The Girl with a Pistol

In a small Sicilian village, Assunta falls for Vincenzo, who serenades her from the window. Their romance is immediate and intimate, setting the stage for the conflicts to come. The scene establishes a traditional world that will soon be tested by distant forces.

Two men in a car cut off Assunta and her sisters, and a passer-by warns they are attempting a bride kidnapping. Assunta senses Vincenzo is behind the ploy and throws herself toward the car to resist. When Vincenzo finally appears, he explains he was after her cousin Concetta, not Assunta.

Vincenzo admits the kidnapping was aimed at Concetta and refuses to marry Assunta, then flees to the United Kingdom to avoid arrest. Assunta returns to her village, left to face the consequences of honor and tradition. The escape marks a turning point that pushes her toward drastic action.

Local tradition holds that the offender must be killed to restore the family’s honor, leaving Assunta and her sisters unable to marry. She resolves to go to the United Kingdom to kill Vincenzo and restore their honor. Before leaving, she receives 11,000 lire in notes and a handgun for the mission.

Assunta undertakes a perilous journey to the United Kingdom, entering a world with different customs. She carries the money and the handgun, determined to track Vincenzo and end the threat to her family's honor. The journey marks a drastic shift from Sicily to a broader, unfamiliar landscape.

She travels through Edinburgh, Sheffield and Bath in her pursuit of Vincenzo, enduring the unfamiliar culture of Britain. The quest exposes her to new people and places far from home. Each stop deepens her resolve and tightens the sense of dislocation.

At a Bath rugby match, Assunta spots Vincenzo in his new job as an ambulance stretcher bearer. She follows him to the hospital, closing in on the man she seeks. The pursuit marks a turning point as personal history collides with modern life.

Assunta follows Vincenzo to the nearby hospital, but accidentally interrupts an operation and faints. During her recovery she meets Frank, a patient who advises her to forget Vincenzo and devote herself to her own life.

Vincenzo simulates his own death, and Assunta becomes engaged to Frank. This apparent happiness is unsettled by the shadow of Vincenzo and the ongoing struggle of their relationship.

Dr Osborne, the physician who treated both Frank and Assunta, reveals that Frank is homosexual. The discovery leads Assunta to rethink marriage and she rejects the idea of a settled life with Frank, choosing instead to pursue independence in London.

Meanwhile, Vincenzo grows frustrated with British women and realizes he cannot return to Italy. He contacts Assunta and proposes marriage on the condition that she gives up her freedom.

Having given herself to him again, Assunta contemplates the terms of their renewed arrangement. The next day, she abandons Vincenzo and boards a boat to join Dr Osborne.

Assunta boards a boat and joins Dr Osborne, beginning a new life apart from Vincenzo. Vincenzo watches her depart from the shore, unable to stop the changing course of their relationship.

From the dock, Vincenzo watches Assunta leave and judges her an 'easy girl' as she sails away. The film closes on his reproachful gaze, signaling the end of their saga without reconciliation.