Lord of the Ants

At the end of the sixties, a trial was held in Rome that caused a sensation. Playwright and poet Aldo Braibanti was sentenced to nine years’ prison, found guilty of plagio. That is, of having submitted another person, physically and psychologically, to his own will. In this case, a student and friend who was barely of age. The youth’s family had him committed to a psychiatric hospital and subjected to a string of devastating electroshock treatments to “cure” him of that “diabolical” influence. Some years later, the crime of plagio was removed from the Italian penal code. But by that point, it had been used to incriminate “misfits” of every kind, outlaws from the norm. Drawing inspiration from true events, the film tells a story through a chorus of voices. Other than the defendant, his family and friends, accusers and supporters take shape against a backdrop of largely distracted or indifferent public opinion. Only one journalist takes on the task of piecing together the truth, facing suspicion and censorship as he does so.