Visconti's second film is a monumental work combining elements of neorealism with a lyricism that has been called operatic. Set in the Sicilian village of Aci Trezza, the story of fishermen trying to free themselves from the poverty forced upon them by exploitive wholesalers focuses on the Valastro family, led by the impassioned young N'toni. The importance of La Terra Trema as a work of art goes beyond the political aspects of the story. Visconti has written, "I was trying to express the whole dramatic theme as a direct outcome of an economic conflict." Not only is the film shot on real locations, but all the roles are enacted by inhabitants of the village, who eloquently portray their lives for the camera. They speak more or less spontaneously in their own Sicilian dialect, Visconti often simply explaining to them the mood or content of a scene rather than having them memorize set lines. By contrast, as French film historian Georges Sadoul points out, "Visconti planned many of his shots very carefully in advance and draws from G. R. Aldo's photography an almost classical visual quality. (Thus) though La Terra Trema follows the neorealist approach, its style is quite different from Paisa and Bicycle Thief." Hailed by critics at the Venice film festival, La Terra Trema was a box office failure in Italy and cut and dubbed for release elsewhere. (We present the original, uncut version.) The experience sent Visconti back into work in live theater for several years.