Mediterraneo

In 1941, a misfit group of Italian soldiers is sent to Megisti for four months of lookout duty. The unit includes a lieutenant who loves art, a macho sergeant, a ski instructor with his beloved donkey Silvana, and several quirky companions. They arrive with a sense of duty but are quickly drawn into the island's heat, light, and easy pace, far from a real war.

With war seemingly distant, the soldiers prepare for an attack in overly elaborate ways, but their methods prove comically wrong. Their nervous energy clashes with the island's idle rhythm, revealing their unfamiliarity with actual combat. The mood shifts from alert to languid curiosity as they settle in.

That night they see bombing on the horizon and, through radio intercepts, learn the ship that was supposed to pick them up has been destroyed. The revelation traps them on the island and reframes their sense of time. They begin to confront being stranded rather than ready to depart.

The villagers reemerge from hiding and reveal they had fled because Germans took all the men, but now see the Italians as harmless and resume their ordinary lives. The episode marks a turning point from fear to communal life. It also shows war’s absence in the everyday rhythm of the island.

The Italian soldiers are absorbed into island life, enjoying the landscape and the hospitality of the Greeks and a visiting Turk. The refrain 'One face, one race' appears as a shared belief that humans can coexist across differences. The soldiers start to see the island as home rather than a battleground.

The Orthodox priest befriends the lieutenant, who is an amateur painter, and asks him to restore murals in the church. Their collaboration deepens their bond and reveals art as a bridge between soldiers and locals. The lieutenant’s sketches begin to transform the village space.

Two soldiers who are brothers befriend a young shepherdess, forming a complex, affectionate bond. The shepherdess, in turn, loves them both equally, creating a delicate triangle of care and emotion. Their relationship becomes a quiet, human center of the island’s life.

The shyest soldier, Farina, falls in love with Vasilissa, the island’s prostitute. Their romance blossoms slowly as they navigate trust and desire in a place far from wartime rules. The bond between them hints at a future beyond Italy for some of the men.

Farina and Vasilissa marry and decide to stay on the island, pursuing Vasilissa’s dream of opening a restaurant. Their union becomes a symbol of choosing life over duty. Meanwhile, the rest of the group prepares to return to Italy.

Sergeant Lo Russo, the group’s fiery wartime spirit, takes up folk dancing and begins to reflect on his place in the universe. The light, communal moments contrast with earlier aggressive impulses, signaling inner change. The dance becomes a quiet rebellion against war’s logic.

The rest of the soldiers eventually decide to return to Italy, leaving the island to its sunlit routines and the couple who chose to stay. Their departure underscores the island’s power to change lives even as war continues elsewhere. The departure marks the end of their four-month assignment as soldiers.

Many years later, three of the men return to the island to visit Vasilissa’s tomb and are briefly reunited there. Vasilissa had died in the intervening years, but her memory connects the men to the place. The island remains a quiet witness to their histories and choices.