Heads or Tails?

Heads or Tails?

Year: 2025

Runtime: 116 mins

Language: Italian

Directors: Alessio Rigo de Righi, Matteo Zoppis

Budget: $7.8M

Western

Cowboy Billi and his sweetheart Rosa flee together, but Billi is wrongly accused of her husband’s death. He becomes a symbol of a local uprising, and everyone seeks his capture. Rosa holds the key to uncovering the truth and securing their freedom, but she must find a way to clear Billi’s name and protect them both from those seeking vengeance.

Dark
Bittersweet ending
Emotionally heavy
High intensity
Fast pacing
Moderate complexity

Warning: spoilers below!

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Timeline & Setting – Heads or Tails? (2025)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Heads or Tails? (2025). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

Early 1900s

The events unfold in the early 20th century, a period when traveling shows popularized mythic images of the American West in Europe. It is a time of social disparities and rough justice, which shapes the film's violent encounters. The Rome show and the ensuing chase push characters across a landscape that blends urban spectacle with rural danger.

Location

Rome, Italy, United States

Most of the action takes place in Rome during Buffalo Bill's visit, where the Wild West show collides with Italian society. The setting contrasts urban spectacle with rural and coastal landscapes as Rosa and Santino flee through the countryside. The film hints at a transatlantic dream by keeping America as the goal for the lovers.

🏛️ Italy 🗺️ Rome 🌎 United States

Last Updated: December 04, 2025 at 15:24

Main Characters – Heads or Tails? (2025)

Meet the key characters of Heads or Tails? (2025), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Buffalo Bill (John C. Reilly)

Buffalo Bill is the American showman whose Wild West troupe visits Rome, introducing the cowboy myth to Italian audiences. He is tasked with locating Rosa and Santino after Rupè's murder and administers the perilous heads-or-tails decision. He moves through the pursuit with a hard-edged, calculating demeanor, blending entertainment with judgment.

🎯 Hunter 🎭 Showman 🧭 Pursuer

Zecchino (Gabriele Silli)

A member of the rebel group and a criminal who seeks Santino's head. He and his brother compete for the bounty, and his actions drive the pursuit across the countryside. He embodies a ruthless pragmatism within the rebels, capable of violence to achieve his aims.

🗡️ Criminal 🧭 Rebel 💰 Money

Rebel Leader (Peter Lanzani)

A charismatic head of anarchist rebels who views Santino as a symbol of revolt against the rich and the lords. He rallies the group and pushes them into confrontations with soldiers. His leadership frames the rebel movement as an idealistic yet dangerous force within the story.

🪧 Leader ⚖️ Class Struggle 💥 Rebellion

Santino (Alessandro Borghi)

A skilled buttero who refuses to back down, Santino wins the challenge against Rupè's bet and emerges as a figure of talent and courage. He falls in love with Rosa and becomes engaged, sharing a dream of America with her. His fate is sealed when he is killed by Zecchino during the rebel pursuit.

🐎 Buttero 💪 Skillful ❤️ Lover

Rosa (Nadia Tereszkiewicz)

Rosa is Rupè's girlfriend who endures abuse and captivity, yet she exhibits resourcefulness and courage. She escapes with Santino, falls in love, and ultimately carries Santino's head to its fatal resolution. She later confesses to having killed Ercole Rupè and flees with the money, continuing her flight.

💔 Survivor 💘 Love 🔪 Killer

Ercole Rupè (Mirko Artuso)

A local squire who runs a butteri club; He abuses Rosa and threatens Santino, catalyzing the conflict that leads to his death.

💼 Elite 👊 Abuser 💰 Wealth

Mr. Rupè (Gianni Garko)

The elderly, wealthy father of Ercole; He places a bounty on the head of the buttero and tasks Buffalo Bill with locating them, representing the power of money and status.

👑 Wealth 🕊️ Authority 🎯 Objective

Last Updated: December 04, 2025 at 15:24

Major Themes – Heads or Tails? (2025)

Explore the central themes of Heads or Tails? (2025), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

💘 Love

Rosa and Santino's romance provides a counterpoint to the surrounding violence and power. They fall in love, become engaged, and dream of a future in America while on the run. Their bond is tested by threats from Rupè, the dangers of the Rebel encounter, and the pursuit.

⚔️ Revolt

Anarchist rebels see Santino as a model of revolt against the rich and the lords. The group clashes with soldiers, creating a volatile backdrop for escape. Santino's charisma pulls people into their cause, but the path to rebellion ends in tragedy.

💰 Power

Rupè's wealth and his brutality toward Rosa drive the plot's conflict. The elderly father's bounty transforms personal vendetta into a public pursuit, turning love into a commodity measured by money and reward. The story exposes how wealth can weaponize violence and influence fate.

🎭 Myth

Buffalo Bill's presence infuses the Italian story with the myth of the American cowboy, blending spectacle with danger. The chase navigates a landscape where stories shape actions, from Rome to the coast and back. The heads or tails motif becomes a ritual that tests fate against manufactured myth.

Last Updated: December 04, 2025 at 15:24

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Movies about Fugitive Couples like Heads or Tails?

Desperate lovers on the run, fighting a corrupt world that wants them dead.If you were captivated by the desperate flight of Billi and Rosa in Heads or Tails?, explore more movies like it. This thread gathers similar Western, crime, and thriller stories where couples on the run fight for their freedom against impossible odds, blending intense romance with gritty survival.

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Narrative Summary

The narrative typically begins with a catalyst of injustice, propelling the central couple into a perilous journey. Their bond is both their greatest strength and biggest vulnerability, tested by relentless pursuers and harsh environments. The plot unfolds through a series of narrow escapes, betrayals, and moral compromises, often leading to a high-cost resolution.

Why These Movies?

Movies are grouped here for their shared core dynamic: a romantic partnership under extreme duress. They excel at creating a tense, emotionally heavy mood by pitting intimate love against vast, hostile forces, resulting in fast-paced, high-intensity narratives with often bittersweet or tragic conclusions.

Gritty Western Tragedies similar to Heads or Tails?

Bleak tales where the frontier's brutality consumes those seeking justice or freedom.For viewers who appreciated the dark, violent, and tragic tone of Heads or Tails?, this section highlights similar Western movies. Discover stories that share a gritty aesthetic, themes of injustice and revenge, heavy emotional weight, and endings that are more bitter than sweet.

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Narrative Summary

The narrative pattern often involves a good or flawed individual confronting a corrupt and powerful system. Their struggle, however righteous, is futile against the overwhelming brutality of their world. The journey is a descent into violence and despair, culminating in a resolution that offers little solace, emphasizing the high cost of resistance and the grim reality of the setting.

Why These Movies?

These films are united by their specific fusion of the Western genre with a tragic, almost nihilistic tone. They share a high-intensity, fast-paced viewing experience fueled by violence and moral decay, leaving a heavy emotional impact through their exploration of futility, grief, and the dark side of the human spirit in a harsh landscape.

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Heads or Tails? Summary

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Heads or Tails? Timeline

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