Character Relationship Map: We Believed

Characters

• Domenico Lopresti (played by Luigi Lo Cascio) — protagonist

  Domenico is one of three boys from the Cilento Valley whose lives are followed through the Risorgimento. He believes in friendship and, in 1828, joins Young Italy with Salvatore and Angelo, setting ou...

• Angelo Cammarota (played by Valerio Binasco) — protagonist

  Angelo is one of the three boys from the Cilento Valley at the center of the story. Described as restless and violent, he joins Young Italy in 1828 alongside Domenico and Salvatore; the film follows h...

• Salvatore Tambasco (played by Luigi Pisani) — supporting

  Salvatore is one of the three boys from the Cilento Valley whose stories form the film’s central thread. Driven by patriotic spirit, he joins Young Italy in 1828 with Domenico and Angelo. The film fol...

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Domenico Lopresti → Angelo Cammarota (Social Childhood Friend) — Longtime companions from their youth in the Cilento Valley.
• Salvatore Tambasco → Angelo Cammarota (Social Childhood Friend) — Longtime companions from their youth in the Cilento Valley.
• Salvatore Tambasco → Domenico Lopresti (Social Childhood Friend) — Longtime companions from their youth in the Cilento Valley.

Story Analysis

Political divisions over Italy's future unfold alongside personal grief and the human cost of violence.

Plot Progression

1. Cilento Under Pressure — Villagers endure violence from soldiers and bandits. A woman aids men seeking refuge, while conspirators fear that a political proclamation will expose them.
2. The Exiles' Political Divide — In Paris, patriots debate how to free and unite Italy. Their disagreements over alliances, monarchy, and republican principles reveal divisions within the movement.
3. Democracy Behind Bars — A prisoner reads Dante and receives a smuggled message describing a plan to replace the king. He rejects the proposed royal solution and declares his democratic commitment.
4. Loss on the Road — Personal grief accompanies the political struggle as a widower questions the impulse to remake a war-scarred world. In the countryside, Lucia recounts her brothers' deaths, and the journey continues w...