Vermiglio
1944, Vermiglio, a remote mountain village. The arrival of Pietro, a deserter, into the family of the local teacher, and his love for the teacher's eldest daughter, will change the course of everyone's life.
The film earned $4 at the global box office.
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 2 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes The schoolteacher father leads his large family through daily routines in their isolated mountain village, showing their structured life governed by tradition, duty, and the rhythms of the seasons in the final year of WWII.. Of particular interest, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 11 minutes when A refugee soldier, Pietro, arrives in the village seeking shelter. His presence brings the distant war into their home and introduces the possibility of connection to the outside world.. At 9% through the film, this Disruption arrives earlier than typical, accelerating the narrative momentum. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 25 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 21% of the runtime. This indicates the protagonist's commitment to Lucia and Pietro begin a romantic relationship, crossing the boundary from guest and host to intimacy. This choice pulls Lucia into a new emotional world and commits her to a future beyond the mountain., moving from reaction to action.
At 50 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 42% of the runtime—significantly early, compressing the first half. Structural examination shows that this crucial beat The war ends, bringing celebration and relief. Pietro and Lucia marry, representing a false victory—what seems like a happy resolution actually sets in motion the story's true conflict about duty, displacement, and broken promises., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 73 minutes (61% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, News arrives that shatters everything: Pietro has returned to Sicily and married another woman, abandoning Lucia. The revelation brings shame upon the family and destroys Lucia's hopes, representing the death of her dreams and innocence., indicates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 80 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 66% of the runtime. A tragic accident involving one of the younger children forces a reckoning with mortality and the limits of patriarchal protection. The family must confront that their isolated world cannot shield them from loss, betrayal, or change., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Vermiglio's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs a 15-point narrative structure framework that maps key story moments. By mapping Vermiglio against these established plot points, we can identify how the filmmaker utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Vermiglio within the drama genre.
Comparative Analysis
Additional drama films include Eye for an Eye, South Pacific and Kiss of the Spider Woman.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
The schoolteacher father leads his large family through daily routines in their isolated mountain village, showing their structured life governed by tradition, duty, and the rhythms of the seasons in the final year of WWII.
Theme
A conversation about how war changes everything and how the outside world inevitably intrudes upon even the most remote communities, foreshadowing how external forces will shatter their insular world.
Worldbuilding
Establishment of the family dynamics: the authoritarian father, the stoic mother, and the daughters (particularly Lucia) navigating their limited roles in this patriarchal mountain society. Daily life of farming, teaching, and religious observance.
Disruption
A refugee soldier, Pietro, arrives in the village seeking shelter. His presence brings the distant war into their home and introduces the possibility of connection to the outside world.
Resistance
Pietro integrates into the household and village life. The family debates how to respond to his presence. Lucia begins to develop feelings for him, while the father maintains cautious hospitality, uncertain about this disruption to their order.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Lucia and Pietro begin a romantic relationship, crossing the boundary from guest and host to intimacy. This choice pulls Lucia into a new emotional world and commits her to a future beyond the mountain.
Mirror World
The relationship between Lucia and Pietro deepens, representing the thematic tension between tradition and change, isolation and connection. Their love story becomes the emotional center that will test the family's values.
Premise
Exploration of the romance between Lucia and Pietro against the backdrop of village life. Seasons change, the war continues in the background, and the promise of new possibilities emerges as their relationship grows.
Midpoint
The war ends, bringing celebration and relief. Pietro and Lucia marry, representing a false victory—what seems like a happy resolution actually sets in motion the story's true conflict about duty, displacement, and broken promises.
Opposition
Pietro must return to his home in Sicily. Lucia becomes pregnant. The distance and cultural differences create strain. Letters arrive less frequently. The father's authority reasserts itself. The dream of escape begins to crumble under the weight of reality.
Collapse
News arrives that shatters everything: Pietro has returned to Sicily and married another woman, abandoning Lucia. The revelation brings shame upon the family and destroys Lucia's hopes, representing the death of her dreams and innocence.
Crisis
The family processes the betrayal. Lucia confronts her new reality as an abandoned wife and expectant mother in a society that will judge her harshly. The father's authority cannot protect her from this shame. Darkness and winter mirror the emotional desolation.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
A tragic accident involving one of the younger children forces a reckoning with mortality and the limits of patriarchal protection. The family must confront that their isolated world cannot shield them from loss, betrayal, or change.
Synthesis
The family endures through grief and shame. Lucia prepares for motherhood without a husband. The seasons turn again. Life continues in the village with its rituals and routines, but the innocence and isolation of their former world is permanently lost.
Transformation
The final image shows the family forever changed—marked by loss, betrayal, and the harsh intrusion of the modern world. The transformation is tragic: from innocence to experience, from isolation to painful connection with a world that brought only sorrow.