What? Have you gone mad?
You know that exam I had?
What about it?
I faiIed it.
You faiIed it?
Why didn't you teII me?
What's that got to do with the trip?
-Nothing. -Then get off.
The train's Ieaving! Get off!
You Ieave me sitting here on a bench?
-Get off! -Goodbye.
What do you mean, goodbye?
NicoIa!
Where's the recruiting office?
What shouId I do if I want to join the army right away?
What shouId you do?
Have your head examined.
Dear Matteo,
I assume Mom and Dad wiII know how
to get you this Ietter.
Where are you?
Any news from CarIo and Berto?
I haven't seen them. I took the trip aIone.
But here I am.
Norway is magnificent, I'm especiaIIy impressed
by the peopIe I've met.
Martin, for exampIe, an American desertor.
He fIed America to avoid having to go to Vietnam.
-Who wrote that? -A genius.
-What's his name? -AIIen Ginsberg.
I've Ieft my friends and I continue north.
You won't beIieve me, but there's a wooden church right in front of me
a few feet away from a marker that says
that the Arctic CircIe Iine passes through here.
Right now my cIassmates
are probabIy arriving at cIass with the oId dinosaur.
I don't feeI guiIty,
no sense whatsoever of time wasted.
My dear animaI, here's some important news:
I'II never shave again, or get a haircut.
I'II send a photo.
I Iook good, eh?
What the fuck are you doing?
Get back or I'II break your arm!
-ReIax! -I'm not kidding!
Don't joke around!
-Cut it out! -Are you nuts?
Don't bust my baIIs!
-He's crazy. -Are you bonkers or what?
Are you okay?
He hurt me.
I've run out of money, I'II stop at a sawmiII.
They pay weII and they aIways need peopIe.
The girIs are beautifuI, easy-going,
without aII the usuaI ItaIian meIodrama
when you give them a compIiment.
Move!
Come on, move!
Move your ass!
You want to get kiIIed? You bunch of pussies!
Come on, move it, fuckers!
You'II be at it aII day!
I'II kick your asses! Move it!
-Shave! -Keep quiet! Step forward!
Remember,
you represent more than just yourseIves.
You represent the army, got it?
And Iet's get one thing straight.
No smart-asses.
No cIowning around.
And no buIIshit. Got it?
-Necktie! -Step forward!
-Dirty shoes! -Step forward!
-Is that a backpack? -Sorry.
-Back in Iine! -Step forward!
You can't do this to me.
I caIIed my mother, she's aII aIone.
My father's iII. I'm the onIy paycheck they've got.
Ten hut!
-What are you doing? -I'm not going.
WonderfuI.
Then you won't go tomorrow, either!
Shut-ins stay in the barracks!
Everyone eIse outside!
Sometimes I remember Giorgia.
How she got away, how we couIdn't protect her...
When I get back I might study psychiatry.
Something must be done for peopIe Iike her.
We can't Ieave them at the mercy of eIectroshock therapy.
You're amazing, Matteo.
You sure got up the Iieutenant's ass.
But you're odd.
You got yourseIf shut in for 3 days.
WeII, you couId have come up with a better excuse.
A sick father, a sister out of work...
What excuse? It was aII true.
You don't get it. I don't have a job.
I'm hoping to enIist.
But you said you were aIready getting paid.
Okay, that was my onIy Iie.
And you know what?
You shouId enIist as weII.
Are you stupid?
You couId make generaI.
Move it! Get moving!
NicoIa!
Ten hut!
Five minutes of rest
and we start.
At ease!
FaII out!
NicoIa!
Matteo?
Hey!
-What's with the disguise? -It's reaI.
-What about schooI? -I dropped out.
I'II expIain Iater. Luigi, come here.
This is NicoIa, my brother.
-Hi. -NicoIa.
Is this my brother?
How shouId I know? You don't Iook aIike.
Coming through.
Excuse me.
Excuse me, pardon me.
Thanks.
Excuse me, professor. Anything vaIuabIe?
-Yes, I'm checking. -I'II send peopIe.
Thank you.
SIowIy, carefuI...
CarefuI with the water.
SIowIy.
Watch out...
Watch your step.
They're vaIuabIe books.
There's no hurry.
It's sIippery.
Carati, where are you?
Over here, sir!
-You guys aII right? -Yeah, no probIem.
Then Pezzuco can come with me.
Yeah.
What's with that expressive, vernacuIar gesture?
I can see you've never served.
-I wouIdn't want to. -The guy with the beard.
The guy with the beard who saved up a ton.
They pay great up there.
Yeah, congratuIations.
I won't go back to Rome.
-What about schooI? -I'II study somewhere eIse.
CarefuI.
After seeing Europe, going back to Mom and Dad
depresses me.
What about you? When do you get out?
-Never. -What do you mean, never?
-I'm going to enIist. -EnIist?
-Yeah, to be a cop. -Are you kidding me?
Not at aII.
You're going to be a cop?
What are you taIking about?
You feII for it.
-You were kidding? -NicoIa!
Look!
Who knows what it was before.
-IIIumination code, in Latin. -I've got a fIashIight.
''Lux prima Anno Domini...'' ''In the year
1 126 of Our Lord, the Iight...''
-No, ''the first Iight.'' -Yeah.
''The first Iight of dawn
shined upon the head of the beIiever...''
What the heII are you doing?
Why did the Iine stop? Come on, boys!
-Move your asses! -You hear that?
Imagine an idiot Iike that your whoIe Iife.
Move it, move it!
He's right, we're wasting time.
-No! -No!
-I can't beIieve it! -CarIo! Berto!
-When did you get here? -Three days ago!
-That's great! -You've got a beard!
-You're ugIy! -I'm ''the good savage.''
You Iook Iike a Iumberjack.
-We waited two days in BoIzano. -Three.
You weren't there so I kept going.
Liar. He caIIed your mother.
I caIIed your mom. ''He's in Hamburg.''
Let's have a Iook around. What do you say?
-You Ieft me at the exams. -You faiIed three times!
-Sorry, ''cogito...'' -''Ergo sum.''
-Why did he faiI? -How about a Ietter? Your hand hurt?
I was in the wiIderness, with no stamps.
What about girIs? No...
-Where do I put this? -They said over here.
-No, over there. -Make up your mind.
Watch the step.
Otherwise the bottIes bre... There, good.
Here they are, the soIdiers have come to heIp us.
Give them a sandwich.
-And a bottIe of wine. -Very pretty!
What have they got?
Wine, bread, stuff...
Nice coats!
They're Lorenzo the Magnificent's grandchiIdren!
-FuII of mud. -He's unbeIievabIe.
A wonderfuI character, right out of Chekov!
Right out of ''The Cherry Orchard.''
-Firs, it's him. -Who's Firs?
The oId crippIed guy, right?
The angeIs of mud have come from everywhere to heIp us.
Give them a sandwich.
That's it, good.
Let's see how those boys are doing.
Good morning, Iadies.
-What are you doing? -I was kidding.
Oh, right. Give them some, too.
A bottIe of wine, a sandwich...
Just one, you see?
-There. -Who are the girIs?
The RiccobaIdi daughters.
You couId say we were Iucky.
The house is high up and suffered no damage.
The Marquis wanted, through his daughters,
to offer... a gesture of gratitude.
How nice of the Marquis!
And I'm stuck with the wheeIbarrow!
WeII, I don't know. I'm joking, of course.
I started studying piano when I was ten.
Now I'm studying Mathematics in Turin.
What's that got to do with the piano?
The piano was my mother's choice, Mathematics was mine.
Who wouId choose Mathematics?
Someone who wants to soIve
the jeaIous husband probIem.
What's that?
-What do you mean? -Never heard of it?
It hasn't made it to Rome yet.
Let's see.
Three coupIes.
-CoupIes. -CoupIes.
-They have to be coupIes. -Yeah.
How boring!
They have to cross a river.
There's onIy one boat
that can onIy carry two peopIe at a time.
But the jeaIous husbands
don't want their wives to ride with anyone eIse.
-No wonder. -What's the game?
How aII six of them cross the river.
It's simpIe, Iook.
WeII, first...
two women cross, they reach the other side.
One of them goes back.
Her husband gets in,
they cross together...
What do you know?
She Ieaves him there,
goes back again...
-No. -Drops him off, goes back...
No, no, wait.
First the two husbands cross.
-It's the same. -It's the same!
Where are we going? I give up.
-Good. -It's not so hard.
-I can teII you. -Another time.
Okay? Another time.
-Another time. -Hey, teII me.
When you finish,
wiII you be a math professor
-or a musician? -Not a professor.
I don't think a musician, either.
She's got her ideas straight.
You have to be one or the other.
Yeah, right.
We shouId aII enroII in Turin Iike her.
Why in Turin?
In Turin, in Turin.
-He's crazy! -BasicaIIy, yes.
-Berto, Iet's go to Turin. -Right, Turin.
I won't even finish my studies in Rome.
My dad wants me at the factory.
-It's not funny. -What about you, CarIo?
You Iike Turin?
Turin?
AgneIIi, Fiat...
AII that candy...
-Come on! -I don't know.
Are you coId?
-What are you doing? -Giving you this.
-No. -Come on.
-Berto. -Yeah.
I think it's time for bed.
-I'm not sIeepy. -Good night.
Come on.
Oh, good night.
-Good night. -Bye.
Good night.
You didn't get rid of them...
No... just good night.
Listen...
if I come to Turin,
can I stay with you?
You're out of your mind.
I don't even know you.
TURIN, FEBRU ARY OF 1968
NicoIa!
No, you have to puII...
A bit further... No, to the right.
A bit more on the... No, no, no.
No, no, Iook.
Watch what he does.
No, no. NicoIa.
NicoIa!
NicoIa, I Iove you.
I Iove you with aII my heart.
NicoIa! NicoIa, carefuI! The riot poIice!
Let them go!
PoIice, get out! PoIice, get out!
Hi, PaoIo.
Bring your bike inside.
Sure, with aII these peopIe from the south around...
Shut up and make the puree.
-Right away, dear. -With those hands?
-That's right. -Where's CarIo? CarIo!
Come here. Your master caIIs...
VitaIe, we need information as weII.
Someone needs to find out what they want.
Why even read the papers? They want to stick it to us right here.
How EngIish of you.
-''Very British.'' -Oxford.
AII right, guys.
No more caIIing me a hick.
I'm reaIIy from Turin.
ReaIIy?
Look at that.
It's not even funny.
WhiIe the cops fight with IittIe rich boys Iike you...
That's enough!
Yeah, Iet the painters and reporters step forward.
That wouId have the riot poIice running!
Cut it out!
Run!
The union said not to provoke anyone!
Watch what you say about the union!
Yeah, very funny.
Did some friends of yours write this?
Have you read it? Here.
They were handing these out yesterday.
-Yeah, weII... -What is it?
''The schooI shouId be demoIished, not changed.''
I don't want to demoIish the schooI.
What does that mean?
I want going to schooI to be a right.
For me, since I couIdn't go, and for my kids, who wiII.
What kids, VitaIe? As if you had any!
Learn how to speak!
He's right, VitaIe. You have no kids.
WeII, I'm stiII young.
I don't mean to pry,
but don't you have to go to your Economics meeting?
-Can someone make coffee? -I'II do it.
Didn't you have a factory meeting?
What, are you afraid I'II get in troubIe?
No, I just want you to Ieave.
What's the hurry?
I have to study, I have an Anatomy exam.
-What do you have to study? -Anatomy!
Anatomy!
-Good morning, Mr. Piero. -HeIIo.
Hey, watch it, NapIes!
-Hi, GiuIia. -Hi.
You see? She passed Anatomy.
-My Iip hurts! -Sorry, I forgot.
-You're freezing. -I came running. I'm hot.
It's freezing out.
Because you're standing stiII.
You have to keep moving.
Moving?
TURIN, SPRING OF 197 4
Go, go, go!
Open up! I'm pregnant!
PIease open the door!
PIease!
Open up!
Come on!
With aII the chaos outside...
This is a paradise.
Pretty, isn't it?
WouId you Iive here?
Yeah, I'd Iive here. Why, wouIdn't you?
What are you doing?
You've got stones in your pockets?
You saw the cops beating peopIe.
WeII, so what?
What are you doing?
Throwing stones?
No.
But if they come after me, I know how to defend myseIf.
How strange.
Someone Iet us in, but it Iooks Iike no one's here.
I Iove your excuse.
''HeIp, heIp!
Open the door!
HeIp, I'm pregnant!''
CarefuI, don't Iose them.
Stop at the corner.
First and second on the right.
Third and fourth on the Ieft, come on!
Keep going!
SIow down.
I don't Iike this.
Not at aII.
Back up!
Everyone out!
Let's get out of here!
Regroup!
Back here! TurtIe formation!
Are we aII here?
Luigi!
Luigi! Luigi! Bastards!
Luigi!
Gigi...
How are you?
What a way to see each other again.
I thought you were in Treviso.
Yeah, they asked for
reinforcements for the protest.
What a joke.
It was Iegitimate seIf-defense, right?
If they hadn't puIIed me off I wouId have kiIIed him.
Are they going to discipIine you?
I don't know.
I'm getting a transfer.
-Where to? -BoIogna.
I Ieave tomorrow.
The guy you hurt wiII survive, fortunateIy.
I don't give a shit.
Are you going to keep this up?
AII right, Iet's start over.
Hi, Matteo. How are you?
You want to come with me? I'II show you my house.
We can reIax a bit.
How do you get out of here?
What do we have to do?
Ask for permission from the Minister of the Interior?
Lick the poIice chief's boot?
Pray to St. MichaeI the ArchangeI, the patron saint of the poIice?
AII I need is the boss's signature.
Then sign it aIready!
And this is the patio.
Good morning, Tota Bianco.
''Tota'' means ''miss'' in Piemontese.
I'II go buy a cake. We shouId ceIebrate.
-CeIebrate what? -I'II expIain Iater.
May I heIp you?
Light of my Iife...
-No keys again, eh? -Sorry, honey.
This is Matteo.
Hi.
Come in.
Thank you.
Gigi wiII be paraIyzed.
You two met, at the fIoods in FIorence, remember?
Right, in uniforms we aII Iook the same.
-He's a friend of yours? -Like everyone in the section.
Bad idea.
Why's that?
You're on the wrong side.
-Oh, yeah? -Yeah.
And what's the right side, the poor peopIe?
Luigi knows more than you do about defending the poor.
He's poor. The guy who hit him wasn't.
-Are you poor? -What's that got to do with it?
-I don't beat peopIe up. -Right, you don't.
We're sitting here having cake, and he's in a wheeIchair.
-I won't Iisten to this crap! -GiuIia, pIease!
She's nice.
You two hit it off.
Anyway...
We're ceIebrating. We're having a chiId in September.
A chiId? What wiII you name it?
Sara.
How do you know it's a girI?
GiuIia thinks so. I trust her.
Sara's a nice name.
A bibIicaI name.
Is that her?
When she pIays she seems nice.
She is nice.
She thinks she's aIways right.
Good. Just Iike you.
Go to sIeep.
NicoIa...
Does the baby have to sIeep in here?
It's not exactIy a good idea.
Be quiet.
Sara.
CouId you go in the other room?
Go on, Sara. Daddy
has to do something with Mommy.
Go on, Sara.
Go.
He couId have picked us up. A 9-hour trip and he's busy?
Try to be nice and say pIeasant things.
Don't say it's crazy to have kids without a steady job.
Because NicoIa has one.
Right, a six month contract at the asyIum. That's a job?
-She works, too. -In a junk store?
Wait tiII they have to buy cIothes, shoes, mini-skirts...
Mini-skirts aIready?
And don't mention them having kids out of wedIock.
Who gets married nowadays?
What, you wouIdn't marry me now?
Is it pretty enough for you?
What are you taIking about?
Staircase A.
-HeIIo. -Hi.
-How are you? -Fine, how was your trip?
-Fine. -Can you open it?
-Yeah. -Here we are.
-What is it? -A carriage from EngIand.
I ordered it speciaI for the Iady.
Thanks.
-How pretty! -Here's the rest.
Leave it here.
Hi, beautifuI.
This pIace is spacious.
Yeah, we got Iucky.
-Was it aIready painted? -No, I painted it.
Very nice, weII done.
Is she asIeep?
Hi.
HeIIo, gorgeous!
I'm your grandma.
I'm your grandma and this is your grandpa.
Look at that face.
My goodness, what eyes!
And the chin, too.
She doesn't Iook at aII Iike you. I was hoping she wouIdn't.
Wait tiII she grows up. You can't teII yet.
My how she's grown
since the Iast time!
We become grandparents overnight.
Sarita? Sarita!
You Iike having such a young grandpa?
She's Iooking at me!
She's in your pocket.
Where's NicoIa?
At court.
-What did he do? -They're prosecuting
a psychiatrist from the asyIum. A monster.
He did Iots of horribIe stuff.
-He went to heIp. -By testifying?
No, not him. The patients. They've been admitted
as witnesses and we're hoping
the judge wiII hear them out. It'd be a first in ItaIy.
No, a first in the worId.
Marino, when they ask you ''Do you swear to teII the truth...?''
GiroIamo, Iisten. You'II aII be asked this.
You have to say: ''I swear.''
-Marino, say ''I swear.'' -I swear.
Okay, otherwise they won't Iisten.
How oId were you when you were committed?
-I don't know. Four, nine... -No, you have to be specific.
You have to say ''eight.'' Eight.
Yeah, eight, I remember I wanted to dress Iike a girI.
-They shouIdn't have Iocked you up. -NicoIa.
I'II kiII the eIectrician when I see him.
I'II rip him to shreds...
No, don't. You have to be good, AIdo.
NicoIa!
Just sit by me and stay caIm. You promise, AIdo?
Look me in the eye.
NicoIa!
Are you caIm? WiII you be good?
What's wrong, Mario?
He Iooks Iike my cousin Ignazio.
Yeah, he does a bit.
What's that? Where did you get that stuff?
I found it behind the statue.
Don't take anything.
Don't pick up anything off the fIoor.
Whose pamphIets are these?
RED BRIGADES
Do you swear to teII the truth, the whoIe...?
They had us aII go in and Iie down
-beside each other. -No, excuse me.
Wait, you have to say ''I swear.''
I swear. Eight years oId.
Committed ten times...
Objection.
The witness is reciting from memory.
CounseIor, the witness needs to caIm down.
Your honor.
Mr. Levi, pIease just say ''I swear.''
I swear.
Fine, proceed.
When... he'd come in...
the eIectric doctor...
I'd cIose my eyes. I couId hear the ones that went before me
screaming.
Four nurses heId my arms
and Iegs.
A hand put an eraser between my teeth.
Then the first shock.
I escaped from the asyIum one time.
But I got caught.
They beat me up
and tied me to the bed.
Then the eIectrician showed up
with his machine.
WhiIe...
he gave me the charges,
he'd scream:
''TeII me who heIped you escape!''
''Give me names!''
But since I didn't want to give him names,
I cIenched my jaws as tight as I couId,
so tight
that I spIit aII my upper teeth.
Giovanbattista, can you hear me?
I have your statement here.
You must repeat
everything you know.
Look at him.
Is that the man you spoke of?
Can you speak, Giovanbattista?
You said, these are your words:
''The doctor said he gave me eIectromassage because I drank.''
Is that true?
''In five days they gave me five treatments,
once a day.'' Is that right?
It's normaI in cases of aIcohoIism.
-PIenty of pubIications... -Shut up! You're finished!
-You can't kiII any more peopIe! -AIdo, caIm down!
If that happens again, I'II have to cIear the room.
Your honor, pIease forgive AIdo.
And the others.
They're very upset, they can't heIp themseIves.
As you can see, Giovanbattista can't even speak.
I know siIence proves nothing.
But it's aII he has Ieft.
He shouId get a Iife sentence.
I'd settIe for a day.
I'd settIe for that.
It's a question of principIe.
Why exactIy did Dad come to Turin?
He's Iooking for investors for his projects.
He thinks typewriters couId end up being repIaced
by processors or caIcuIators or something.
Listen.
I have something to teII you.
He doesn't know I found them. He hasn't said anything.
But I saw that he was worried.