A romance blossoms at the end of WWII in trailer for Italy’s Oscar submission Vermiglio

While you may have already seen most of the U.S.-based films vying for Oscars this year, one of the most exciting parts of awards season is watching the best films from around the world making their way to the States. We’ve already seen clips from the Best International Feature Film selections from Denmark and Palestine. Now, it’s Italy’s turn with Vermiglio, a tense and romantic tale set at the end of World War II from writer-director Maura Delpero. 

Vermiglio‘s logline reads as follows: “1944. In Vermiglio, a mountain village high up in the Italian Alps, war looms as a distant but constant threat. The arrival of Pietro, a deserted soldier, disrupts the dynamics of the local teacher’s family, changing them forever. During the four seasons marking the end of World War II, Pietro and Lucia, the eldest daughter of the teacher, are instantly drawn to each other leading to an unexpected fate. As the world emerges from tragedy, the family will face its own.”

Everyone seems to have a secret in this story. Pietro deserted for an unknown reason, Lucia is hiding her true feelings, and the father literally hides whatever his secrets are under a floorboard. Fugitives are concealed as well as the characters’ motives. We’ll see if all of them are able to retain those individual skeletons as the snow that covers the mountains throughout most of this trailer begins to thaw.

Vermiglio stars Tommaso Ragno, Giuseppe De Domenico, Roberta Rovelli, and Martina Scrinzi. It premieres in theaters December 25.