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I recently spent two weeks near San Miniato (home town of the directors and setting for the film), so part of this film's charm for me was to revisit the beautiful Tuscan countryside. But it is also a moving portrayal of a painful moment in Italian history, as the advancing Allies, the retreating Germans, the Fascist Blackshirts, the anti-Fascist partisans, and deserters from the Italian Army all converge on a small hilltop town in Tuscany (called "San Martino" in the film). Meanwhile, ordinary civilians just try to survive and keep their dignity. Some of the townspeople accept the Germans' offer of sanctuary with the bishop in the cathedral; others strike out across the countryside to find the Americans. Each group faces the unanticipated consequences of their choices. I have the feeling that many of the actors were non-professionals - entire families appear in the cast list - and the editing & special effects are also kept very simple. (There's a great deal of violence, but almost no cinematic "blood and gore.") But perhaps that's in keeping with the somewhat "naive" perspective that the film strives for - the story is told through the eyes of an eight-year old girl. For a book that focuses on the same region and period, I'd recommend Iris Origo's "War in Val d'Orcia."

This TV movie was made as the pilot for a "Hetty Wainthropp" series, but six years elapsed before the series was made, and the pilot was never broadcast in the US. Although Patricia Routledge was brought back to play the title role, the series is markedly different from the pilot. Here the character of Hetty is edgier, and her social milieu is seedier - think Daisy and Onslow, rather than Hyacinth and Richard. The narrative style is more elliptical, and the actual "detection" often takes a back seat to other themes, especially toward the end. But for just that reason, it's worth seeing if you're a fan of the series. It's Hetty Wainthropp as she might exist in a parallel universe.