Italiani

Palermo in August in the sixties. A long, crowded train is just pulling out of the station on its way to Milan. Up to 50,000 people leave Sicily and Calabria annually to seek their fortunes in the industrial cities of the north. Few of them will manage to break out of their poverty-striken lives, most of them are bound for the monotony of the production line. The train is bursting with all kinds of people, with all kinds of personal histories. Among those travelling are the Salemis including two parents, nine-year-old Nino and his seventeen year-old sister, Agata. During the course of the long journey, they meet Fortunato and Gaetano, who immediately compete for the attentions of the young girl.