The Art of Getting Along

Sasà Scimoni is the nephew and unpaid assistant of the mayor of Catania. He uses charm and cunning to advance himself by exploiting connections with both men and women. This early scheming foreshadows his later rise to political influence.

He falls for the wife of an honest socialist politician and uses that connection to manipulate local events. He orchestrates actions that lead to the husband’s five-year imprisonment. The maneuver propels him deeper into politics.

During World War I, Sasà pretends to be mad in order to avoid conscription and the horrors of the front. The ruse buys him time and preserves his ambitions. It marks a turning point in his willingness to deceive for power.

He marries a rich, dim heiress and becomes her brother’s right-hand man in a flour milling business. The arrangement expands his wealth and gives him access to new networks. He grows bolder as he learns to use business ties to influence politics.

With the Fascists seizing power, Sasà becomes an activist to stay in the game. He navigates the new regime and uses political action to further his own ends. The shift shows his adaptability but not loyalty.

When the Allies land in Sicily, he hastily discards his insignia and tries to adapt to the new order. One of the Allied bombs carries off his wife, a personal setback that accelerates his shift to the black market. He begins profiting from illicit trade amid the chaos.

At a beauty parade, he falls for Lilli, the winner who aspires to act in films. He envisions using her fame to propel his ambitions in cinema and politics. The encounter marks a turning toward showbiz schemes.

Hearing that film financiers can make a fortune, he convinces a rich duke to back a project and travels to Rome with Lilli as his fiancée. He plans a production that he hopes will legitimize his influence and wealth. The Rome trip cements his strategy to control both money and star power.

The public mood shifts toward the Communist party, and Sasà publicly supports them while pursuing a film about workers. He uses this stance to win sympathy and push his project forward. It demonstrates how he aligns with the crowd to maximize gain.

When Christian Democrats win the elections, he pivots again, backing the Catholic party and proposing a film about a saint. He tailors his plans to fit the new political wind. His versatility shows a relentless opportunist.

The duke demands a capital outflow before continuing financing, so Sasà engineers a legal route through a church dignitary to send money to foreign missions. The funds ultimately flow into his own pockets. He then buys farmland outside Rome, evicts squatters, and bribes an official to obtain development permission.

Sasà’s intricate schemes are exposed, and he is sent to prison for five years. The exposure shatters his public façade and halts his rapid ascent. The sentence marks the beginning of his downfall.

On release, he founds a political party for victims of capitalism, hoping to recapture power. The new party gains little traction and fails to win votes. It epitomizes the emptiness of his later ambitions.

The final shot shows him with his latest girl, in Bavarian dress, selling German razor blades off the back of a lorry. The image underscores his enduring opportunism and shifting loyalties. It ends the film on a note of irony about capitalism and showmanship.