One Hundred Steps

The film opens with Peppino as a young child singing Nel blu, dipinto di blu in the back seat with his brother on the way to a family gathering. The scene establishes a warm, close-knit family life and a sense of pride in their standing within the community. Cinisi, Sicily serves as the backdrop for this early innocence.

Soon after the gathering, Don Cesare Manzella is killed by a car bomb planted by a rival Mafia boss. The assassination shatters Peppino's innocence and makes clear the brutal reach of organized crime in his town. This event plants the seed for his later anti-Mafia activism.

After Cesare's funeral, Peppino seeks out Stefano Venuti, a local painter who is an outspoken Communist in Sicily. Stefano refuses to paint Cesare’s portrait but takes Peppino under his wing, guiding him toward political activism. The uneasy mentor-mentee relationship foreshadows the clash between art, politics, and crime.

In his early 20s, Peppino protests with his Communist comrades against the government's expropriation of farmland to build an airport. The protests land him in the local jail, from which he is bailed out by his father. The episode marks a transition from street action to organized political resistance.

Peppino delivers a fierce article to a local propaganda outlet titled La Mafia è una montagna di merda. Stefano deems the piece too extreme and dangerous to publish, causing a decisive rift between the two men. The disagreement pushes Peppino further down a path of uncompromising anti-Mafia campaigning.

The fallout from the article strains Peppino's relationship with his father and the family becomes a site of conflict. Arguments intensify as Peppino's activism clashes with family expectations. He grows more isolated in his mission to expose corruption.

Peppino and friends launch Radio Aut, a radio station that condemns the Mafia and exposes Don Tano's drug trade. The medium becomes a powerful vehicle for their message, but it also escalates pressure on the family’s reputation. Their anti-Mafia crusade moves from the streets to the airwaves.

Peppino's mother shelters him and keeps him supplied with books, while his father presses him to stop. The tension culminates in Peppino being kicked out of the family home. The home becomes a battleground between loyalty and the call to resist.

Luigi, Peppino's father, returns from America after learning about potential opportunities and talks with Peppino about expanding their activism abroad. Soon afterward, Luigi is struck and killed by a car on his walk home from his restaurant. Peppino attends the funeral with a deliberate refusal to acknowledge his father's Mafia connections.

Peppino refuses to accept the Mafia's hold on his life and decides to run for a local office with a small leftist party, continuing his radio crusade. He grows more determined that he is not alone in resisting the corrupt system, even as he doubts the broader community's commitment. This marks a formal entry into electoral politics as part of his activism.

The Mafia opts for a final solution and ambushes Peppino by beating him, pulling him from his car at a railroad crossing, and tying him to the tracks with TNT. The murder demonstrates the brutal lengths to which they will go to silence dissent. Peppino's friends begin to realize something is terribly wrong.

When Peppino's friends search for him, the authorities dismiss the incident as terrorism, later labeling it a suicide due to Mafia influence. Public outrage grows, while his funeral becomes a demonstration of solidarity and a testament to his impact on the anti-Mafia movement. The case underscores the corruption surrounding the pursuit of justice.

At Peppino's funeral, thousands rally to honor his anti-Mafia work and local activists remember his ten years of influence. The public outpouring confirms that his message lived on even after his violent death. The scene cements his legacy in Cinisi and beyond.

The case remains unresolved for years until 1997, when it is reopened and Gaetano Badalamenti is convicted of Peppino Impastato's murder. The conviction provides a long-awaited sense of justice for his supporters and vindication of his cause. The film closes by acknowledging this late accountability and its impact on memory.