After September 8th, the sub-lieutenant Alberto Innocenzi (Alberto Sordi), conscious of the duties of the rank he has on the uniform, makes every effort to keep his department united, waiting anxiously for precise instructions. When he realizes that they will not come, he forgets the sense of duty and discipline and becomes like so many others, a straggler. Alberto throws his uniform, dresses clothes that transform him into another man and joins three soldiers of his department who try to reach home as soon as possible. There is no longer any link between these men, nor of subordination, nor solidarity, nor friendship. All four, however, have lost the sense of what is right and what is not. They meet soldiers who go to the mountains to take part in the resistance against the Germans, but they seem crazy to them. They see their friend die by the Germans in a desperate attempt to save a Jewess, but even this episode leaves them indifferent. Innocenzi sees capturing his corporal because his wife has helped an American, but he is only happy to have escaped. When he finally arrives home, his father urges him to join the new fascist army. The former officer escapes from the window when he realizes that his father no longer understands him. Perhaps the only one who can understand it is that boring, unpleasant engineer Ceccarelli (Serge Reggiani)who stayed by his side like a dog, saw everything he saw, he went through the same experiences. A bond of solidarity is formed between the two, a new strange friendship. When Innocenzi, hunted by the Germans, manages to save himself, he sees that the...
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