After a fateful encounter in the summer of 1966, the lifepaths of two brothers from a middle-class Roman family diverge, intersecting with some of the most significant events of postwar Italian history in the following decades.
A relatively small hospital experiences a veritable gridlock in one narrow hallway with beds, patients, doctors and nurses all finding their movements unduly restricted. This necessitates an extreme measure imposed by one creative doctor in order to free the flow of traffic: much to the chagrin of one patient, whose bell can no longer be heard by those responsible for his care.
Robert is far from a successful documentary filmmaker, and tends to make films no one wants to screen. When he loses financial support for his newest film about three debt collectors, they offer him what he believs to be a gift.
