AllMovie

It took director Augusto Tretti over nine years to bring this film to completion. Filming came to a halt after two years when his producer and distributor went bankrupt. He spent an intervening five years raising livestock and finally took another two years completing the film. Using crudely made sets and props, this political comedy tells of the struggles poor people have suffered at the hands of the rich in five different historical periods, beginning with the Stone Age and continuing through the Mussolini period to contemporary Italy. Despite its strong political content, comedy triumphs over preaching in this film.