Bernardo Bertolucci Set in Italy, the film follows the lives and
interactions of two boys/men, one born a bastard of peasant stock
(Depardieu), the other born to a land owner (de Niro). The drama spans from
1900 to about 1945, and focuses mainly on the rise of Fascism and the
peasants' eventual reaction by supporting Communism, and how these events
shape the destinies of the two main characters.