The story of Tönle

the long version

Tonle Bintarn's story takes place in the mountains of the Veneto region, which once bordered the Austro-Hungarian Empire and where smuggling was a means of subsistence for the peasant population. Having run afoul of a patrol of revenue agents, Tonle must seek refuge beyond the frontier in Central Europe. But every winter he returns secretly to his home and family, until finally a pardon is granted. During the devastation of the First World War, the occupation and ultimate destruction of his village, and his own internment in an Austrian camp, it is Tonle's loyalty to his roots, and his stubborn devotion to his task as a shepherd, that persist and make him a quiet symbol of heroism and human endurance.