Vite Strozzate is a 1996 Italian crime drama directed by Ricky Tognazzi in which Francesco, a struggling construction entrepreneur on the verge of bankruptcy, desperately borrows money from what he believes is a wealthy widow's representative — not knowing the loan is actually orchestrated by Sergio, a cold and calculating loan shark who happens to be his old college friend. As the debt spirals out of control and Sergio's thug Claudio begins threatening Francesco, Sergio reveals his true motive — he has become obsessed with Francesco's beautiful wife Miriam and is using the debt as leverage to get closer to her, setting up a dangerous game of manipulation, financial ruin, and sexual obsession between the two men.