Giuseppe Bertolucci documents the making of his brother Bernardo Bertolucci's epic drama of fascism and socialism in twentieth century Italy. The filming of various sequences is depicted. A peasant extra is charged with asking questions of various persons involved in the production, including the director, cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, actors including Gerard Depardieu and Robert De Niro, and various staff, as well as other extras, in an effort to get at the soul of the endeavor.