Raf Vallone manages to sustain quite a lot of credibility as an embittered WW2 veteran, who returns to his poor village, bent on avenging his brother's betrayal to the Nazis. But this stark, self-consciously directed, emotionally turbulent parable is so redolent with tortured, pretentious symbolism, and overbearing messages of guilt that it's difficult to enjoy the striking b/w photography and Tuscan locations.