To commemorate the centenary of the first World War, Ermano Olmi’s film was screened simultaneousely in over 120 locations worldwide on the 6th of November 2014, precisely 100 years after the beginning of the Great War. The film received eight nominations at the 2015 David di Donatello Awards, including best film and best director.
Ermanno Olmi’s film revisits the famous battle of Asiago fought between Austrian and Italian forces on the Alpine front. The scene takes place during a single night in 1917 on the Italian Northeastern front. The story that develops, based on real events, is unpredictable: it shows the long idle moments of the war, where, possessed by fear, at times one can only sing. The peaceful scenery of the snowy mountains becomes a place of death and sorrow.