Luigi Maria Burruano is especially convincing as Peppino's father, who can't figure out where he went wrong in raising his rebellious son. Otherwise, The Hundred Steps is a model of realism. Giordana's movie, which won a Golden Lion in Venice, is also in the running for a Golden Globe award and for an Oscar in the foreign film category. But the choice was controversial. Peppino Impastato was a member of the once-powerful Italian Communist Party, then broke with it to go further left, to the Proletarian Democracy.
Critics complain that the movie is more a political apology than an anti-Mafia story.
The left did business with the Mafia, and a lot of business. But many Italians, including Sicilians, find the film an accurate portrayal of the period and of Peppino's struggle. The Hundred Steps is a Sicilian tragedy, and you know it's going to end badly. Peppino Impastato was killed one night in May 1978, during his campaign for the Cinisi town council. He was elected anyway.