The time is the late 1920s, and Angelo and Tonino are two brothers traveling around the country in a rattle-trap truck, showing moving pictures to any group of people willing to pay. When they arrive in the region of Emilia-Romagna, Angelo strikes up a relationship with a wealthy marchesa connected to the fascist movement. Tonino, on the other hand, starts to follow the rebellious Giovanni, locked up for his anti-fascist stance, and the farmers who have joined in the anti-fascist forces. As the rebels are either murdered or put in prison, Tonino becomes more and more commited to their cause - especially after Giovanni is killed. When a silent movie on the condemned and dying Christ is shown on the brothers' screen, Tonino stops the action to project some slides he has taken that show who murdered Giovanni - in an action that calls for his brother and the rest of the bystanders to finally make a decision on where to place their loyalties.

Stuck in a dream world of his own, Italian sculptor Albert Saporito, sometimes has difficulty separating truth from fiction. When he dreams that his gangster neighbor has been murdered, he reports the crime to the police, only to involve himself in a complicated situation.