Manfredi?
That's all.
Here is the bathroom. The kitchen and other bedrooms are over there.
- Who used to live here? - Nobody. The villa has been empty for years.
That's why it's now rotting away.
The proprietors live in America and they don't care.
This was the guardian's house.
You could settle in the villa... do as you wish...
I'm sure you'll be fine. I have done some cleaning.
The Germanic Institute paid the rent for this month. You own the place.
Can you hear it? It indicates the presence of a beehive.
Isn't it a crow?
Good Lord! Don't say such a blasphemy.
Are you telling me that you didn't know...
that the "Indicator", a bird from Central Africa, lives here in this park?
Never heard that before.
- Why do you think I'm here? - You're the big professor, you know everything about birds...
- But I have a master's degree in fried chicken. - Come on, let's go!
I didn't mean to offend you.
Please, make yourself comfortable.
I lit a fire because of the humidity.
To die?
Yes, I wanted to die.
And you were dying.
A sweet death, "Freudian", a bit "démodé"...
... like you, like this house.
Then that girl came... Viola?
I don't know, I've never seen her before.
Isn't she a friend of your brother?
So what?
I don't know, you tell me. Please, go on.
You know the story, you were there too.
- She lost a lot of blood, she needs a hospital. - No!
I'm the husband... no hospital.
...and keep your mouth shut about this "incident".
Timothy seemed strangely concerned.
And your brother Manfredi?
I prefer not to answer, because I could lie.
It's a typical desire when you talk with a psychoanalyst...
... but we reach the truth nevertheless.
- Shall we continue? - Why not?
I'll tell you how I met Timothy in Spoleto last summer.
Some friends of mine told me about him...
...and they weren't nice.
They were telling me awful things about him...
...That he got drunk before every concert...
...that he played... Mozart as if it was jazz, but they were lying.
He played Mozart in such an eloquent and desperate way.
Do you remember what Mozart said in his letters?
"I think about death every day. "
Yes, love and death are so close.
"My biggest sin is love", says Don Giovanni...
... Timothy is like Don Giovanni.
In fact, he was a guest in a convent, but...
... he wasn't there to do penance.
What's going on?
- It's Father Adolfo, get dressed. - All we need is a blessing!
The day of the wedding, Timothy got drunk.
Manfredi too, I think, but for other reasons.
- The tree! - Don't worry, the insurance company will pay.
- For the car, not for our lives. - Look there! It's like in Texas.
Ehi, we're in Texas!
Watch out! The horns!
Olè! Anda, toro!
Stop it.
"Vamos a matar".
Via, via... olè!
Let's go.
What's the matter, are you drunk?
Listen, I'm leaving.
No... don't say a thing.
I must go. I have to go.
I'll be away for a year, Perhaps more.
I don't want you to leave.
I know, but you can stay with your husband, can't you?
Anyway, I would have gone... I would have left anyway.
Let go of me, idiot.
What's the matter with him?
Maybe a crisis of conscience .
Well, let's go.
Here she is. It's Manfredi.
Hello.
Where are you?
I can't hear you, speak louder.
Fiumicino?
Are you mad?
It seems like you don't care. You have such a strange voice...
Are you making love?
Yes I am.
Whore!
No, sorry... I didn't mean it. Sorry.
Come on, go back home.
Go to hell.
- Where is he going? - To India. - India?
Three months later he came back and I don't think he went to India.
- Did he come here? - No, I didn't know he came back.
A friend of mine told me that she had seen him in town.
Soon I found out where he was hiding.
Years ago he rented an apartment.
He turned it into a studio and then abandoned it, as usual.
you can't even imagine how unorganised Manfredi is.
- What are you doing here? - Who is she? - Her name is Viola.
"Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?"
You are pregnant, aren't you?
No, you're not that kind of girl.
Come back to the villa.
Don't act childish, come back.
I don't care about you! Your life is not my business anymore.
Just go away.
Drop dead!
Go away once and for all!
I said: go away!
Away!
Were you always fighting like that?
No... not really.
My brother couldn't stand the idea that I got married without his permission.
But there was more...
... He despised me all of a sudden.
His hate hurt me... It hurts me... to death.
How do you feel today?
What would you say?
I'd say you look great, "like a lizard in the sun".
Is it a compliment or an insult?
It's up to you to decide.
- Are your wrists still hurting? - No, they are not.
But sometimes the blood starts pulsating here...
...as if it wanted to pour out again.
Pulsating...
Fine, let's talk about my suicide attempt.
What's the use?
I still don't know anything about you and Manfredi, about you and Timothy...
...and most importantly, I still don't know anything about you.
Curiosity killed the cat...
Oh, no. My curiosity is just a professional tool.
Excuse me, can I ask you a question?
Please, go ahead.
I'll be glad to answer.
- Have you known Timothy for long? - For at least ten years.
He used to play the piano in nightclubs to pay for his studies.
Songs for drunkards, you know...
He was slowly drinking himself to death, so I gave him a hand.
A very good job.
I'm not sure about that.
He has an enormous talent, but the power of his genius...
...will sooner or later destroy him.
He reminds me of the giant from "Of Mice and Men"?
I know what you mean.
I married that character.
Have you got any other question?
Yes, one more.
What did Timothy tell you about me when you met in Spoleto?
I hadn't seen him in two years.
I was in Rome when I heard that Timothy was in Spoleto for a concert.
So I decided to visit him.
But he was so drunk he thought I was a horse.
I have to tell you something.
Listen, I...
...have to tell you that I got married.
You see, Martin, she scares me. I'm afraid...
Afraid that I can never really possess her.
That's how she... poisons me.
I can feel her poison in my brain.
What will happen to me when it paralyses these hands?
Martin, what could I do in a cemetery...
... other than waiting for the undertaker to bury me?
Did he say that? That I'm a poisonous snake?
Yes, he was completely drunk... his soul was torn apart.
In my opinion only a heart-attack could kill Timothy.
I didn't know you hate him so much.
I don't hate him... I hate myself.
Now tell me what happened between you and him when Manfredi was away.
Everything... and nothing.
Some kind of mutual indifference.
Where are you going?
Away. Reading.
One day I found some photos Manfredi took.
- What kind of photos? - Well, strange photos.
What about these! Can you explain them?
- Why not? - Tell me.
My business.
Don't do that again. Or else I'll kill you.
Of course we weren't always fighting...
... but it was slow torture
Have you any idea how long three months are if you live with the wrong man...
... waiting for an other man to return?
The day I went out to see Manfredi I looked at Timothy...
... and asked myself:
..."What's this stranger doing in your house?"
Yes...
... Timothy is right when he says I'm a poisonous snake.
I want to tell you about...
...a dream I had last night.
How tasty. Delicious.
- Wow! - Something to drink? - Yes, not so much. - No, not me.
- Eat up. - Take a bite.
- Excuse me, I have to pee. - Go ahead.
Bye!
This is my dream.
I woke up and I was exhausted.
Viola was in my room, she came to take care of my wrists.
Viola decided that since she saved my life...
... somehow my life belonged to her.
Did Manfredi tell you something about me?
- What do you usually talk about? - Everything... and nothing. Things like that.
- What do you do for a living? - I live.
Who are you?
Where do you live?
Where I can, where there is a place for me.
I'm like a mole.
A mole? Why?
Because I bury myself where there's some heat.
Did you find some heat here?
You want me, don't you?
No! Don't wash yourself.
I want Manfredi to take you as I left you.
Where is he waiting for you? At his studio?
No, he's in the park.
I followed her in the park...
... and it was as if I brought her there.
Somebody saw you?
I don't care.
Come on. Let's go...
You smell of musk.
How long is this story going to last? I mean, between you and Manfredi.
Forever.
It started before reason and went on far beyond it.
When we realized we were alone here, alone and vulnerable.
Our mother went away right after Manfredi was born.
Our father was never at home.
He died of malaria in Africa.
When we were children we got used to sleeping together...
... it was our secret. Our maid didn't know it.
I convinced Manfredi that I was his wife...
...and that I hadto sleep with him.
But as time went by...
... It was him who... used to come to me at night.
Look what I found in an old trunk.
Look.
There's blood on it.
They used to kill people with it.
Put it away, hide it.
Coward.
No.
The day you leave me...
...I swear I'll hide it in my heart.
No!
Remember: an oath... is sacred.
Don't look at my cards. Coming.
I placed the traps and there they'll stay.
I'll report you to the police.
- Are you trying to kill someone? - Calm down.
The park and the villa are private property and I have to defend them.
Traps are for thieves and there are a lot of them.
Fascist!
I take it as a compliment.
Thieves know I mean business.
And now you know too, so watch your step.
Listen.
Do you know what happens to a man who falls into one of your traps?
Of course I know. He bleeds to death. Slowly.
I thought about dogs...
...but dog food is expensive.
Just be careful and nothing will happen to you.
I have to go now. My friends are waiting.
Wait!
Not only didn't you tell me about the traps...
but you also lied to me about another thing.
What thing?
You lied to me about the house having been empty for years.
What are you talking about?
I don't know yet... but I'll find out.
Little by little every piece of the jigsaw is falling into place.
You married Timothy in order to play a cruel game in which...
... - sorry but I must say it - Manfredi is the victim.
And when the victim rebels and runs away, you slit your wrists to lure him back to you!
No, this is just a hypothesis, but the truth is...
My God, what's the truth?
I already told you that I left Manfredi's studio with my soul torn apart.
All of a sudden, I felt totally empty inside... a terrible anguish seized my heart.
I desperately needed to sleep...
... in order not to think.
I had a solution: sleeping pills.
When did you start taking those pills?
Maybe three months... I don't know... I don't remember...
I remember that I had to take more and more of them lately because they didn't work anymore.
That afternoon I took the usual amount of pills plus two.
Just before falling asleep...
... I thought I heard Timothy's car leaving
Azzurra, do you realise what this means?
Yes, and as I heard Timothy's car leaving... I fainted.
... I have no memories.
Just that absurd waking in my bed with all of you around me.
The huge amount of pills you took...
...may have caused a hypnotic state...
...and your death drive may have done the rest.
What if that's the truth?
Is it the truth?
You're wondering... so am I.
A nightmare! The same nightmare two days in a row.
- Please, help me. - Calm down.
Me too, I'm trying to understand what really happened.
Viola! Yes, Viola!
She said she heard the water running in the bathroom...
Someone is spying on us.
Mr. Dominici.
Professor, you are lost.
I cut the telephone wires... the villa is completely isolated.
This is your last night...
... so I thought you might like the company of my voice.
You already know a lot of things about me, you're an amazing listener.
You must admit it...
... you're dyiing to know what happened next?
I'm still here. Just lit one of your cigarettes
Professor, pay attention...
... and try to remember when Azzurra tells Martin...
... that she met me in my studio.
Welcome back!
Come here.
You'll never be able to leave me.
And from now on...
...you won't try again...
...to run away from me.
Azzurra... no, please...
...please, leave me alone, stop torturing me.
I...
You will always do what I say, will you?
No. No, not anymore. I'll never see you again.
Can't you see I'm going mad? I don't know what to do, what to think. It's a nightmare.
What kind of man are you? Stop this hysteria.
Sister! Sister, go away! Please, sister!
Stop calling me "sister".
Yes...
...you're adult enough to know... that you're not my brother.
You never were.
You're a bastard.
She pronounced that word so voluptuously...
... and she added that I was the son of peasants, bought...
... like a beast at the market, as a substitute for the real Manfredi, born dead.
So I decided to go to the villa.
I wanted her to swear that she lied to me.
I didn't think about killing her.
But I found her lying asleep as if she was dead.
Professor, I had to make her pay for what she made me suffer...
... corrupting my childhood.
That day I learned...
... that love corrupts our life and drives us to death.
But Viola was there.
I met her during a trip...
...I gave her my address, thinking that she would have never come.
But she was there, "punctual like Destiny".
Doctor Martin, too, stayed at the villa.
A dangerous, cold-blooded man...
... smart enough to understand everything.
How I hated them.
Suddenly my anger exploded.
I followed their every move.
Viola! Yes, Viola!
She said she heard the water running in the bathroom...
Someone is spying on us.
Quickly! Quickly!
What are you doing here with that sword? Can't you see the stains of red paint on it?
You're like a child playing with old toys.
No, Viola, listen! I don't want to hurt you.
Viola!
Stop!
Stupid! Stupid!
Why won't you listen to me?
Viola, no, I didn't want to kill her...
... but I didn't want her animal eyes on me anymore.
Death was following me step by step...
... Everything I did was deadly.
But then I lost my strength all of a sudden...
... I was totally exhausted.
I laid unconscious for an hour...
... but it lasted longer than an entire life.
When I woke up, silence was immense...
... and daylight was fading away.
I felt like the only survivor on a battlefield.
So I decided to bury them...
... and burn their belongings.
The following day I called Dominici, the administrator,...
... and I told him Azzura was in America...
... with her husband, never to return.
I gave him the keys of the villa because I was leaving too.
He was a rude and vulgar man...
... but he minded his own business.
He asked no questions.
I could see him calculating how much money he could make...
as the administrator.
I made a bad move, I admit it...
... I underestimated his greed.
That night I went to Rome.
I felt like someone was spying on me...
...but nobody discovered the bodies.
I was safe, then.
However, I felt trapped in the city...
...I wanted to be alone...
... in a place where I could hear my heart beating.
I spend the night at some friend's house.
I felt like a dog on a tight leash.
And Dominici was demanding more and more money.
He didn't even tell me that the Germanic Institute of Rome...
... had asked to rent the villa.
He told me about you, Professor, only after your arrival.
I could only bribe him into keeping his mouth shut about the owner...
...and the former tenants of the villa.
I was at the station when you arrived.
You looked so lost, so alone, it was a relief for me.
An old man An old professor...
... interested only in nature.
But how did you find those tapes?
I was sure they were well hidden.
The "Indicator" bird, young man.
Birds are cruel too.
You shouldn't have told the administrator about the tapes...
... he spied on you.
Of course he suspected something strange had happened in the villa.
Azzurra and Timothy's departure didn't convince him.
He called me and said he wanted to see me.
He thought he could blackmail me...
He was such a stupid man...
... he didn't know what I was capable of!
Now you know the whole story, Professor...
... and I'm coming to get you.
It's dawn now... you're trapped and you don't know.
I'm going to kill you.
I'm going to kill you..
Professor... help me.
The gun... the gun...
...give me the gun.
Go away!