的吸引力。贝托鲁奇用儿子与父亲这两个表象互相结合又互相背离的关系,试图对30年代法西斯社会蒙混不清的道德观进行尖锐批判。Athos Magnani, a young researcher, returns to Tara, where his father was killed before his birth, at the request of Draifa. The father, also named Athos Magnani and looking exactly like the son, was killed by a fascist in 1936 -- or so says Draifa (his mistress), the town statue, and everyone in town. As the son untangles the web of lies this story is constructed from, he finds himself ensnared in the same web.