Two Milanese fiancés’ strained relationship is tested when the man accepts a new job in Sicily. With the separation comes loneliness, nostalgia, and—perhaps—some new perspectives that might rejuvenate their love.

Ermanno Olmi’s exquisitely observant study of romantic separation leaves no glimmer of human behavior unnoticed. With impressionistic cross-cutting, The Fiances surveys the contradictory effects of Italy’s postwar economic boom, bridging the social and the personal with breathtaking lucidity.