The Wide Oak

Set in Rome and the Lazio countryside during the final years of World War II, the film follows a doctor, Vincenzo, and his wife, Maria, as they leave the city for the sake of their three children. Happy to be with their grandfather, the children do not view the war as threatening and are fascinated when three Italian soldiers set up camp nearby. Slowly they learn that their grandfather has been supporting fugitives hidden in the local church and they begin to understand the real threat of war. The tension increases as the Italian army surrenders only to be replaced by the Germans.