Centered on unsavory film director Franco Elica (Sergio Castellitto) whose professional ethics have warranted charges of sexual misconduct, the film is populated by an array of tawdry, self-absorbed jerks who not only make it impossible to root for anyone but also further muddle any course of thematic comment. Depressed because his daughter has married a traditional Catholic and distressed by the downsliding course of his hack career, Franco detaches himself to a small village, where he is commissioned by a pompous prince to film his princess daughter's wedding. Along the way, he stumbles upon a rival director who has staged his own death as a good career move, thus winning the big film award that eluded him all his life.

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