Una storia semplice

The Discovery at the Villa00:00:01

On the eve of the Saint Joseph festival, Giorgio Roccella calls the police claiming he found something at his villa. When officers arrive the next day, they find Roccella dead at his desk. Although it looks like suicide, a grammatical detail—a period after the phrase 'I have found'—leads a brigadier to suspect murder.

The Missing Painting and Institutional Conflict00:24:23

A friend of the victim reveals that Roccella had returned to retrieve old letters from Garibaldi and Pirandello and discovered a missing painting in the attic before calling the police. As the police commissioner pushes for a suicide ruling, the Carabinieri colonel suspects a more complicated case, leading to tension between the two law enforcement agencies.

The Station Master Murders00:31:49

A local train is stopped when a Volvo driver is asked to wake the station master at Monterosso. Upon arrival, they find the station master and a porter murdered. The driver is detained after describing three men rolling up a rug—or possibly a painting—in the office, which connects the villa murder to a larger criminal operation.

The Commissioner's Guilt00:54:32

The brigadier notices the commissioner's gloves and realizes the commissioner knew the location of the light switch despite claiming he had never been to the house. Suspecting the commissioner is the killer, the brigadier confronts him in the office. When the commissioner attempts to shoot him, the brigadier defends himself and kills the commissioner.

The Cover-Up and Conclusion00:59:02

To avoid a scandal, the police chief, magistrate, and Carabinieri colonel rule the commissioner's death as an accident during gun cleaning. The man with the Volvo is released and later realizes the station master he saw was actually Father Cricco, but decides not to report it. The story ends with the truth buried under an official lie.