We would like to thank the citizens of Emilia for their participation in this film. They have made an invaluable contribution to the picture by sharing with us their experiences and rich cultural heritage.
(Man singing in Italian, bells jangling)
25 April 1945 Day of Liberation
The war is over.
(Artillery booming in distance)
W-Why?
(Man) Hurry, comrades, in the name of Stalin!
The black shirt bandits are here!
Quick! It's Wildcat, the partisan.
(All shouting)
I want a gun, too.
(Woman yelling in Italian)
- What are you doing? Let go. - I want a gun, too.
I was good enough to cut the telephone lines, so I can carry a gun.
Come on, Wildcat. Come on. Give me one. You promised. Wildcat!
What are you waiting for?
Take this. The magazine, too.
Here. Where are you going?
I want to kill, too!
(Door opens)
(Radio) This is the Patriotic Partisan Brigade for the Liberation of ltaly.
Within the last few minutes we have seized the radio station in Milan.
The city has been liberated.
A free Milan salutes its fellow countrymen.
I repeat, this is the Patriotic Partisan Brigade for the Liberation of Italy.
In the excitement and joy of this memorable moment,
our thoughts must go to those who gave their lives
to bring an end to the enslavement of ltaly by the Nazis.
But our thoughts, above all, go to...
Leonida, what are you doing in here?
I didn't even see you.
Leonida, what is all this nonsense? Give me that gun.
(Grunts) Let go!
- Long live Stalin. - Have you gone out of your mind?
..the Partisan Brigade for Italian Liberation.
Fascism has left us an inheritance of misery...
Long live Stalin.
Attila and Regina.
Attila and Regina!
(Man singing in Italian)
(Woman crying)
(Rustling)
(Distant explosions)
(Panting fearfully)
(All snarling)
(Screams)
Shoot, Attila! Shoot!
(Click)
- Kill her! - Bitch!
Regina!
Attila!
(Yells)
(Howls)
I'm coming! I'm coming!
Come on. Come on!
(Moaning)
Oh, the swallows are back.
(Birds chirping)
Wait, wait.
(Cow moos)
My grandfather died here.
Stand up!
Sit down.
Sit!
In America, every cow has its own drinking trough.
American cows are lucky. They're well off.
Hey. Wouldn't you like to go to America, Leonida?
Call me Olmo.
I thought your name was Leonida.
Olmo's my partisan name.
- Do you know who Olmo was? - I know he was the bravest.
The bravest.
Well, what do you think of your master?
- (Cocks rifle) - There are no more masters.
Many years earlier
(Man) Verdi is dead!
Verdi is dead!
Giuseppe Verdi is dead!
(Moaning and yelling)
- Push! Push! Push! - (Groaning)
Push! Push! Push! Push! Push!
- (Laughter) - It's born! It's born!
- Look what a nice baby I made. - (Giggling)
- (Woman moaning) - (2nd woman) Keep going, it's coming.
(Woman screaming)
- Close the door, Rosalba. - Shh! Be quiet, children. Hush up.
(Man) It's a boy! It's a boy! (Woman) Another mouth to feed.
(Man) Rosina had a boy! (2nd man) Another ass to clean.
(Man) It's a boy!
(2nd man) Rigoletto, you'll give him a hump.
- (Laughter) - She had a boy!
(Rigoletto) It's a boy! A boy! We have another boy!
Damned woman.
(Rigoletto, laughing) It's a boy!
You hear that, you good for nothing?
The bastard's born before the master's son.
I'm going to get a stick and come up there.
Eleonora, push. It's coming. I can feel it coming. Push.
Go on! Harder! Push!
(Strains) Go!
Bitch.
Papa. Papa!
(Baby crying)
(Papa) Oh! Ahh!
Alfredo is born! Alfredo!
The same name as mine. (Laughs)
And if it's a girl, huh?
It's not a girl, is it?
Papa, I can tell a boy from a girl. He's got all the right things.
He's got his father's expression already.
And his grandfather's money already.
What a pretty little boy.
Giovanni, Giovanni. Giovanni!
- What is it? - How is the mother?
- Just fine. - Give her a kiss for me.
"..by heaven blessed...
"plucked from the Garden of Eden...
"be the heir to the lordly graces,
"the pious heart, the virtues of the patriarch..."
Oh, shut up!
- Giovanni, Giovanni. - Yes, Papa?
Write to that playboy brother of yours. Write as I say.
Yes, Papa.
"Ottavio..." Don't you have anything to write with?
"Ottavio Berlinghieri, Hotel des Bains, Lido, Venice.
"Announce birth - first Berlinghieri 20th century, stop.
"Pray God he doesn't grow up like you, stop.
"Found wife yet, question mark. Affectionately, Papa." Got that?
- Of course, Papa. - Good.
Sister Desolata. Sister Desolata is here!
- Dear brother. - It's a boy, a boy.
Bravo! Bravo!
You can take down the trunks
because I shall never return to that nunnery.
The monsignor has turned very cruel.
He prefers the novices, and he neglects me. He does.
I can't tell you how low-bred they are. Just the other day, I...
- Rigoletto, my hat. - Alfredo.
Yes, Signor Padrone.
- The Lord be with you. - And with your spirit.
Priests here, too. It's a conspiracy, I tell you.
Well, humpback, what do you see in there, hey?
Snow. It's covered with snow. Like in winter.
(Priest) What else? (Rigoletto) A cathedral with spires.
- (Priest) And what else? - Bottles.
- Bottles? - Bottles!
(Singing in Italian)
It's like paradise in there, and you're the padrone, the lord, the master,
and I'd be St Peter if you'd give me the keys.
(Whistles)
- No more work today. - Thanks, padrone.
Stop! Stop! Here. Drink up, drink up.
For you. Stop. No work today.
Enzo, special wine.
- Celebration. - Salute, padrone.
- Where's, uh, Dalco? - Leo's in the vineyard.
- Ah. - That's the last bottle!
Oh! What about mine?
- It says sparkling champagne. - For a wedding or a funeral?
There, in the vineyard.
Destiny. Both born on the same day.
And destiny calls for a drink, right?
Signor Alfredo, you know how many of us Dalcos there are now?
I've lost count.
I know when we sit down to eat, there are 40 of us at the table.
You're a lucky man, Leo. Admit it.
He may be a bastard but at least he's a boy.
Don't boys eat like everybody else?
What the hell is bothering you?
It's only natural. First came the peasants in this world,
- then came the padroni. - Masters, peasants. Balls!
- We're all born equal! - All equal, huh?
You! What are you standing there for?
Drink up. Drink up, you bastards!
Drink with me.
(Laughs)
Are we drinking or not?
Born together. Must mean something.
Ah.
Probably means we die together.
You shit-pile philosopher.
I want mine to study law.
Mine, thieving.
You might as well make him a priest.
Oh, this wine's not ours. Too dry.
- I didn't like it, either. - (Laughter)
Rigoletto, run down to the town hall. Tell them the boy's name is Alfredo.
Berlinghieri, Alfredo,
born of Giovanni and Eleonora née Rosetti.
Leo, what will you call yours?
Huh?
What are you going to call yours?
Olmo.
Like an elm tree.
Born of the late Oscar and Rosina Coppo.
Oscar? Oscar's been dead for four years.
That's the point. Have some respect for the dead.
(Laughs) Oh, you bastards.
In the deep of the summer
In a heat that was stifling
There were born two male children
The distance was trifling
Rigoletto, here, have a drink.
(Men laugh)
Jackasses.
(Man) He just needs a cup of wine!
The poor bastard peasant
Linked by Fate in that hour
To the padrone's grandson
Heir to riches and power...
What do you think? Huh?
(Children yelling)
Leo, Leo. Come on, you must try it, too.
I'm not climbing on that red devil.
(Rigoletto) I can't tell who's faster,
a man with a horse and a machine or a man with heart and muscle.
(Man) Go on! Go a little faster!
(Men muttering)
There. Huh?
What do you think of that? Half an acre in, er...
ten minutes all alone. It would have taken six men half a day.
What about this?
Surely you can't call this a good job, eh, Signor Giovanni?
Look at all the hay it leaves behind.
A little hay is nothing, huh? You don't agree, eh?
Don't you realise, you dumb ox, that this is an imported piece of machinery?
We're the first in the valley to have a mechanical hay raker.
Well, blessed are the last to have one.
Who needs a machine that looks like a hyena?
(Children yelling)
Ah! 19!
They stink, and you're disgusting.
Hey! 20!
20!
(Giggling)
You haven't seen anything yet.
Here, kiss it. Bite it.
Jump in the lake!
Olmo's a bastard Olmo's a bastard
Olmo's a bast...
Here, eat it and burn in hell.
Coward!
Go ahead! Run, you yellowbelly!
You're the yellowbelly. You pick on girls and babies.
I say you can't even follow the leader!
And I say I can, too.
Go piss in your pocket!
I'll fix you.
Ah!
What are you doing?
Screwing the earth.
- Now what are you doing? - Listening to my father speak to me.
In the telegraph pole?
(Train whistle)
I can't hear anything.
- Are you crazy? - We'll see who's brave and who's yellow.
(Train whistle)
When it goes over shut your eyes or it will blind you.
I'll make sure you don't run away.
No, no! Let me go! Let me go!
You see? You're yellow! You're a coward!
Olmo! Olmo!
(Whistle hoots)
Olmo!
Are you dead or alive?
Ding dong. Ding dong.
The devil cared, the padrone's scared.
(Baby crying, girl singing)
(Rigoletto) How far is it from here to the Madonna of the Fields?
(Man) As far as it's always been - three kilometres.
(Rigoletto) Once I saw a train as long as from here to the shrine.
(Man) I got a train in my pants that's longer.
Listen, he's only bragging.
(Laughter)
You see that contraption outside?
You don't want to use it because you're afraid.
You're an enemy of progress, that's what you are.
With that contraption, I work less, and that's fine with me.
- Well, who pays for it? Who pays for it? - The padrone, who else?
Everyone but the padrone.
We the workers pay the bill. That's what we're for.
He even infected you. Look at the bugs.
Olmo gave the lice to everyone.
Your son's filthy. He should be deloused.
Of course he should be deloused. Someone must help me.
Today your little Olmo found a live frog and forced my little Nina to eat it.
(Rigoletto) What do any of you know about philosophy?
Pah! Nothing at all, that's what.
I'm the only one who's been to any meetings to try to create a union,
because anyone who understands must follow those meetings
and must travel to preach the great, new justice to the unlucky peasants
who work out their lives in sweat,
profiting not themselves but only the padrone.
Amen.
- (Laughter) - Look at that!
(Sobbing)
Who is crying?
Rosina wants to send Olmo to the seminary.
- Why? - Why? The boy's the devil.
They want to take him away from me, my own son.
Turn him into a priest.
Nothing's for nothing. You had your fun. Well, now you pay.
Come on, it can happen to anybody.
Cut it out. It seems to me she did a lot more than most.
When you hatch a bastard, he always turns out evil.
Bastard?
Who said bastard?
There are no bastards in my house.
Olmo's father's one of us. Is that true or not?
Hey, Rosina, is that true or not?
You tell them, Rosina. You know.
It's true. Of course I know.
- If I don't, who does? - (Laughter)
Olmo!
(Dog whines)
Olmo, they called you. It was Leo.
(Leo) Hey. Hey!
- Dalco, Olmo. - (Woman) Where's he going?
(2nd woman) There he is! (Olmo) Let go! Let go!
(Woman) Get him up on the table. (Man) Get up there!
(Leo) Dalco, Olmo, now that you are grown...
And still piss in your pants.
(Laughs) Come here.
Remember this - you will learn to read, you will learn to write,
but you will still remain Dalco, Olmo, son of peasants.
(Man) Doomed to hunger.
You will go off to the army, eh?
You will see the world. You may even learn to obey.
(3rd man) With kicks in the ass all day.
(Leo) You'll take a wife, eh?
You will work for the lives of your children.
The best thing is to learn to be patient.
- But who will you remain always? - Dalco, Olmo.
And that's who you are, Olmo. A peasant!
Understand? No priests in this house.
- What do you have in your hand? - Nothing.
Signor Giovanni gave it to me. I sold him my frogs. It's mine.
If it is yours, then it belongs to all of us.
- It's too high, I'll fall. - "It's too high, I'll fall"!
I wish you would and break your neck. You're a big sissy.
(Woman) Alfredo, Regina, come to dinner.
A card came from my brother, The Parisian.
"Here in the ville lumière, I'm thinking of you all with affection.
"Best regards as ever, Ottavio."
Alfredo!
Affection and best regards! He hasn't written for a year.
(Giovanni) He doesn't feel at home here.
(Eleonora) He has contempt for us.
(Giovanni) What? You're exaggerating.
(Eleonora) Your brother knows how to live.
Paris, Maxim's, champagne, gigolos.
We sacrifice while he devours money.
- Why do we have to keep calling you? - Regina!
- (Eleonora) I'll serve. - The frogs look juicy.
(Eleonora) Mm-hm, very plump. Alfredo?
- No, no frogs. - Come on, don't be a baby.
Ugh, they're disgusting. Awful.
Manners, Alfredo.
In the army, you'll wish you had something as delicious as that.
Bull...shit.
Oh? My brother? Was that my brother who spoke?
Regina.
- Who are those two? - You ask me that every evening.
It's my sister and her little girl, Regina.
Oh.
Alfredino.
My dinner.
Go and come right back.
He gets worse every day.
How much longer can he last?
Oh, patience, patience.
He's eight years younger than me, my brother,
and you would have him dead already.
Imagine Ottavio with the excuse that he's the oldest
coming here to act as lord and master?
He was born with the grace of true nobility.
It is the same with me. I was certainly not born a nun.
I'm going to be a nun, too, when I grow up.
Ohh.
(Clicks)
- Have a shot? - Oh, yes.
Hug the stock. Right elbow out.
- Mm-hm. - Keep both eyes open.
- You see that family of vultures? - Yes.
The old black one with the beady eyes?
- Yes. - That's your target.
Bang. Bang.
You got her. You got her!
(Laughs)
(Imitates rifle fire)
(Woman) lmagine the shock.
My husband goes bankrupt and runs off to South America,
leaving his wife and little daughter penniless.
- If it hadn't been for all of you... - Don't, Amelia.
Won't I ever see my father again?
He's your new father now, aren't you, Giovanni?
Of course. If I didn't support them, who would?
But you will go on calling me uncle.
(Papa laughing)
(Coughing)
Shh. There they are.
- I'll take Regina. - No, Regina's mine. Regina's mine.
Ready, aim, fire! Bang!
Right between the eyes. (Laughs)
Now for the jackals.
Ready? Aim, fire! Bang, bang, bang!
Well?
(Both laugh)
Old fool.
Get back to the table.
Get back to the table, I said.
And you, shame on you.
(Grunts)
The table - get going!
Idiot.
Shame on you - at your age.
There's an ocean between us -
between me and the rest of you -
an ocean!
Talk, talk.
Buy machines -
place is going to rack and ruin.
You'll find that mechanical reaper up your ass,
Mr Moderniser.
Now eat your meal.
You go to hell if you don't eat.
Piss in your pocket.
Where do you hear talk like that?
From a friend.
I'm not about to part with a cent or give away the tiniest piece of land.
- You can believe me. - Your father prefers Ottavio.
I'm only here because this estate will belong to me.
All of it to me! Else I'd be...
You know how I feel about Ottavio?
Well, I'm envious. Yes, dear.
Oh!
To be able to escape this family.
Oh, imagine spending all that money in six months.
A millionaire surrounded with whores.
Oh-ho-ho. Oh!
(Papa singing in Italian)
An ocean of shit!
Oh, what was the point in hammering at the poor child like that?
I prefer educating my boy the way I see fit.
Alfredo!
When he's hungry, he'll come back, I assure you.
These aren't lice, they're roast chickens.
Keep still, keep still.
A little fuzz on top, and the rest bald as a cucumber.
Keep still, keep still.
Ahh.
Once a hunchback wed a lady hunchback
Wed her with a song
And a lot of little hunchbacks came along
- Came along... - I'll never return home any more.
I'm going to live with Uncle Ottavio.
(Giovanni) Alfredo! Alfredo! Where are you?
- Evening, Signor Padrone. - Good evening.
Come back to the house, you hear me?
Good evening, Signor Giovanni.
Hey, you.
- Have you seen Alfredo? - No, I haven't.
Go to bed, pumpkinhead.
It's late.
Olmo.
- Olmo. - What is it?
Come to bed. You know I can't sleep if you don't.
If my father was here, they would never shave my head.
He would've shown them.
Once I heard him calling me late at night from inside a well.
(Giovanni) Alfredo!
Let's both of us run away.
Alfredo!
And I heard him once in an old squash calling out to me - Olmo!
Alfredo.
And in a dark cellar, from inside the bathroom, I heard him call -
Olmo!
- Alfredo. - Olmo.
(Pipes playing)
(Boy) Hey, let's see you fly, cuckoo bird.
(Girl) No, don't! You're going to make me fall!
(Man) Hm, red, but not ripe.
Your daughter's marrying Mario the cripple in August, huh?
- What do you think, eh? - Go and dance, eh?
(Pipes and organ)
(Laughter)
Hey! Hey, yo, driver! Come back here.
Come back!
Don't leave that horse standing there untied.
Come back. You son of a...
(Dogs whine)
I don't have the breath to...
to give a simple order any more.
God damn it.
Listen.
Beautiful music...
young people...
dancing...
embracing.
Before the day is out, they'll be fucking.
(Pig squeals)
Anyway, this is no place for old men.
(Pipes and organ)
Ooh, it's a hot day, eh, Signor Padrone?
- Who are you? - Sure, it's Irma,
the youngest daughter of Adelina.
I'm not used to wearing shoes and my stupid feet swelled up.
But they're pretty, aren't they? They're a present.
The padrona said they're Regina's.
Irma...come.
Irma.
Signor Padrone?
(Cows moo)
Signor Padrone?
(Cows moo)
Signor Padrone?
Don't be frightened. Don't be frightened.
Take it.
You squeezed me so hard, I got scared.
- Milk her. - But the cows aren't mooing.
Can't you see how full she is? Milk her.
(Cow moos)
Squish, squish.
Cows full of milk and shit.
A curse. A curse we carry with us.
Grows worse with age.
You know what the worst curse in the world is?
- Hailstorms. - Not hailstorms.
They're no curse.
Milk and shit in the brain.
War and disease...
They're no curse, either.
Squish, squash.
(Cow moos)
Squish, squash.
The curse is when you can't do it.
Milk and shit.
Can't do it.
Won't get hard.
See? Put your hand inside.
Hey, Signor Alfredo, nobody can milk a bull.
(Laughs)
Go.
Go back to the dance.
- Can I really go? - Uh-huh.
Go. Go.
Irma.
When the dancing is over...
- tell them I'm dead. - Yes, signore.
- (Cow moos) - Remember...
- I'm dead. - Yes.
The padrone, my God. The padrone is dead.
The padrone told me to say he's dead.
- I was supposed to. - You think it could be true?
Pour the water out so we can get the nightingale drunk.
- Up to the top. - (Irma) He wants us to keep dancing.
- Giving orders even after he's dead. - Music!
(Pipe and organ)
(Cows moo)
Ah, if only you could see yourself now, Signor Alfredo.
This is no way for a padrone to die.
Why'd you have to turn the cows loose for?
So I'd have more work to do?
Maybe... Maybe the truth is, when a man does nothing all his life...
it leaves him too much time to think,
and thinking too much makes him... makes him stupid.
Ah! At least I knew who you were, and you knew me.
I knew who gave the orders.
A big, ugly bull!
But now, who knows what will happen without you?
"I, Alfredo Berlinghieri,
"being of sound mind and body
"wish to make my last will and testament.
"l hereby declare my younger son, Giovanni,
"as my sole heir,
"and I leave to my eldest son, Ottavio..."
What did he say?
"To my eldest son, Ottavio."
"..eldest son, Ottavio,
"I leave an annuity
"of 5,000 lire a year.
"To be paid to him for the rest of his life
"by my sole heir, Giovanni Berlinghieri.
"And I also leave him...
"my town residence.
"Furthermore, it shall hereby be understood...
"that the entire Berlinghieri estate, consisting..."
Go back to bed, Alfredo. Grandfather's not well.
Go back to bed!
"..consisting of...
"the entire Berlinghieri estate."
Grandpa's dead!
No, no! No, no!
Grandpa's dead! Grandpa's dead!
"..900 acres of cultivated land!
"The family villa..."
(Muffled yelling)
"..farmhouses..."
(Door closes)
"..machinery and tools,
"and all the livestock,
"the cattle,
"the horses and the pigs,
"the sheep,
"I give to my son, Giovanni."
This turban...
once belonged...
to a hunter of tigers.
Uncle Ottavio, let me go away with you.
Why? Don't you like it here?
- They're all liars. - Ahh.
- And where shall we go? - On a sailship.
- A sailship? - Yes.
Like this one?
(Thunder crashes)
(Olmo) Put that silkworm down!
- Put it down! - Why should I?
Because they're all in my care.
But I can touch these silkworms as much as I please.
You're stupid.
No.
- You know, I'm padrone. - They're mine. Nobody's to interfere.
- Why not? - Because I feed them. Set him down.
Only when I feel like it.
Even if you feed them, the silkworms are still all mine.
And the food is mine, too.
And the mechanical reaper.
And the wheat is mine.
This worm is mine. The cows are all mine.
Even the Dalco family belongs to me.
And you belong to me, too.
You filthy maggot, let him go!
No!
Burn in hell! You'll burn in hell! Burn in hell!
Come back here, you yellowbelly!
(Grunting)
Oh! Give me a hand before we both get it.
Hm, I could beat you with one hand behind me.
You couldn't beat a frog, not if you tried.
Here, have your stupid silkworm back.
This one's still squirming, yet the others have woven a nest.
It's not a bird, you dunce.
Those are called pupae or cocoons. You better take those wet things off.
Pretty light. And look, whenever it finally flies off, it'll be a butterfly.
- I missed ever seeing that. - My little sister hatched in the night,
and like a butterfly, just flew away.
- Why did she fly away? - She was born dead.
That isn't true. When you're dead, you're dead - you don't fly anywhere.
You get buried in the ground, and that's it.
- It must hurt a lot. - Why should it hurt?
- The skin's all back. - Let's see if yours is different.
Looks just like a cocoon!
Pull the skin back and it'll look just like mine.
- It won't go. - Pull harder.
Oh, it burns.
Ah, because you're not courageous,
- and you're not a socialist. - What's that?
I'm a socialist with holes in his pockets.
A socialist with holes in his pocket?
Forget it. What do you know anyhow?
Ah, don't be so smart, and put this on.
- No, I don't want it. - Don't be so childish.
(Mutters)
It's stopped hailing. Listen.
Look, look. Look out of this window.
- What's that? - It's the city, of course.
It can't be the city. The city's too far away.
That's the city, I tell you. Look.
There's the cathedral with the dome. I've been there with my uncle.
And way on top, there are all those tall houses.
Not houses, bell towers.
Look at the fire pouring out of that one.
That's a factory, Olmo.
Do they have a view of us like we have of them?
Papa, you can see the city from the loft, and the buildings...
- Not now. Later, huh? - Signor Giovanni,
not since the year I was married have I seen a hailstorm such as this.
Get all your people here.
The day labourers, too.
I'll be waiting in the field.
Hey, Orso.
Orso!
- Turo! - Turo!
- Censo! - Censo!
- Oreste! - Oreste!
- Amoretto! - Amoretto!
- Gancio! - Gancio!
- Vecchione! - Vecchione!
- Montanaro! - Montanaro!
Everybody! Everybody in the field!
Now, let's face facts, men.
We lost everything.
Wine, tomatoes, potatoes,
corn - everything.
So now, we'll have to make some kind of sacrifice.
Isn't that so, Leo?
What's happened? Lost your tongue, have you?
Go ahead, tell them. How much grain have we lost? Tell them.
- Half. - Half, you say.
So, it's simple, we'll have to be satisfied with half pay. Take it or leave it.
When we harvest double, we don't get double pay.
If I were to be honest... (Coughs)
If I were to look after my interests alone,
I should ditch you all, fire the lot of you, especially all you day labourers.
And if you weren't so ignorant you would thank me
because the one making the biggest sacrifice is me.
What's the problem, anyway?
Who gives the orders here? Who's the padrone?
Hey, you!
We've lost nearly everything, didn't you hear?
And yet, your ears are both big enough.
Padrone, what you're doing is a sin, and we'll remember it.
Your father was good. He never did us evil!
You bring sorrow to us!
That man's lost his ear but you've lost your soul.
I leave you with a curse no priest can lift...
Turo will find a new padrone!
It's food. Everyone into the house.
Were you hurt bad?
No.
An accident - my own fault.
Poor Vittorio.
Papa, there's no more polenta.
(Girl) Papa, I'm still hungry.
You will forget about hunger if you listen to me.
(Cheerful tune on pipes)
(Man) Water!
(2nd man) Let the water through!
(3rd man) Let the water through!
- It's the beginning. - What of?
- Workers' League. - What did they say?
To move out. Call a strike for tomorrow.
- You going to go? - Everybody's got to go.
Yeah, well, what is going on here?
We're striking, that's what. Everybody's agreed.
Striking?
You know what that means, strike?
I said, do you know what that means?
These hands won't work any more. They won't reap any more.
Never harvest any more.
Never, never, never...milk. Never dig any more.
Everything comes to a standstill.
The land...the land dies. You think you can go through with this?
Yes. Now we got the League.
The League?
What is this League?
Does the League tell you that...
that we'll end up eating the grass from these ditches, eh?
That we become evil. Really evil.
- The League tell you all this? - It did.
The League understands. The League is for us.
You can fight back with the League, and I'll show you how.
The strike is on!
(Man in distance) The strike is on!
(All calling) The strike is on!
The strike is on!
You know, I like this song.
(All) The strike is on!
Strike.
The strike is on!
(Cows mooing)
They should milk the poor things.
I hear them. The strike paralysing the servants, too?
Desolina, send a boy out to buy some milk in town.
Tell him if he sees a Dalco to move along. Don't talk to those people.
It's absolutely ridiculous. A hundred cows, and we have to buy milk.
Those bastards are going to ruin me! It's against the law.
What they're doing is uncivilised and I can't beat any sense into them.
Not even with old Leo.
Sooner or later they'll have to give in.
Mm, meanwhile the cows are full to bursting
and the grain rots in the field.
Why don't you eat?
"Talks between the Labour League and the Landowners' Association
"have been broken off.
"The strike area is patrolled by a cavalry regiment.
"'We will not be coerced,' said the association..." Stop that.
"'..by a league of rabble-rousers.
"'We'll oppose their boycott by imposing lockouts.
"'We'll counter violence with violence.
"'The only fair verdict is the whip,
"'to be used on workers guilty of sabotage."'
(Olmo) Grandfather, what are scabs?
(Leo) Scabs are lousy bastards who work when others are on strike.
(Olmo) Why don't they strike too?
Because they're even more ignorant than we are.
(Olmo) Listen, listen! Hear the music!
(Jaunty tune played on strings)
(Man) Good day, padre.
Hey, look over there.
Look at Signor Giovanni trotting up and down.
There's Passetti. He has to work sitting down.
And over there, that's Campanini. He's the lawyer.
The girl with the long braids is his daughter.
- Are they all scabs? - No, no. Landowners.
How funny they look
Ding dong, ding dong, ding...
(Laughs)
(Leo) Olmo. Olmo, come here.
Can this be what they call socialism,
all the rich out there sweating
and the poor folks lying under a tree, flat on our backs?
It's too good to last.
You're a lucky boy, you are, Olmo.
- Why? - Why? (Chuckles)
It took me 73 years to see a landlord working.
(Sighs)
(Leo) That's right. You finish setting the traps.
Hey, Olmo.
Fetch some leaves. Make a little breeze.
I always loved the wind.
I would like to learn how to make a trap.
Shh. Grandfather's dozing.
Does your grandfather always sleep with his eyes open?
He can do anything. He once even saw Garibaldi.
If they see us together you'll get it.
No. Anyway, everyone knows I'm a socialist, too, now.
Hey, come here, I'll show you something. It's like yours now.
- How'd you do it? - Easy. I yanked it back.
You big liar. You went like this...
- Look, I'll teach you something. - I know.
I know how you do it. I'm a socialist with holes in the pocket, too.
(Both laugh)
(Man) Hey, Fasolino, what's that cloud of dust want?
(Fasolino) That's kids that come from the farm.
(Man) What for? (Fasolino) They came to Genoa, like us.
(Man) Oh, for the onion season!
(Fasolino) No, ignoramus, they were invited by the dockworkers.
After three months of striking, there's nothing left to eat,
so the workers chartered a train for Genoa.
Long live the kids from the farm!
(Man) Long live Genoa! Long live the children!
(Fasolino) Sandrone, what do you think?
(Sandrone) I'll need my thinking cap.
(Fasolino) The reformists want to give ten pennies more an hour.
(Sandrone) More per hour? Well, let's see now.
Ten pennies more an hour,
multiplied by 18 hours work a day, we'll be millionaires by nightfall.
(Fasolino) Go jump in the lake, bubblehead.
(Sandrone) Hey, now I get water in the ear.
- (Laughter) - Listen, Sandrone,
on the other hand, the revolutionaries say
that the land should go to those who work it
and eliminate owners and slaves alike. You get the gist, young man?
(Sandrone) I got it. I read and write, you know.
I'm a scholar and I practise my pinktuation.
Punctuation!
(Sandrone) Let's check the vacobulary.
(Child) Vocabulary! (Fasolino) What do you think?
(Sandrone) It's time. (Fasolino) For what?
(Sandrone) The time has come to say, long live the revolution! Hooray!
Hooray! Hooray!
(All) Hooray!
Hooray for the strike! Long live the Workers' League!
Long live the strike!
(Cheerful harmonica)
(Children laugh)
Oh, Sandrone, look who's come. I see guards, policemen.
(Sandrone) Fasu, what will we do?
(Fasolino) Listen, we can give them a lesson, but we need a stick.
(Sandrone) Quick, quick, grab a stick!
(Fasolino) Ready, Sandrone? Let's hear what they say.
Hey! Who dares defy the law? Aha! Caught red-handed!
Drop that stick and come here quick! Traitor!
All right, that's enough! All of you, out! Out!
In the name of the law! Move it out!
(Confused yelling)
(Blowing whistle)
Hurry, the train. Go, go on, children, hurry.
(Policeman) Get back! Get back!
Ashamed! You ought to be ashamed! You even pick on puppets.
You cowards! Go back to the landowners!
Get down off those horses! You cowards! Traitors!
You sold out to the landowners, renegades!
Drop dead, all of you!
Olmo.
Olmo! You forgot your clothes!
(Excited yelling)
Olmo!
Olmo! Where are you?
Olmo, you forgot the bundle with your clothes and bread.
Olmo. Olmo!
(Accordion playing)
(Train whistle blows)
(Bell ringing)
You thought I was a coward, Olmo.
I'm not a coward.
(Boy) Over there, I can see my house.
- (Train whistle blows) - (Boy) Look, the church in Roncole!
(Train whistle blows)
(Explosions in distance)
(Man) Hey, Trentini, I dreamt of your sweetheart again.
She had tits dripping with honey!
(2nd man) I dreamt of your sister. She'll do it with any man! (Laughs)
(3rd man) This one's leg is turning blue. (Woman) Call the sergeant!
(3rd man) No, get a doctor over here.
- Move along! - (Artillery pounding in distance)
(Men singing in Italian)
(Man) Look at them, men. Filthy strikers, a disgrace to the country.
Have a good look at those subversive swine.
Turo! Turo!
Olmo! Olmo!
The bastards got you. The country's in the hands of murderers!
Goddamn the whole nation! Goddamn the king!
Olmo! Olmo!
Olmo!
(Machinery rumbling)
It's you.
(Whistle blowing)
- Regina. - (Moans)
Go away. Go away! The masquerade's over.
- Take that costume off. - Yes, Lieutenant.
I said, out, out, out! And close the door, Regina!
- Close the door! - (Blows raspberry)
(Engine whistle blows)
- Demesio. - Oh...
- Hey. - (Whistle)
Will you look at that?
Censo!
(Woman) Oh! Back! Oh!
- Oh! - Armida!
(Woman) "'Please, Father,' said the young prince,
"'my heart will not be at rest till I find the three nectarines of love.
"'Let me go search for them.'
"The boy's plea was so sincere that his majesty promised
"that the moment spring came..."
(Boy) What happened? Aren't you going to read any more?
Hello.
(Boy) I think I heard the story before.
- You must be Olmo. - Yes.
And you?
Anita. Anita Furlan.
You're from the north?
- Province of Verona. - Verona.
- (Boy giggles) - We camped near Verona.
- Are you a refugee? - Yes.
I lost all my family.
Go on.
It's heavy, huh?
(Boy) Will you tell us how it ends?
(Girl) Does he find the nectarines? (Boy) Tell us, Anita.
All right. Be good. "The boy's plea was so sincere..."
- Attention! - At your orders, sir.
At ease.
Hey, soldier, don't you recognise me?
It's me, you stupid jackass. It's me!
(Chuckling)
(Grunts)
(Both laughing)
(Both) Hey, hey, hey!
Hey. Hey.
I don't want you. Such a lowly civilian!
The war is over. Nobody gives us orders any more.
- Now I like you better. - Hey.
(Feminine voice) Oh. Kiss me, my hero.
Ahh.
There was no one to take care of the silkworms.
There's nothing up here but rats now.
Like in the trenches.
Hey. Remember when no one believed you could see the city?
But we managed to see it from here. How close it seemed, huh?
Did you manage to see the whole war from here, too?
Dreamed all the night in the barracks bed
Of his sister, his brother, his father and mother
Next morning, in the barracks bed, they found him dead
They found him dead
Requiem eternum, amen
No, Olmo, no! Our part in it's finished, done.
Don't we share half and half any more?
Olmo, you've been away. There are a lot of things you don't know.
- I know we get half the harvest. - Not this year.
They rented new machines and hired labour.
- This is no time... - (Giovanni) Stop!
Long live our hero.
Even sharing half and half is robbery since we do all the work.
And now not even that!
You know why I have to hire these hands?
Because almost all of you men got yourselves killed in the war.
- Like idiots. - Papa, what's wrong with you?
Papa, you have no right to say that.
You keep quiet. And play soldier if you like.
Do you know how much I spent to keep you at home?
No, I don't know. How much did you spend?
- More than you're worth. - I wanted to go.
- You didn't want me to go. - Oh, of course.
Well, what a handsome sabre you have.
Yes, this is a handsome sabre. Very handsome.
And it cuts well! It cuts very well!
Watch, Papa, watch!
Bravo, Lieutenant.
So...that is what you are good at.
I used to get up at four in the morning to check the stable.
Everyone here remembers that.
At threshing time I was the first up and the last to go to bed.
Isn't it so? Can anybody deny that?
Go ahead, speak up. Isn't that so? I know it is!
- Bravo, my little cousin. - Thank you.
The next time, you'll be pierced.
I sacrifice for this farm! Sacrifice.
There aren't any ideals any more! No respectability.
Devotion to the church, love for the land,
loyalty to the family, and credit in the bank.
Come, Uncle. You're getting upset. Don't.
And respect! Respect, respect, respect!
(Man) The padrone meant that because there was no one here to work,
he had to buy modern machines. Machines are like peasants.
They need their share of grain, too,
but they make life easy.
It's a change...but it's progress.
Look. Beautiful.
Heavy.
Hey! Hey, stop that! Are you crazy?
Hey!
- No, wait. - The army teach you nothing?
- Who's this? - Attila Melanchini, the new foreman.
I'm a soldier, like you.
Hey, you heard what the padrone said.
You've had your share of grain. He gives you all he can.
We'll work together. Hey, I understand you.
(Grunting)
Olmo, Olmo. Olmo.
(Anita) Did you hear, women, what our padrone said?
It's our men's fault because they got themselves killed in the war.
And the day labourers'
because they work like beasts and expect to be paid.
It's our fault that our families go hungry, and half of us end up sick,
and it's our fault when so many of our children are born dead.
Come, follow me, women.
The master should be content if we take only a little grain
and leave him the rest, for the moment.
Come on, women, come on.
You speak too well for a country girl.
I'm a schoolteacher.
That was the first time I ever kissed a schoolteacher.
(Attila) Hey, schoolteacher...
..finish the lesson?
Ah, look, women, our rooster is crowing.
Here, peck, eat. Go on.
(All imitating chickens)
No!
Very funny. All right.
(Clucks)
(Man) What's the matter? Why are you leaving?
To find another place to work and die.
- Who put you out? - Who can put you out?
Landowners.
Though our contract doesn't run out, they're giving us the boot.
We formed the Workers' League, they're making us pay.
And we have to put up with the padrone fooling with our women.
He said we'll find work near Mantua.
Let's go. No sense in fighting when you haven't a chance.
Our contract hasn't run out.
If they don't pay us for our work, then I stay on this soil.
(Man shouting in distance) Oreste!
Oreste!
Run away, Oreste!
The demons are coming on horseback to carry you off!
Run away, Oreste!
Not the pope, not even Jesus is going to make me budge my ass
because I gave 40 years of my life to this valley!
Bastards, you're afraid,
cos you know that you're getting away with murder.
We need new laws and government, so injustice comes to an end!
- Laws to get rid of the delinquents! - (Woman) Oreste!
Laws, good laws that will give us all a voice so we are heard.
We know how things stand, because those who till the soil are more intelligent.
Poor peasants can't go on like this. You want to strip us, bleed us!
Well, I'll go naked to Rome! They'll hear me talk!
I'll go in my underwear! Those Judas bastards.
- No! - Let me go. Let me go.
Let me go. No, let me go!
(Woman) Look, you cowards!
(Oreste) Work! Bend your backs!
Go to work, you know what that means? You miserable sons of bitches.
(Gunshots, horses whinny)
(Man) It's about time they arrived. They'll get them to lift their hooves.
Oh... You make me come.
You make me come. (Gasps)
You make me come.
You can't come.
Come on. An elephant couldn't make you come.
All I need is a real man!
In the name of the law, disperse.
Where will my family sleep tonight, by the roadside?
They'll sleep in the jail if you don't disperse.
Jail the landowners for not respecting their contract.
- In the name of the law... - Law? What law?
Contract's our law, and their contract has a year to go.
The padrone's doing them out of a year's work! He's a thief!
(Woman) They want us gone because we're socialists.
Then what are you waiting for? Women, get down. We need everybody.
Get down, all of you. Don't give up, women!
(Olmo) They don't respect the law!
The padroni make the law and break the law!
A law for thieves and murderers!
Stop, don't be afraid! Get down! Get down!
We can't let them pass!
Come with us, unite!
(Olmo) Stop! Wait! They're taking Oreste away!
Stick up for your rights. You've got to help him!
- Get down! Get your weapons! - (Anita) Hurry! Hurry!
Left turn, forward!
Halt formation! Double up column!
(Giovanni) Avanzini, now the Royal Guards can provide
a nice harvest holiday for them.
Unsheathe sabres!
Let's get some sticks! Come on, we can surprise them!
Let's go! Let's go! Sticks!
Now's the time. We'll show them.
(Women singing in Italian)
You'll have to kill us all!
You won't pass here!
(Men whistling)
(Women singing in Italian)
Go, men, go on!
Tell them to go find their own property! Property's inviolable!
Halt! Squad, halt!
(Horses whinny)
Go on back! Move out! Move out!
(Men singing in Italian)
(Women singing in Italian)
Ha! Congratulations.
Afraid of peasants?
You're protectors? What a joke!
Religious powers! You're a disgrace!
I'll drive you out myself!
- Luigi... - Criminals! Bolsheviks!
What are you doing, you fool?
You're starting a one-man war.
(All singing in Italian)
Damn you!
Go!
Ah!
Go on. Go on, you look fine.
They must see you. They must get to know you.
Your time has come. This is your chance. Go on.
(Man) We can't do what the Fascists did at Rivarolo.
One of the reds there was murdered, and so now he's their martyr,
and gets a monument in the piazza. I say what we should do...
Forget it, Pioppi.
You don't make deals when you've got all the trumps.
They made a mistake there - because they made only one martyr.
(Laughs) It's the same with my dog.
You hit him once, nothing. Again, still nothing.
On the tenth crack, though, he does learn to obey.
May I speak, please?
Here in church, they baptised us. They confirmed us.
Here in church, we were married.
And one day...they will carry us in, through that door...
feet first.
(Chuckles)
As late as possible, I hope.
All of you know what the Crusades were.
Do you know what the Crusades were?
Young man, we're discussing things here that concern you, too.
You wanted me to come here, so at least leave me alone.
The church - yes, even the church, when it was necessary -
clamped down hard on its enemies!
Who are these Bolsheviks, anyway?
Eh? Semi-Asiatics.
That's what they are.
Like the Saracens.
Mongol subversives.
And if things go on like this much longer, they will kill us, kill us all...
and take over everything.
Am I right or not?
Eh, Pioppi?
Nothing but talk. I know what has to be done. Get rid of them all!
But the Fascist movement doesn't want vengeance. We want...
order first.
We are...the new Crusaders,
and we must instil courage in our youth.
They're waiting for a sign from us.
So...let us give them...
this sign.
Go on. Go on.
We've already saved the country once.
We answered the call in the trenches, and now we're here.
It's only right. When you start a new enterprise, you need a little capital.
Total solidarity, eh?
This is what ltaly needs to get the ball rolling. (Laughs)
Not even a bastard would have done this.
(Honks horn)
They work hard in the city, too, huh?
Imagine my father's face if he knew we were here together.
Your father - "Respect! Respect! Respect!"
Your father is just a thief... who longs for respect like all masters.
Really? Wait till I become the master. I'll be harder on you.
And on that day...I'll kill you.
You'll really like my uncle. He's much nicer than my father.
- He's different. He's more like us. - (Pipes playing)
Hear that music? I know it.
Montanaro! Dalco, Olmo. Don't you remember me?
(Church bells ringing)
- Ow! - Oh, your foot. Sorry.
Aren't you Olmo, the bastard child? But really?
- Remember all the polenta? - Always polenta.
(Alfredo) Olmo! Olmo!
Don't go. We'll talk later.
- We'll talk later. Don't go. - Let's help this lovely lady.
Oh, you don't have to bother.
Alfredo, it's Montanaro. The one who cut his ear.
- He's right there. See? - It's only one flight up.
Signorina, you'd never guess we're twins.
What a liar. You're making fun of me.
No, that's the truth. We share everything.
What's his is mine, and what's mine is mine.
- Yeah, that's about it. - Ciao.
- Good morning, signora. - Where are you going?
- (Girl) I'm going down. - (Man singing in Italian nearby)
Service with a smile. Where, signorina?
On the table.
Ahh, look at that. It's been ages since I've had home-made liqueur.
- You want some? - Yes, but it has to be my treat.
Don't worry. I'll pay very well for anything.
I have money. I'll pay you very well.
Very well.
Someday you'll choke on your filthy money.
It makes her happy.
Hm?
- You should have a drink, too. - I better not. It's bad for me.
Then don't waste time. Get undressed.
Huh? Huh? You see?
(Whispers) I told you she was a whore, didn't l?
The girl's poor, but she's not a slut.
If she wasn't, she wouldn't take my money.
But it's your money - it corrupts her.
Well, anyway...she cleaned me out.
Aren't you two going to get undressed?
- Go ahead. You go first. - No, no, after you.
- No, you go ahead. I insist. - You paid. You have the right.
- I'm cold. - I'm freezing.
You're older than I am.
Eh?
- Who do you want to go first? - Both.
You mean both of us together?
Why waste time?
- I went under that train. - What train?
Remember during the strike? I was under the train you were on.
Who goes first?
He's your friend.
Maybe you can do something better.
No! Ah!
Don't you have a girlfriend?
- Ha ha ha. - What's so funny?
I was just thinking about Anita.
- Leave Anita out of this. - Is she your girl?
- Have a drink. - Oh, no...no, thank you.
I feel strange if I drink.
But that's what's so great. Come on, have a drink. Have some fun.
Mm.
- Are you going to marry her? - She's already my wife.
But without being married. She's my comrade.
No marriage. They're Bolsheviks. They believe in free love.
Your hand getting tired?
You really know what free love is, don't you?
Hm?
- Huh? - Don't ask me so many questions.
- Answer! - Leave her alone.
I don't know if I'd be answering right.
Don't lie to me, you little whore. You know what free love is.
I'm ashamed.
(Gasps)
I'm ashamed.
P-Please...
y-y-you must go away.
G-Go away.
G-G-G-Go away now.
Oh! Oh!
Please!
Go away!
(Thud)
(Grunting and gasping)
Oh! Oh, no! Oh, God! Oh...
She's an epileptic.
Come on, let's go. Hurry up.
Call somebody. Go on! Call somebody!
Signora! Signora!
Stop. Please. Please.
Stop, I beg you.
Stop.
- We didn't do anything. - Let her go.
How stupid.
She knows she must never drink.
- Shall I get a doctor? - It wouldn't do any good.
She'll stop. You have to have patience, that's all.
Alfredo!
Uncle Ottavio!
It's me, Alfredo.
Anybody home?
Hello?
(Woman) Who is it?
I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you.
- Ottavio's not here. - I'll come back later.
- You have a cigarette? - Yes! Er, I don't smoke.
How nice. What did you come for?
- Who are you? - I'm Ada, and I want a cigarette!
(Snap)
- I'm Alfredo, and I want my uncle. - (Snap)
- Have a cigar? - Ah, my saviour.
(Chuckles) For so little.
- Good afternoon, Uncle. - Well, what are you doing here?
Oh, well, I had a rotten day.
I came into the city to have some fun and I saw an epileptic.
Have you ever seen an epileptic?
- I'd like to take a bath. - Of course.
(Ottavio) Mario, in here.
Over there. Set it down there.
(Ada) How did the auction go?
Oh, all morning at that sale.
I didn't know that the search for pleasure could be so tiring.
- Poor dear. You work so hard. - Uh-huh.
Take a look at this. It's exceptionally beautiful,
so naturally, no one liked it.
He's a young German painter, a new discovery of mine.
(Ottavio) What do you think the man is doing?
(Ada) He's sleeping. (Ottavio) No, he's dead.
(Ada) He's asleep, I tell you.
He's dead. Look at the hand.
(Ada) The hand may be dead but he's alive.
- Guess what. - Hm?
- I've fallen in love. - Again?
- This time, it's serious. - Ohh.
Let's see if I can guess. Lancia?
- Bugatti. - Ahh.
- The roadster? - No, torpedo.
Mm.
But it's impossible. It's too expensive.
Torpedo. I was thinking of buying one.
- Can you drive? - Yes. I mean no,
- it's not difficult. - (Laughs)
This nephew of yours is a bit of a liar.
(Ottavio laughs)
Bravo, bravo. Make that stingy brother of mine spend some money.
- How's your mother? - She still paints...
Endless ancestral landscapes. Hm.
My lost countryside.
(Footsteps)
Ottavio, lend me the car.
- If you're ready, I'll take you home. - I'm ready! Let's go.
"Vroom! Roar!
"First, second, and third gears
"Dry my tears, and leave me cold
"Bureaucratic, grey, and old"
- You like it? - Er...
Yes, it's, er... It's good. It's nice. It's a little modern, but...
Modern? The hell it is. It's futuristic. Read the other one.
"Gypsy, what you rouse in me
"Lingers still like a kiss
"And your traitorous smile"
Er, yes, it has a certain, er...
I like it. It's too bad that it's so short.
- That's what's nice about it. - What are you doing?
Two of us have read them. That's too many.
And you just throw them away like that?
- (Shouting) - Why don't they let me pass? Bastards!
(Man) La-la la-la la-la la-la
(All shouting)
(Men laughing)
I want to pass!
- (Man) Attila! Attila! - Come on.
- What did he say? - Go ahead. Pass them.
(Alfredo) Come on, they're letting us through.
Go ahead.
(Jeering)
Friends of yours? They look like murderers.
No, they're not friends of mine.
When they go out like that, it means trouble.
They revolt me. I don't want to see.
I don't want to see any more! I'm blind!
Wait a minute. Wait, wait, wait.
Come on, now. Try not to go blind. Not on a curve.
I don't want to see. I don't want to see. I'm blind.
- No. - I'm blind! Blind!
- Blind! - No.
"Gives...
"youth...
"to mankind."
(Anita) Pietro, read what you've written.
"Communism gives youth to mankind."
And now Olmo will explain what that means.
Well, um...
What does it mean?
- It means... (Laughs) - Miss Schoolmistress...
- Comrade. - Comrade Schoolmistress,
I am close to 71, and being a Communist,
I still go for a woman more than youngsters do.
You big bull. We don't come here to brag, we come here to learn.
(Laughing)
School's over for today.
We'll keep an eye on the community house, don't worry.
And we studied this whole bottle.
Ooh.
(Man laughs)
- Well, shall we go? - Huh?
What a rotten day.
I went into town with Alfredo.
- Look... - I had no fun at all.
Drawn nicely, isn't it?
We walked around...
we drank a little bit.
You know...
- You know how it is in the city. - I know. I know.
You know...
What a class. The youngest must be at least 80.
The youngsters are dancing at the Lusardi barn, that's why.
- Mm. - Oh.
Giving lessons to four old men. What good does it do?
I wanted to dance, too, but I had to wait for you!
(Old men counting upstairs)
Dancing with that belly?
Anita? Anita.
Anita.
No!
(Yells)
Anita!
Oh! No!
- I feel better now. - Yeah. I feel better, too.
(Both laugh)
Help!
(Yelling numbers)
What do you have inside that head?
What do you have?
(Gasping)
(Sighs)
- You have another woman. - No.
- No? - No, no, no.
- Mm. - No. (Laughs)
Come on, let's go dancing.
(Old men continue counting)
(Traditional music)
Have you ever danced in a barn before?
(Ada) No. It's the first time.
Wait here. I'll get something to drink.
Wait.
- Two glasses. - I'll pay later.
Certainly.
Alfredo!
Alfredo! Where are you?
Alfredo!
Don't leave me alone!
Oh!
(Music stops)
Alfredo.
What's wrong with her?
Moi? It's nothing.
I don't see. I'm blind.
This music is so beautiful. Please don't stop dancing just for me.
Play on. Play on!
(Music resumes)
Faster. Faster!
Faster! How wonderful.
Make me fly!
She has such beautiful eyes, huh?
Oh, yes. Very beautiful.
Alfredo, give me a kiss.
Er, would you like a drink?
No, I think you need a drink. I need a drink.
And if I need a drink, you need a drink, so we should have a drink.
- All right? - Yeah.
- (Anita) Blind, eh? - You're not Alfredo. Who are you?
How awful! You have no pity for a blind girl.
- Monster! - (Music starts)
- Oh! - Alfredo.
- Stop this game. - (Woman) A pity, isn't it?
(Ada) Alfredo, how could you do that to me?
You mustn't leave me alone again.
Oh, stop it.
You're outrageous.
I'm an animal de luxe.
This is my best friend Olmo. This is Anita.
Anita, this is Ada. This is Anita. This is Ada.
- So soft. - lmagine if we had one like this.
It's warm. It's warm.
Oh! It feels good.
Beautiful, beautiful.
This morning with an epileptic, and now with a blind girl.
One more like this and you can open a hospital.
You're the one that's blind.
Are they ready?
(Gasps)
The blind girl, huh?
Thank you. Thank you. You saved me.
I was afraid I had to go on all evening.
So you come in here all dressed and perfumed,
to make fools of us! Stupid. Spoiled.
How is it you call us? Hicks? Peasants?
Er...
I know. You're right.
But it always happens like this.
I can't stand it, so I close my eyes and I bang into people.
Does it scare you to look?
What do you see? What do you see?
What does she see? She sees someone who's so happy...
I don't want us to change. I want everyone to stay still.
Stay still. Everyone, give me their hands.
Put your hands here. Here, here.
Hey, look.
That's horrible.
Oh!
I'm sorry. I apologise to all of you.
It was just a stupid joke.
- It was silly of me, I know. - Nothing to worry about.
(Ada) I'm sorry! I didn't mean to offend anyone.
Forgive me!
I'm not blind!
Forgive me! I can see very well!
Look! I'm not blind. I see all of you!
- Is she drunk or...? - (Ada) Why don't you believe me?
- It was a joke! - She's not drunk.
She's fantastic. She smokes, she drives, she writes poetry.
She's...she's very modern, you don't understand.
Hey!
You don't understand, you're a country bumpkin.
(Man) Out! Out! (Ada) Wait.
- (Man) Hurry! Everybody! - I want to tell you something.
Don't fall.
(Man) Help! Everybody! Hurry!
(Drunk man) Fascists, barbarians, I'll kill them all.
Oh.
(Children muttering and tooting on instruments)
Hey, hey.
- Hey. - Who are you?
You don't know me.
What the hell do you want?
You're boring.
My name is Ada Fiastri Paulhan.
I'm 21, the worst age in the world.
(Gasps)
My father designed the head of the king on the 10-lira note,
so we've always been surrounded by money
and never had any.
Oh!
I'm an orphan. Three years ago,
my parents organised an Alpine expedition for millionaires.
They disappeared into a crevasse on the Matterhorn.
They died the way they lived - beyond their means.
I have no sisters, no brothers.
I can live where I like...
and with anybody I like.
(Man) The community house is on fire!
(2nd man) The community house is burning to the ground!
(3rd man) The community house is on fire!
(Crowd yelling and screaming)
I don't want to.
I don't want to! I don't want to! I don't want to! I don't want to!
No! Ah!
No!
Come here.
(Screams)
(Fire engine approaching)
(Moaning)
(Both gasping)
Kiss me. Kiss me!
- Mm! - Mm.
Oh...
Why didn't you tell me you were a virgin?
Because you would never have believed me.
That's right.
But aren't you Ottavio's mistress?
Ottavio's mistress?
(Laughing) No!
Oh, no.
(Olmo) Wake up!
(Anita) Pietro Pecorari.
78 years old.
(Olmo) Wake up! (Anita) Farm labourer.
Wake up!
Exploited by the landowners. Murdered by the Fascists!
(Olmo) Wake up!
(Anita) Decimo Bonazzi. Age 74.
Day labourer from the age of seven. Exploited by the landowners.
Murdered by the Fascists. Murdered by the Fascists!
- Wake up! - Jofen Zuelli, age 72.
Wake up!
Farm labourer from the age of seven. Exploited by the landowners.
Murdered by the Fascists!
Wake up!
Open your windows! Why don't you come down?
Wake up!
Don't you want to see?
Come down and look at them!
- Wake up! - Wake up!
- (Anita sobbing) - Wake up!
Wake up!
Look... There's no one!
(Sobbing)
It's over. It's all over.
- It's the end. It's the end. - No.
No, no! We're strong!
We are many! We're united!
They'll kill us all. They'll...
No, no, no, no...
(Band playing The lnternationale in distance)
Listen...
They're coming.
They're coming. Yes.
They're coming.
They're here. Look, Anita.
(Band continue, louder)
(Funeral dirge)
- I'm not well. - Could it be the baby?
What a child you are. There's time.
It's finished.
Did you see?
A crowd like that... no one could believe they're all relatives.
- I don't believe it. - Over a thousand of them at least.
They're saying it was no accident. It was deliberately set.
(Whistling)
- (Laughter) - There are 2,000 reds out there!
Hey, Barone, you look like you've been to a funeral.
You feel sad? You think we made a mistake?
Never regret anything. Never be afraid.
The only thing to fear is fear itself.
Shall we take some tucks? They give the shirt a greater elegance.
I don't want elegance. I want strength.
This isn't a shirt, it's a symbol, it's a flag for the people.
- Does it look good, Barone? - Ah, more manly?
More manly, yes, but not pretty. Not pretty. More manly.
Look good? All of you get one.
You all look like this, give the people something to follow.
- Give me that pussycat. Listen... - (Miaow)
Communists are smart.
They play on your human feelings.
They're like this little pussycat, it plays on your human feelings.
Eh?
Communism is a disease.
It can destroy the world. Come outside.
If this little pussycat has got Communism,
you can't think of this little pussycat.
You've got to think of all the other pussycats, and protect them.
You've got to protect all those pussycats.
- (Yowling) - You gotta look at that pussycat,
and say, "That's not a pussycat. That's a Communist."
And you've got to destroy it!
(Cat screeches)
(Singing in Italian)
(Singing)
- What do we make the Communists do? - (All) Shit!
What do we make the Workers' League do?
(All) Shit blood!
END OF ACT ONE