AllMovie

Director and co-writer Luigi Zampa, best known for his earlier works as a satirist of favorite targets like bureaucratic labyrinths, takes a stab at the complicity of society and family in the criminal acts of a few individuals. The stage is set by a somewhat dysfunctional family with its sad history told in a series of flashbacks. Emilia Bonelli (Ana Mariscal) is an overly ambitious and driven woman. This dominant personality trait has its effects on her henpecked husband Luigi (Francois Perier), and her daughter Carla (Jacqueline Sassard). Circumstances ultimately lead to the courtroom and an aloof judge in the persona of Andrea Morandi (Jose Suarez).