Where's Picone? (1984) — AI Story Visualization

Plot Analysis Summary

An unlikely investigator follows a missing man's false public identity into a dangerous criminal underground.

Story Structure — 5 Plot Phases

Fire Before the Council

Pasquale appears at a debate in Naples after losing his supposed Italsider job. He pulls out a gasoline jerrycan and sets himself alight before the Municipal Council.

Key Events

• Naples Town Hall — A public debate takes place in Naples during the early 1980s. Characters: Pasquale Picone Location: Naples town hall
• Municipal Debate — Pasquale attends a debate before the Municipal Council. Characters: Pasquale Picone Location: Naples town hall
• Job Loss Revealed — Pasquale is described as a former Italsider worker who lost his job. Characters: Pasquale Picone Location: Naples town hall
• Gasoline Jerrycan — Pasquale pulls out a jerrycan of gasoline. Characters: Pasquale Picone Location: Naples town hall
• Public Self-Immolaton — Pasquale sets himself alight before the Municipal Council. Characters: Pasquale Picone Location: Naples town hall
• Ambulance Arrival — An ambulance arrives with unusual haste after the incident. Characters: Pasquale Picone Location: Naples town hall

The Vanishing Ambulance

An ambulance arrives with unusual haste and disappears with Pasquale. His wife and three children cannot learn where he has been taken.

Key Events

• Ambulance Arrival — An ambulance arrives with unusual haste after the incident. Characters: Pasquale Picone Location: Naples town hall
• Pasquale Disappears — The ambulance disappears with Pasquale on board. Characters: Pasquale Picone Location: Naples town hall
• Family Seeks News — Pasquale's wife and three children cannot discover where he was taken. Location: Naples
• The Morgue — Salvatore makes a living around people visiting the morgue. Characters: Salvatore Cannavacciuolo Location: The morgue
• Information for Money — Salvatore sells information to morgue visitors for one thousand lire. Characters: Salvatore Cannavacciuolo Location: The morgue

The Morgue Informant

Salvatore, who sells information to morgue visitors for one thousand lire, is hired to investigate Pasquale. His personal motives are described as less than noble.

Key Events

• Information for Money — Salvatore sells information to morgue visitors for one thousand lire. Characters: Salvatore Cannavacciuolo Location: The morgue
• An Unlikely Investigator — Pasquale's wife hires Salvatore as an unlikely private investigator. Characters: Salvatore Cannavacciuolo Location: Naples
• Investigation Begins — Salvatore begins investigating Pasquale's disappearance. Characters: Salvatore Cannavacciuolo, Pasquale Picone Location: Naples
• False Italsider Story — Salvatore discovers that Pasquale never worked for Italsider. Characters: Salvatore Cannavacciuolo, Pasquale Picone Location: Naples

The False Steel Worker

Salvatore discovers that Pasquale never worked for Italsider and had used the story to conceal his real activities from his family. The investigation turns toward contraband and gambling.

Key Events

• False Italsider Story — Salvatore discovers that Pasquale never worked for Italsider. Characters: Salvatore Cannavacciuolo, Pasquale Picone Location: Naples
• A Concealed Identity — Pasquale pretended to be an Italsider worker to hide the truth from his family. Characters: Salvatore Cannavacciuolo, Pasquale Picone Location: Naples
• Contraband Connections — The investigation reaches Pasquale's involvement in contraband. Characters: Salvatore Cannavacciuolo, Pasquale Picone Location: Naples underground
• Gambling Deals — Salvatore uncovers Pasquale's involvement in gambling deals. Characters: Salvatore Cannavacciuolo, Pasquale Picone Location: Naples underground

Into the Camorra Underground

The inquiry reaches criminal enterprises linked to the Camorra. Salvatore continues deeper into Pasquale's secret life, facing consequences that are both farcical and dangerous.

Key Events

• Criminal Enterprises — The inquiry uncovers outright criminal enterprises linked to the Camorra. Characters: Salvatore Cannavacciuolo, Pasquale Picone Location: Naples underground
• Deeper Into Secrecy — Salvatore delves deeper into Pasquale's secret life. Characters: Salvatore Cannavacciuolo, Pasquale Picone Location: Naples underground
• Farcical Consequences — The investigation produces consequences ranging from the farcical to the dangerous. Characters: Salvatore Cannavacciuolo, Pasquale Picone Location: Naples
• Dangerous Inquiry — Salvatore's pursuit remains entangled with Pasquale's dangerous hidden world. Characters: Salvatore Cannavacciuolo, Pasquale Picone Location: Naples underground

Story Breakdown

• Public Desperation — Pasquale's apparent job loss culminates in a shocking act before the Municipal Council.
  • Town Hall Debate — The story opens during a debate in Naples' town hall.
  • Gasoline Protest — Pasquale pulls out a gasoline jerrycan and sets himself alight.
• Vanished Patient — Pasquale is removed by an unusually hasty ambulance, leaving his family without information.
  • Rapid Ambulance — An ambulance arrives quickly after Pasquale sets himself alight.
  • Family Uncertainty — His wife and three children cannot discover where he was taken.
• Morgue Informant — Salvatore's marginal information business leads him into the missing-person inquiry.
  • One Thousand Lire — Salvatore sells information to morgue visitors for one thousand lire.
  • Investigator Hired — Pasquale's wife hires Salvatore to find news about her husband.
• False Employment — The investigation overturns Pasquale's claimed identity as an Italsider worker.
  • Italsider Deception — Salvatore discovers that Pasquale never worked for Italsider.
  • Family Concealment — Pasquale used the false employment story to hide his real life from his family.
• Hidden Dealings — Salvatore traces Pasquale's concealed activities through several forms of underground business.
  • Contraband Network — The investigation reveals Pasquale's involvement in contraband.
  • Gambling Deals — Pasquale is connected to gambling-related dealings.
• Camorra Danger — The inquiry reaches criminal enterprises linked to the Camorra and produces mixed comic and dangerous consequences.
  • Criminal Enterprises — Salvatore uncovers outright criminal enterprises tied to the Camorra underground.
  • Farcical Peril — His deeper investigation brings results ranging from the farcical to the dangerous.

Directed by

Nanni Loy

Key Cast

• Giancarlo Giannini — Salvatore Cannavacciuolo
• Lina Sastri — Luciella Picone
• Aldo Giuffrè — Cocò
• Leo Gullotta — Sgueglia
• Marzio Honorato — Micione