A Quiet Place in the Country

A Quiet Place in the Country is a 1968 giallo thriller film directed by Elio Petri, and starring Franco Nero and Vanessa Redgrave. Based on the short story "The Beckoning Fair One" by Oliver Onions, its plot follows an artist who relocates to a rural villa with his girlfriend, where he begins to experience increasingly terrifying, apparently supernatural events. Plot Renowned visual artist Leonardo Ferri has been unable to paint for some time. His girlfriend Flavia presses him to work again, so she can sell the paintings in the gallery she owns. Wanting to escape the bustle of Milan, Leonardo declares he needs to move to the Italian countryside. Flavia arranges for him to stay in a large mansion, but Leonardo finds himself obsessively drawn to a sprawling, dilapidated abandoned villa nearby. Leonardo breaks into the gated property one afternoon and meets Attilio, its longtime caretaker, who tells him the owners want to sell it. Leonardo rents the property and begins working to restore it. He hires a young woman, Egle, as a housekeeper. Upon moving in, Leonardo finds himself disturbed by ominous noises throughout the estate. The following morning, while purchasing goods, Leonardo is informed by a shopkeeper that a young countess, Wanda, died on the property during an airstrike in World War II, in which she was shot to death. Later that day, Leonardo notices a strange man leaving flowers along the exterior wall where Wanda died. Flavia arrives to help Leonardo restore the villa, but shortly after her arrival she is met by a series of frightening accidents - she falls through a weakened section of floor, injuring her leg; then a bookshelf mysteriously topples over, nearly hitting her. Disturbed by the events, Flavia leaves, telling Leonardo she is frightened by the property. Leonardo begins inquiring about Wanda among the locals, who inform him she was a nymphomaniac. Leonardo speaks with the local butcher, who confesses he had a longstanding affair with Wanda, and also informs him she carried on dalliances with Attilio and numerous other men. The butcher sends Leonardo to visit Wanda's ailing mother, who now lives destitute in an apartment in Venice. Leonardo manages to convince her he is a journalist writing about the aristocracy. Wanda's mother shows him various mementos of Wanda's, including a red satin dress. While there, Leonardo steals several photos of Wanda and brings them back to the villa.