Sandra Reviews

Cardinale is a 25-year-old woman who, along with her American husband Craig, returns to her home town of Volterra. Volterra dates back to the Etruscan era, a city of crumbling, aging ruins. Craig is more practical than his wife and is confounded by the highly emotional nature of Cardinale's family. Sorel is her younger brother, a suicidal would-be author who has been stopped from killing himself in the past by Cardinale. He also harbors passionate emotional feelings for his sister, which has left Cardinale with feelings of guilt. Another family member is Bell, Cardinale's mother. She was once a proud woman of great beauty, but physical and psychological woes have diminished her former self. Cardinale is returning for a ceremony honoring her late father, a Jewish scientist killed by Nazis during the war. However, her real reason for coming to Volterra is to confirm her suspicion that Bell arranged her husband's deportation to certain death in a concentration camp in order to marry Ricci, the ex-administrator of her father's estate. Craig tries to reconcile Cardinale with her stepfather but does not succeed. He leaves for the United States while Sorel ultimately destroys his autobiographical novel and finally succeeds at suicide. Cardinale stays for the ceremony then leaves to rejoin her husband in America. Filmed on location in Volterra, Italy as well as locations in the Swiss Alps, Geneva, Switzerland, and Florence, Italy.