The father, remembered as a resistance hero and whom his son greatly resembles, was killed by unknown fascists in 1936—or so says Draifa, the statue in the square, and everyone in the town.

Draifa contacted Athos after seeing his picture in a newspaper and expects him to solve or avenge his father's murder.

Resolving to leave, at the railway station he hears announcements that trains are increasingly late and, looking at the tracks, sees they are rusted and overgrown.

Writing about Bertolucci's portrayal of the hero and his son, and the son's attempt to find out the "truth" of his martyred father's past, Kolker said, "The truth, he discovers, is a complex web of illusions and deception, of lies, fear, and paralysis, of perceptions gone awry, and of time brought to a stop.

[1] American film critic Jay Cocks, in a contemporary review for Time Magazine, wrote, “The Spider’s Stratagem boasts no superstars in the cast, no odor of brimstone and no heavy hype.

Less exotic than The Conformist or Tango, certainly more subtle and contained, The Spider’s Stratagem is Bertolucci’s best movie.” [5] Roger Ebert writing for Chicago Sun-Times said the film had "a beautiful cinematic grace, a way of establishing atmosphere and furthering plot without a lot of talking," and that it wasn't a mass-audience movie.