A group of elders gathers in a hunting lodge and recalls the life of Mario “de’ Marcella”, a man who lived in a cave over 60 years of his life. Why he chose to live a solitary existence is unknown. Perhaps it had something to do with a mysterious and tragic event of his childhood.

This unique documentary, shot in the mountains outside Rome, explores the true legend of a local hermit. A probing look at loneliness and eccentricity that is at once beautiful, curious, and revealing. In Il solengo, an unusual subject is portrayed through an inspired form.