The Escort

Trapani, Sicily. A young magistrate is investigating the link between the Mafia and local politics behind the water contracts. Four carabinieri guard him; one of them lost a friend on the same duty. The film is less about the magistrate than about those four men: people who get into the same car every morning, have to stay alert every minute of it, and cannot explain any of it at home. The message from above is clear, and he is asked to slow the investigation down. He does not, and his escort stays with him. Ricky Tognazzi directs, drawing on what happened to judge Francesco Taurisano and his escort in Trapani. Claudio Amendola, Enrico Lo Verso and Carlo Cecchi are in the cast. It played in competition at Cannes in 1993, and Tognazzi shared the David di Donatello for best director.