In Fascist Italy in 1944, four wealthy noble men meet to discuss their
macabre plan, which will begin with the capture of nine young boys and
nine young girls from the nearby villages. With an army of
servants and four prostitutes, the four noblemen - a duke, a bishop, a
president and a judge - lock themselves away in a palace near to
Marzabotto in the Republic of Salò. The proceedings begin
with the noblemen marrying each other's daughters...
The cinema of Japan is noteworthy for its purity, subtlety and visual impact. The films of Ozu, Mizoguchi and Kurosawa are sublime masterpieces of film poetry.
It was American film noir and pulp fiction that kick-started the craze for thrillers in 1950s France and made it one of the most popular and enduring genres.
Science-fiction came into its own in B-movies of the 1950s, but it remains a respected and popular genre, bursting into the mainstream in the late 1970s.
From its birth in 1895, cinema has been an essential part of French culture. Now it is one of the most dynamic, versatile and important of the arts in France.