Four Italian war buddies attempt a payroll heist but things go wrong and only one, Marco, survives the shoot-out. He manages to escape with some of the money and, confessing to his girlfriend what he's done, asks her to meet him in France in a few days as he tries to cross the mountainous border alone on foot. Along the way he spots a hearse at a checkpoint and trades places with the corpse in its coffin. From then on, suspense mounts...
This bleak, black & white Italian crime thriller plays on the fears of a premature burial and hinges on the relentless bad luck of a returning war veteran/concentration camp survivor who can't catch a break. A flight from justice eventually becomes a fight for survival where even the money becomes secondary; at one point Marco has to burn some of it to stay warm in a frigid morgue. The stark, claustrophobic atmosphere and tortured voice-over narration keep the mood dark but the symbolism is a bit overdone in the form of Destiny (International playgirl Linda Christian), a beautiful, laughing woman who pops up wherever the anti-hero happens to be. The near-surreal ending in snow and wind may be blindingly white but the film's overall nihilism is pure Noir. Pretty good.
This bleak, black & white Italian crime thriller plays on the fears of a premature burial and hinges on the relentless bad luck of a returning war veteran/concentration camp survivor who can't catch a break. A flight from justice eventually becomes a fight for survival where even the money becomes secondary; at one point Marco has to burn some of it to stay warm in a frigid morgue. The stark, claustrophobic atmosphere and tortured voice-over narration keep the mood dark but the symbolism is a bit overdone in the form of Destiny (International playgirl Linda Christian), a beautiful, laughing woman who pops up wherever the anti-hero happens to be. The near-surreal ending in snow and wind may be blindingly white but the film's overall nihilism is pure Noir. Pretty good.
