In a small town in southern Italy in 1905, theatrical performances are accompanied by short silent film.
Federico (Reggiani), is fascinated by this new film technology and switches from a medical career to writing screenplays. He soon lands a gig as the director of a new short silent film. However, he is torn by the demands of those around him, his producer wants salacious storylines with nudity and his sister, who also owns the production company, craves something more edifying. Federico decides to recreate the Biblical story of the falsely accused Susanna, where she nakedly bathes and is leered at by two older men.
Federico becomes attracted to Beatrice, a visiting writer (Parillaud) but decides to use Marianna (Cucinotta), a peasant sorceress, as his Susanna. He uses footage of her bathing in the river for his film without her knowledge. When the film becomes a hit, she is mistaken for Susanna by nearly everyone in town which threatens to destroy her life.[1]
