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Dove volano i corvi d'argento
Movie

Dove volano i corvi d'argento

1977 • Unknown

Woke Score
2
out of 10

Plot

Former shepherds return to Sardinia from Milan in order to avenge a brother wantonly killed by bandits. In describing the grinding contrasts between places and personages of old and new Sardinia, director Piero Livi does not falter, photographing faithfully a desolated land, stuck in the past but alienated from traditional beliefs.

Overall Series Review

Dove volano i corvi d'argento is a 1977 Italian crime drama that centers on the cultural clash between modern life in Milan and the 'atavistic traditions' of rural Sardinia. The narrative follows Istevene, who returns to his village after his brother is murdered. He is pressured by his family and the community to commit a vendetta, or blood feud, as dictated by the ancient code of honor. The film portrays this ancestral tradition as a 'bloody' and corrupting force, emphasizing the desolation and backwardness of the land stuck in the past. The protagonist's moral journey is defined by his ultimate choice to reject the violent code of his ancestors and instead embrace the rule of law by handing the captured assassin over to the Carabinieri. The film functions as a specific cultural critique, contrasting the lawlessness of traditional honor with the order of the state's legal system.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics1/10

Character motivations are entirely focused on family honor, regional cultural codes, and the choice between private vengeance and the state’s law. The narrative does not utilize an intersectional lens, race, or immutable characteristics to define virtue or vilify a group. Casting is regionally and culturally authentic.

Oikophobia4/10

The plot fundamentally relies on the condemnation of a core ancestral tradition—the blood feud or vendetta—framing it as a 'sanguinous' and backward code that must be abandoned. This constitutes a direct deconstruction and vilification of a specific aspect of the home culture's heritage. The protagonist finds the moral solution in the modern, legalistic institution of the state, which prevents the score from reaching the highest level of civilizational self-hatred.

Feminism1/10

The core dramatic tension is a male-centric conflict revolving around male honor, crime, and vengeance. Female characters, including the mother and ex-fiancée, are primarily seen pressuring the male protagonist to uphold the traditional, bloody code of honor. There is no presence of a 'Girl Boss' or 'Mary Sue' trope, and no discernible anti-natal or career-fulfillment messaging.

LGBTQ+1/10

The film is a crime drama centered on traditional family structures, honor, and regional conflict in 1977. The traditional male-female pairing and nuclear family dynamic are the normative social structure that frames the drama. There is no presence of alternative sexual ideology, gender theory, or deconstruction of the nuclear family.

Anti-Theism2/10

The movie explores the moral vacuum created by a society that is 'alienated from traditional beliefs' and governed by a lawless code of honor. The protagonist's choice to abandon the 'bloody tradition' in favor of the rule of law, administered by the Carabinieri, suggests a preference for objective moral order over chaos. There is no overt attack on religion or depiction of faith as the root of evil.