All language subtitles for Novecento (1976) 720p.BluRay.AAC.x264-CRiSC

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)

25th of April 1945
Liberation Day

(SHEEP BLEATING)

(GROANING)

The war is over.

(EXPLOSIONS)

(BELLS CLANGING)

W-Why?

MAN 1: Hurry, comrades,
in the name of Stalin!

The Black Shirt bandits
are here!

Quick! Let's wipe them out!
Come on, it's the partisans.

MAN 2: Yeah,
let's go finish them.

MAN 3: Isn't that black smoke?
Come back!

Every last one of them.

(ALL CHATTERING)

MAN 1: Grab these.
Go, go on.

I want a gun, too.

(ALL SHOUTING IN ITALIAN)

What are you doing?
Let go.

I want a gun, too.

Come on. I was good enough
to cut the telephone lines,

so I'm good enough
to carry a gun.

Come on, Wildcat.
Come on.

Give me one.
You promised.

Wildcat!

Leonito, what are you
waiting for?

Take this.
The magazine, too.

Here.

Where are you going?
I want to kill, too.

(EXPLOSIONS)

(DOOR OPENING)

MAN ON RADIO:
...the commander of the Matteotti Partisan Brigade

for the liberation of Italy.

Within the last few minutes,
we have seized a radio station in Milan.

The city has been liberated!

And, at last, a free Milan
salutes its fellow countrymen.

I repeat, this is
the commander of the Matteotti 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 Italy

at the hands of the Nazi
Fascist barbarian regime.

But our thoughts, above all,
go to our brother partisans

who fought so bravely...
Leonito,

what are you
doing in here?

...and sacrificed
even their lives. I didn't even see you.

Leonito, what is
all this nonsense?

Give me that gun.

(OLMO GRUNTING)

Let go!

Long live, Stalin.

Have you gone
out of your mind?

(GUN FIRING)

...commander of the Matteotti
Partisan Brigade for Italian liberation.

Fascism has left us
an inheritance of misery,

humiliation, and death.
Long live Stalin.

Attila and Regina.

(SHOUTING) Attila and Regina!

(MAN SINGING IN ITALIAN)

(REGINA SOBBING)

(LEAVES RUSTLING)

(GASPS)

(ALL GRUNTING)

(YELLING)

(WOMEN CLAMORING)

REGINA: Shoot, Attila!
Shoot!

Kill her!

Bitch!
Dirty Cossack!

WOMAN 1: Kill her!
WOMAN 2: I'll murder you.

ATTILA: Regina!

Regina!

Attila!

(SCREAMING)

I'm coming!

I'm coming!

(GROANING)

Come on. Come on.

Oh, the swallows are back.

(SWALLOWS CHIRPING)

Wait, wait.

(COW MOOING)

My grandfather died here.

Stand up!

Sit down.

Sit!

Did you know
that 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, Leonito?

Call me Olmo.

I thought your name
was Leonito.

Olmo's my partisan name.

Do you know who Olmo was?

I know he was the bravest.

The bravest.

Well, my little
partisan friend,

what do you think
of your master?

There are no more masters!

Many years before...

MAN: Verdi is dead!

(SOBBING) Verdi is dead!

Giuseppe Verdi is dead!

(GIRL GRUNTING)

(GRUNTING)
Push! Push!

Push! Push!

Push! Push! Push!

(CHILDREN LAUGHING)

It's born!
It's born!

GIRL: Look what a nice baby
I made.

(CHILDREN LAUGHING)

WOMAN: Keep going.

(ROSINA GROANING)
Come on. It's coming.

(ROSINA SCREAMING)

Rosalba, the door.
Close the door, Rosalba.

Shh, be quiet, children.
Hush up.

It's a boy!

It's a boy!

MAN 1: It's another mouth
to feed.

Rosina had a boy!

MAN 2: Another little ass
to clean.

It's a boy!

Don't touch him, Rigoletto,
he'll get a hump on his back.

(MEN LAUGHING)

She had a boy!

RIGOLETTO: It's a boy!

A boy!

We have another boy!

Damned woman.

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!

(GRUNTING)

Go!

(LAUGHING)

Bitch.

Papa!

Papa!

(BABY CRYING)

(BERLINGHIERI EXCLAIMING)

Alfredo is born!

Alfredo!

The same name as mine.

(BOTH LAUGHING)

And if it's a girl, huh?

It's not a girl,
is it?

Papa, I think 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.

Oh, what a pretty
little boy.

Giovanni, Giovanni.
Giovanni!

GIOVANNI: What is it?

How is the mother?
Just fine.

Give her a kiss
for me. "May the fruit of this union,

"by heaven blessed,

"plucked from
the Garden of Eden

"be the heir
to the lordly graces,

"the pious heart,

"the virtues
of the patriots..."

Oh, shut up!

Giovanni, Giovanni.

Yes, Papa.

Write to that
playboy brother of yours.

Write as I say.

Yes, Papa.

Ottavio...

Why 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.
Have you 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 again
return to that nunnery.

The monsignor
has turned very cruel.

He prefers the novices,
and he neglects me.

He does.

And I can't tell you
how lowbred they are.

Listen, listen to this.
Just the other day, I...

Rigoletto, my hat.

Alfredo.
RIGOLETTO: Yes, Signor Padrone.

The Lord be with you.

And with your spirit.

A priest here, too.
It's a conspiracy, I tell you.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

Well, humpback.

What do you see
in there, eh?

Snow. It's covered with snow.

Like in winter.

What else?
Huh? A church.

A cathedral with spires.

And what else?

Bottles.

Bottles?

Bottles!

(SINGING LOUDLY
IN ITALIAN)

It's like paradise
in there.

(LAUGHING)
And you're the padrone, the lord, the master.

And I'd be Saint Peter,
if you'd give me the keys.

(WHISTLING)

Stop,
no more work today.

(MEN EXCLAIMING)
Thanks, padrone.

Hey, thanks.

Stop! Stop!

Hey, drink up,
drink up.

For you. Stop.
No work today.

Today, you're
the padrone, too.

Penzo, special wine.

Celebration.

Salute, padrone.

Where's, uh, Dalco?

Leo's in the vineyard.
Ah!

That's the last bottle.

MAN:
Wine from the city.

What about mine?

It says
"sparkling champagne."

Hey, Libero,
what's this for, a wedding or a funeral?

There, in the vineyard.

(CLACKING)

(CHUCKLING)

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.

Well, I know that
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?

Mine was born first.
It's only natural.

First came
the peasants of this world, and then came the padrone.

Masters, peasants. Balls!

When you're born,
you're all born equal.

All equal, huh?

You!

What are you standing
there for? Drink up.

Drink up, you bastards!

(METALLIC SCRAPING)

Drink with me.

(GRUNTS)

(LAUGHING)

Are we drinking or not?

Born together.
Must mean something.

Uh-huh.

Probably means
we die together.

(LAUGHING)

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.

(LAUGHING)

BERLINGHIERI:
Rigoletto, run down to the town hall.

Tell them
the boy's name is Alfredo.

Berlinghieri, Alfredo,

born of Giovanni
and Eleonora nee Rosetti.

Leo,

what will you call yours?

Huh?

What are you
going to call yours?

Olmo.

Olmo.

Like an elm tree.

Born of the late Oscar
and Rosina Campo.

Oscar?

Oscar's been dead
for four years.

That's the point.
Have some respect for the dead.

(LAUGHING)

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.

(ALL LAUGHING)

Jackasses!

? With the Pope
as a peasant

? Linked by fate
in that hour

? To the padrone's grandson

? Heir to riches and power ?

What do you think, huh?

(CHILDREN SHOUTING)

Leo. Leo, come on.
You must try it, too.

I'm not climbing
on that red devil.

I can't tell
who rakes faster,

a man with a horse
and a machine

or a man with heart
and muscle.

ALFREDO: Orso! Orso,
come and see it!

Go a little faster!
We'll soon be able to tell.

There.

What? What is it?

(MEN CHATTERING)

There.

What's written there?

What do you think of that?
Half an acre in, uh,

10 minutes, all alone.

It would have taken six men
at least 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.

(LAUGHING)
A little hay is nothing, huh?

You don't agree, huh?

Don't you realize,
you dumb ox,

that this is
an imported piece of machinery,

and we're the first
in the whole valley to have a mechanical hay-raker?

LEO: Well, then blessed
are the last to have one.

Who needs a machine
that looks like a hyena, Signor Giovanni?

(MEN LAUGHING)

(CHILDREN SHOUTING)

(FROGS CROAKING)

Ah!

Nineteen!

They stink, and besides,
you're disgusting.

Hey! Twenty!

Twenty!

(BOTH CHUCKLING)

You haven't seen anything yet.

Here, kiss it.
Bite it.

Eat it.
Jump in the lake.

? Olmo, the bastard

? Olmo, the bastard

? Olmo, the bastard

? Olmo, the bastard

(BELL TOLLING)

? Olmo, the... ?

Here, eat it,
and burn in hell.

(GRUNTING)

Coward!

Go ahead! Run,
you yellow-belly!

You're the yellow-belly.
You pick on girls and babies.

I say you can't even last
at follow the leader.

And I say I can, too.

Go piss in your pocket!

(CRYING)

I'll fix you.

Ah!

Ah!

What are you doing?

Screwing the earth.

Now what are you doing?

Listening to my father
speak to me.

In the telegraph pole?

I can't hear anything.

Are you crazy?

We'll see who's brave
and who's yellow.

(TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWING)

When it starts to go 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 BLOWING)

Olmo!

Are you dead or alive?

Ding-dong, ding-dong.

The devil cared,
the padrone's scared.

(WOMAN SINGING IN ITALIAN)

(BABY CRYING)

How far is it
from here to the Madonna of the Fields?

As far as
it's always been, about 3 kilometers.

Once I saw a train

as long as from here
to the Madonna's shrine.

I got a train in my pants
that's longer than that!

Listen,
he's only bragging.

(ALL LAUGHING)

MAN 1: Talk about trains.
You see that contraption outside?

You don't want to use it
because you are ignorant, afraid.

You're an enemy of progress,
that's what you are.

With that contraption,
I work less, and that's fine with me.

MAN 2: Well,
who pays for it, huh? Who pays for it?

The padrone, who else?

Everyone but the padrone.
It's we, the workers, who 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.

Your Olmo's a pig.

Today your little Olmo
found a live frog and forced my little Nina to eat it.

MAN 3:
Besides, what do any of you know about philosophy?

(SCOFFING)
Nothing at all, that's what.

I'm the only one here
who's been to any meetings

to try to create a union.

Because anyone who understands
must follow those meetings,

and must travel around
to preach the great, new justice

to the unlucky peasants
who work out their lives and sweat,

profiting not themselves,
but only the padrone.

MAN 4: Amen.

(ALL LAUGHING)

Look at that.

(SOBBING)

Who is crying?

Rosina wants to send Olmo
to the seminary.

Why?
Why?

The boy's the devil.

ROSINA: They want to take him
away from me, my own son.

Turn him into a priest.

(SOBBING)

Nothing's for nothing.
You had your fun. Well, now you pay.

Come on, now,
it can happen to anybody.

Cut it out.

It seems to me,
she's got 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 the brother
of your sons

because his 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?

(ALL LAUGHING)

Olmo!

(WHINING)

NINA: Olmo,
they called you.

It was Leo.

Hey! Hey!

Dalco, Olmo.

Where's he going?
WOMAN: There he is.

(WOMEN CLAMORING)
Come on, give him here!

Let go! Let go!

Get him up
on the table.

MAN: Get up there!

LEO: Dalco, Olmo,

now that you are grown...

And still piss
in your pants.

(LAUGHING)

Come here.

Remember this.

You will learn to read,

you will learn to write,

but you will still remain
Dalco, Olmo,

son of peasants.

Doomed to hunger.

You will go off
to the army, huh.

You will see the world.

You may even learn
to obey.

With kicks in the ass
from morning till night.

You will take a wife. Huh?

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.

(MIMICKING)
"It's too high. I'll fall."

I wish you would
and break your neck.

You're nothing
but a big sissy.

ELEONORA:
Alfredo, Regina, come to dinner.

GIOVANNI: A card came
from my brother, the Parisian.

"Here, in the ville lumiere,
I'm thinking of you all with affection.

"Best regards as ever,
Ottavio."

Alfredo!

Affection and best regards.

He hasn't written
in over a year.

GIOVANNI:
He doesn't feel at home here and never has, you know that.

He has nothing
but contempt for us.

What are you saying?
What contempt?

You're always exaggerating.

Ah, your brother Ottavio,
he knows how to live.

Paris, Maxim's,
champagne, gigolos.

We sacrifice,
while he devours money.

His allowance
is a good meal.

Got here first.
Why do we have to keep calling you?

Regina!

I'll serve.
The frogs look juicy.

Mmm-hmm. Really plump.

Alfredo.
No, no frogs.

Oh, come on,
don't be a baby.

Ugh! They're really
disgusting. Awful.

Where are your manners,
Alfredo?

Wait till you get
in the army.

You'll wish you had
something as fresh and delicious as that.

Bullshit.

Oh, my brother?
Was that my brother who spoke?

Regina.

Thank you.
Who are those two?

You ask me the same thing
every evening.

It's my sister
and her little girl, Regina.

Oh.

Alfredito,

my dinner.

Go, and come
right back.

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.

(EXCLAIMS)

Can you imagine Ottavio,
with the excuse that he's the oldest,

coming here to act as lord
and master of the place?

He was born with the grace
of true nobility. Well, 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.

Oh! Oh!

(LAUGHING)

(GUN CLICKING)

Ah!

Want a shot?
Oh, yes.

Hug the stock.

Right elbow out.

Mmm-hmm.

Keep both eyes open.

You see that family
of vultures?

Yes.

The old black one
with the beady eyes, hmm?

Yes.

That's your target.

Bang. Bang.

You got her. You got her!

(LAUGHING)

AMELIA: Imagine 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...

ELEONORA: 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. You will go on
calling me uncle. Hmm?

(BERLINGHIERI LAUGHING)

(COUGHING)

Shh.

There they are.
I'll take Regina.

No, Regina's mine.
Regina's mine.

Aim, fire! Bang!

Right between the eyes.

(BERLINGHIERI AND ALFREDO
LAUGHING)

And now for the jackals.

Aim, fire!

Well?

(LAUGHING)

Old fool.

Get back to the table.

Get back to the table,
I said.

And you.
Shame on you.

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.

The place is going
to rack and ruin.

You'll find
that mechanical reaper up your ass, Mr. Modernizer.

You eat your meal.

You go to hell
if you don't eat.

Piss in your pocket.

Where did you hear
talk like that?

From a friend.

I mean-- I mean,
I'm not about to part with a cent,

or give away
the tiniest piece of land.

You can believe me.

Big talk, my dear,
since your father prefers Ottavio.

Look, I only happen to be here
because all of this estate belong to me.

All of it to me!
Else, I be...

You know
how I feel about Ottavio?

Well, I'm envious.
Yes, dear.

(GRUNTING)

To be able to escape
this family.

Oh, just imagine
how it would be to spend all that money in six months.

A millionaire
surrounded with whores.

(LAUGHING)

Oh!

(BERLINGHIERI SINGING
IN ITALIAN)

(CHUCKLING)

An ocean of shit.

Oh, really, now!

What was the point
in hammering at the poor child like that?

I prefer educating my boy
the way I see fit.

Alfredo!

Don't worry. When he's hungry,
he'll come back. I assure you.

(MAN SINGING IN ITALIAN)

These aren't lice.
They're roast chickens, that's what they are.

Keep still, keep still.

(RIGOLETTO HUMMING)

RIGOLETTO: A little fuzz
on top, and the rest bald as a cucumber.

Keep still, keep still.

(EXCLAIMING)

RIGOLETTO:
? Once a hunchback Win a lady hunchback

? Win her with a song

? And a lot of little
hunchbacks came along

? Came along ?

I'll never return
home anymore.

I'm going to live
with Uncle Ottavio.

GIOVANNI: Alfredo!

Alfredo, where are you?

MAN: 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, pumpkin head.

It's late.

Olmo.

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 bottle, I heard him call.

Olmo!

Alfredo.
Olmo.

(PLAYING A NOTE ON OCARINA)

(RESPONDING ON OCARINA)

(PLAYING OCARINA)

BOY: Hey, let's see
you fly, cuckoo birds.

GIRL: (LAUGHING)
No, don't, you're going to make me fall.

Red, but not ripe.
Your daughter?

Your daughter's
marrying Mario, the cripple, in August, eh?

What do you think?
What's the problem?

Go and dance, eh.

(PEOPLE CHATTERING)

BERLINGHIERI: Hey.

Hey, you, driver.

Come back here.
Come back.

Don't leave that horse
standing there untied.

Come back.

You son of a...

(DOGS WHINING)

(PIGS GRUNTING)

I don't have the breath to

give a simple order anymore.

God damn it!

Listen.

Beautiful music.

Young people
dancing, embracing.

Before the day's out,
they'll be fucking.

(PIGS GRUNTING)

(DOGS BARKING)

Anyway, this is no place
for old men.

(OCARINA PLAYING)

Ooh, it's a hot day, eh,
Signor Padrone?

Who are you?

Sir, it's Erma.
I'm 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, she said they're Regina's.

Erma, come.

Erma.

(DOGS BARKING)

Signor Padrone?

(COWS MOOING)

Signor Padrone?

Signor Padrone?

Don't be frightened.
Don't be frightened.

Don't be frightened.

Take it.

You squeezed me,
so I got scared.

Milk her.
But the cows aren't mooing yet.

Can't you see
how full she is?

Milk her.

Squish, squash.

Cows full of milk and shit.

A curse.

A curse we carry with us.

It grows worse with age.

You know what the worst curse
in the world is?

Hailstorms.

Not hailstorms.

That's no curse.

Milk and shit in the brain.

War and disease,

they're no curse, either.

Squish, squash.

Squish, squash.

The curse is
when you can't do it.

Milk and shit.

Can't do it.

It won't get hard.

See?

Put your hand inside.

Hey, Signor Alfredo,
nobody can milk a bull.

(CHUCKLING)

Go.

Go back to the dance.

Can I really go?
Uh-huh.

Go. Go.

Erma.

When the dancing is over,

tell them I'm dead.

Yes, signor.

(COWS MOOING)

Remember,

I'm dead.
Yes.

(OCARINAS PLAYING)

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? Mmm, uh...

Pour the water out
so we can get the nightingale drunk.

Up to the top.

ERMA: The padrone wants us
to keep dancing.

MAN: He's giving us orders
even after he's dead.

(ALL LAUGHING)
Music!

(OCARINAS PLAYING)

(COW MOOING)

Ah, if only you could see
yourself now, Signor Alfredo.

Oh, this is no way
for a padrone to die.

What did you have to
turn the cows loose for, eh?

So I'd have
more work to do?

Maybe...

Maybe the truth is that
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.

(GRUNTING)

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?

(BREATHING HEAVILY)
I, Alfredo Berlinghieri,

being of sound mind and body,

wish to make
my last will and testament.

I hereby declare

my younger son, Giovanni,

as my sole heir.

And I leave
to my elder son, Ottavio...

What did he say?

"To my elder son, Ottavio."

...elder son Ottavio,

I leave an annuity
of 5,000 lira 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...

ALFREDO: Grandpa's dead!

No. No. No, no!

Consisting of...
Grandpa's dead! Grandpa's dead!

...900 acres
of cultivated land,

the family villa,

the 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.

Oh.

And where shall we go?

On a sail ship.

A sail ship?
Yes.

Like this one?

(THUNDER CLAPPING)

(RAIN PATTERING)

Put that silkworm down!

Put it down!
Why should I?

Because you know
they're all in my care.

But I can touch
all these silkworms as much as I please.

You're stupid.

No.

You know, I'm padrone.

But the nests are mine.
Nobody's to interfere.

Why not?

Because I feed them,
understand? Set them down.

Only when I feel like it.

Even if you feed them,
the silkworms are still all mine.

And the fruit 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!

ALFREDO: Burn in hell!
You'll burn in hell!

Burn in hell!

Come back here,
you yellow-belly.

(BOTH GRUNTING)

Oh, Madonna.
Give me a hand before we both get it.

Hmm, I could beat you
with one hand behind me.

I'm afraid you couldn't beat
a frog, not if you tried.

Here, you may have
your stupid silkworm back.

This one's still squirming.
The others have already woven their nests.

It's not a bird, you dunce.

Those are called pupae,
or cocoons if they're already formed.

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 them.
Like my little sister.

She 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?

Skin's all back.

Let's see if yours
is any different.

Looks just like a cocoon.

Pull the skin back
and it'll look just like mine.

It won't go.
Well, pull harder.

Oh, it burns.

Ah, it burns because
you're not courageous, and you're not a socialist.

What's that mean?

You're talking to a socialist
with holes in his pocket.

"A socialist with holes
in his pocket"?

Oh, 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.

(MOCKING)

It 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.

And there's the cathedral,
with the dome.

I recognize it
'cause I've been there with my Uncle Ottavio.

And way on top, there are
all those tall houses.

Those aren't houses.
They're bell towers.

Look at the fire
that's pouring out of that one.

That's a factory, Olmo.

Do they have a view of us,

just like we have
a view of them, would you say?

Papa, you can see
the city from the loft,

and we could see
the buildings and the stables.

Not now. Later.
Ah, Signor Giovanni.

Not since the year
I was married have I seen a hailstorm such as this.

Get all your people
here.

The day laborers, too.

I'll be waiting
in the field.

Hey, Orso!

Orso!

Turo!
Turo!

Penzo!
Penzo!

Oreste!
Oreste!

Amoretto!
Amoretto!

Ganco!
Ganco!

Reccione!
Reccione!

Montanaro!
Montanaro!

LEO: 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.

Ah, half, you say.
Uh-huh.

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...

(COUGHING)

If I were to look after
my interests alone,

I shouldn't need you,
fire the lot of you,

especially all you
day laborers.

And if you here weren't
such an ignorant bunch,

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.

(LAUGHING)

Padrone,
what you're doing is a sin, and we'll remember it.

Your father was good.
He never did us evil.

You are an evil man.
You bring sorrow to us.

That man has lost his ear,
but you have lost your soul.

I leave you
with a curse,

a curse no priest
can ever lift,

to rule
by the new padrone.

It's food. Everyone
into the house.

Were you hurt bad?

No.

An accident, my own fault.

Poor Vittorio.

(FLIES BUZZING)

Papa, there's
no more polenta.

GIRL: Papa,
I'm still hungry.

You will forget about hunger
if you listen to me.

(WATER TRICKLING)

(PLAYING OCARINA)

Water!

Let the water through.

Let the water through.

It's the beginning.

What of?
Workers' leave.

What did they say?

To move on.

Call the strike
for tomorrow.

You're going to go?

Everybody's got to go.

Uh, well,
what's going on here?

We're striking, that's what.
Everybody's agreed.

Striking?

(GRUNTING)

You know
what that means, strike?

I said, do you know
what that means?

That means these hands
won't work anymore, huh.

They won't reap anymore.

Never harvest anymore.

Never, never,
never, never milk.

Never dig anymore.

Everything comes
to a standstill.

And the land... The land dies.

Do you really 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'll 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!

The strike is on!
MAN 1: The strike is on!

MAN 2: Strike!

MAN 3: The strike is on!
MAN 4: The strike is on!

MAN 5: The strike is on!
The strike is on!

MAN 6: The strike is on!
MAN 7: The strike is on!

Strike!
Strike!

You know I like this song.

MAN 1: The strike is on!

Strike!
Strike!

Strike is on!
Strike!

Strike.
Strike!

The strike is on!

Strike!
Strike!

(COWS MOOING)

They should milk
the poor things. They're mooing.

I hear them.
The strike paralyzing the servants, too?

Dear Zolina, 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.

Over 100 cows in the barn
and we have to buy milk.

Those bastards are absolutely
going to ruin me!

It's against the law.

What they're doing out there
is uncivilized.

And I can't beat
any sense into them.

Not even with old Leo.

Sooner or later
they'll have to give in. Mmm.

Meanwhile the cows
are full to bursting,

and the grain rots
in the field.

Why don't you eat?

Listen to this.

"Talks between
the Labor League

"and the Landowner's
Association have been broken off.

"The strike area is patrolled,
day and night, by a cavalry regiment.

"'We will not be coerced,'
said the association's representative..."

Stop that.

"'...by a league
of rabble-rousers.

"'We'll oppose their boycott
by imposing lockouts.

"'We'll counter violence
with violence.'

"The speaker went on to say
that the only fair verdict is the whip,

"to be used on those workers
guilty of sabotage."

OLMO: Grandfather,
what are scabs?

LEO: Uh, scabs
are lousy bastards who work when other men are on strike.

Why don't they want
to strike, too?

Because they're ignorant.

They're even more ignorant
than we are.

(MUSIC PLAYING ON GRAMOPHONE)

Listen, listen.
Hear the music.

(PEOPLE CHATTERING)

MAN: Of course.

Good day, padre.

Hey, look over there.

Look at Signor Giovanni
trotting up and down.

Oh, there's Passetti.
He has to work sitting down.

And over there,
that's Carbonini.

He's the lawyer.

And the girl
with the long braids, that's his daughter.

Are they all scabs?

LEO: No, no. Landowners.

? How funny they look

? Din-dong,
ding-dong, ding... ?

(LAUGHING)

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?

(CHUCKLING)

It took me 73 years
to see a landlord working.

(LAUGHING)

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 like that.

Shh. Grandfather's dozing.

Olmo, does your grandfather
always go to sleep with his eyes open?

He could do anything.
He once even saw Garibaldi.

Better look out.
If they see us together, you're going to 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 CHUCKLING)

ZAMBRONE: Hey, Fasuline,
what's that cloud of dust want from us?

You dumbbell,
that's no cloud.

They're kids
that come from the farm.

What did they
come for?

FASULINE:
They came to Genoa, same as we did.

Oh, for the onion season.

No, ignoramus.

They were invited
by the backwaters in Genoa,

because after
three months of striking, there's nothing left to eat.

And so the Workers' League
chartered a train for Genoa.

Long live the kids
from the farm!

Long live Genoa!
Long live the children!

(ALL CHEERING)

FASULINE: Well, Zambrone,
what do you think?

ZAMBRONE:
If I have to think, Fasuline, I'll need my thinking cap.

Didn't you hear?
The reformists want to give 10 pennies more an hour.

More per hour?
Yeah.

Well, let's see now,
10 pennies more an hour

multiplied by 18 hours
work a day.

Oh! We'll be millionaires
by nightfall.

Go jump in the lake,
bubblehead.

Hey!

That wasn't nice.
Now I get water in the ear.

(LAUGHING)

Listen, Zambrone,
on the other hand, the revolutionaries say

that the land should go
to those who work it, you hear,

and eliminate owners
and slaves alike.

You get the gist, young man?

I got it. I got it.
I read and write, you know.

I'm a scholar
and I practice my pinctuation.

(FASULINE SPUTTERING)
Punctuation!

ZAMBRONE:
Let's check the vacobulary.

(SPUTTERING)
BOY: Vocabulary.

Well, what do you think?

I think it's time.

Time? For what?

The time has come to say,
long live the revolution!

Hurray!

BOTH: Hurray! Hurray!

ALL: Hurray!

Long live the strike!
Hurray for the strike!

Long live the Workers' League.
Long live the strike.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(PEOPLE LAUGHING)

(LAUGHING)

Oh, Zambrone, look who's come.
Look. I see guards, policemen.

ZAMBRONE: Oh, Fasu,
what will we do? What will we ever do?

Listen, we can
give them a lesson, but we need a stick.

Quick, quick.
Grab a stick.

Ready, Zambrone?
Now let's hear what they got to say.

Hey! Who dares
defy the law? Aha!

Caught red-handed.
Drop that stick and come here quick.

Traitor!

POLICEMAN:
All right! That's enough! Out! All of you, out!

Out!

Come on!
Move it out of here!

(POLICEMEN SHOUTING)

(PEOPLE CLAMORING)

(BLOWING WHISTLE)

Hurry, the train. Go.
Go on, children. Hurry.

Ashamed!

You ought to be ashamed!
You even pick on puppets!

You cowards!
Go back to the landowners!

(PEOPLE CLAMORING)

ROSINA: 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!

Long live the great
agricultural strike

June 1908

(CHILDREN CHEERING)

Olmo!

Olmo! Olmo,
where are you?

Olmo, you forgot the bundle
with your clothes and things.

Olmo! Olmo!

(ACCORDION PLAYING)

(TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWING)

(BELL TOLLING)

You thought
I was a coward, Olmo.

I'm not a coward.

BOY: Over there.
I can see my house.

Look, look,
the church steeple.

World War I is ending...

MAN 1: Hey, Aranzini.
ARANZINI: Huh?

I dreamt
of your sweetheart again.

She had tits
dripping with honey.

I had a dream of your sister.
She'll do it with any man.

(MEN LAUGHING)

(MAN 2 GROANING)

MAN: This one's leg
is turning blue.

WOMAN: Call the sergeant!
Call the sergeant! Not the sergeant.

Get a doctor over here.

SOLDIER: Move along!
Move along!

(MEN SINGING IN ITALIAN)

MAN: Look at them, men.

Filthy strikers and traitors,
a disgrace to the country.

Have a good look
at those subversive swine.

Turo! Turo!

Olmo! Olmo!

The bastards got you.

The country is
in the hands of murderers.

SOLDIER: Quiet!
God damn the whole nation!

God damn the King!

Olmo! Olmo!

Olmo!
SOLDIER: Quiet!

(MACHINERY RUMBLING)

It's you.

(PEOPLE CHATTERING)

(HORN BLOWING)

Regina!
Huh?

Go away!

Go away!

The masquerade's over.
Take that costume off. The war has ended.

Yes, Lieutenant.

I said, out, out, out!

And close the door, Regina!

(SPUTTERING)
Close the door!

(HORN BLOWING)

(MAN SHOUTING)

(EXCLAIMING)

Will you look at that?

Vincenzo!

ALMEIDA: Oh, back!

(ALMEIDA EXCLAIMING)

Almeida.

WOMAN: "'Please, Father,'
said the young prince.

"'I can't tell why,
but my heart will not be at rest

"'till I find the three
nectarines of love.

"'I beg you,
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 anymore?

(MUMBLES)

BOY: I think I heard
the story before.

You must be Olmo.

Yes.

And you?

Anita. Anita Forlan.

You're from the north?

Province of Verona.

Verona?

We camped near Verona.

Are you a refugee?
Yes.

I lost all my family.

Go on.

It's heavy, huh?

BOY: Aren't you going
to tell us how it ends?

GIRL: Does he find
the nectarines?

Tell us, Anita.

All right.
Be good.

ANITA: "The boy's plea
was so sincere..."

Attention!

At your order, sir.

At ease.

Hey, soldier,
don't you recognize me?

It's me, you stupid jackass.
It's me.

(CHUCKLING)

(GRUNTING)

(BOTH GRUNTING)

I don't want you.
You're a lowly civilian.

The war is over.
Nobody gives us orders anymore.

Now, I like you better.

Hey.

"Oh, kiss me, my hero."

(PANTING)

There was no one
to take care of the silkworms anymore.

There's nothing up here
but rats now.

Like in the trenches.

Hey, remember when
no one believed you could see the city up here?

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, his mother.

Next morning,
in the barracks bed, they found him dead.

They found him dead.

(SPEAKING ITALIAN)

No, Olmo, no!

Our part in it
is finished. Done.

Don't we share half
and half anymore?

Try to understand, Olmo.

You've been away,
and there are a lot of new things you don't know.

I know we always get
half the harvest.

Not this year, though.

They rented new machines
and hired extra labor.

(GRUNTS)

This is no time...
Let go.

Long live our hero.

Even sharing
half and half is robbery since we do all of 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.

ALFREDO: Papa,
what's wrong with you?

Papa, you have no right
to say something like 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.

Well, you know,
I wanted to go. You didn't want me to go.

(CHUCKLES)
Oh, of course.

Well, what a handsome saber
you have.

Yes, this is a handsome saber.
Very handsome.

And it cuts well!
It cuts very well!

Watch, Papa! Watch!

Bravo, Lieutenant.

So, that is what
you're good at?

At your age, I used to get up
at 4:00 in the morning to check the stable.

Everyone here remembers that.

And at threshing time,
I was the first to be up

and the last
to go to bed.

Isn't that so?
Can anybody deny that?

Go ahead! 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.

GIOVANNI:
I sacrifice for this farm.

Sacrifice.

There aren't
any ideals anymore. No respectability.

Devotion to the church,
love for the land,

loyalty to the family,
and credit in the bank.

Come on, Uncle.
You're getting upset. Don't.

And respect.

Respect! Respect!
Respect!

MAN: What the padrone meant

was 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!

Hey!
No, wait.

Why would you do
a thing like that?

The army teach you nothing?

Who's this?
This is-- This is Attila Mellanchini.

My father's 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.

(MACHINE RUMBLING)

(GRUNTING)

Olmo. Olmo.

Olmo.

Did you hear, women,
what our padrone had to say?

It's our men's fault

because they got themselves
killed in the war.

And the fault
of the day laborers

because they work
like beasts all day

and then expect
to be paid for it.

It's all our fault that
our families go hungry,

and that half of us end up
sick with goiter trouble,

and it's always our fault
when so many of our children are born dead.

Come, follow me, women.

The master should be
really 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 little 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.

(WOMEN CLAMORING)

Oh!

Very funny. All right.

(IMITATING ROOSTER CROWING)

What's the matter?
Why are you leaving?

To find another place
to work and die.

Who put you out?

Ah, who can put you out?
Landowners.

Even though our contract
hasn't run out,

they're giving us
the boot.

We formed
the Workers' League.

They're making us
pay the price.

And if you saw how
our padrone took advantage. It was a shame.

We have to put up
with the padrone fooling with our women.

You say we'll find work
near Mantua?

Let's go. No sense
in fighting, Oreste.

Not when
you haven't a chance.

But our contract
hasn't run out yet.

If they don't mean
to pay us for our work,

then still I'll stay
on this soil.

By Christ!

MAN: Oreste!

Oreste!

Oreste!

Run away, Oreste!

The demons are coming
on horseback

to carry you off!

Run away, Oreste!

Not even the Pope,
not even Jesus, the Lord,

is going to make me
budge my ass!

Because I gave 40 years
of my life to this valley.

Enough of your kind!

Lousy bastards,

you're afraid 'cause you know
that you're getting away with murder.

New laws are what we need,
and a new government,

so injustice
comes to an end.

Laws that are going
to get rid of all these delinquents.

Oreste!
Laws!

GIRL: Papa, stop!

Good laws that will
give us all a voice...

You're out
of your mind! Oreste!

...so we are heard.
Because we know how things stand.

Because those
who till the soil are more intelligent

than those
with nothing to do.

The poor peasants
can't go on like this.

Enough, Oreste!
Come back! You want to strip us.

You want to bleed us.
Well, I'll go naked to Rome.

They'll here me talk.
I'll go in my underwear.

You Judas bastards.
Oreste, stop! Stop!

Let me go!
No!

Oh, no!
Let me go! Let me go!

No! Let me go!

WOMAN:
Look what you've done, you cowards!

ORESTE: Go to work!
Bend your backs!

Go to work! You know
what that means?

You miserable,
lowly sons of bitches!

(GUNS FIRING)

(HORSES NEIGHING)

About time
they arrived.

They'll get those jackasses
to lift their hooves.

(MOANING)

You make me come.
Oh, you make me come.

You make me come.

You can't come.

Come on, an elephant
couldn't make you come.

(SHOUTING)
All I need is a real man!

In the name of the law,
disperse.

Where will my family
sleep tonight?

By the roadside?

They will sleep in a jail
if you don't disperse.

Put the landowners in jail
for not respecting their contract.

In the name of the...
Law! Law! What law?

Contract's our law,

and their contract
still has one year to go.

The padrone want to do them
out of a whole year's work!

The padrone are thieves!

They want us out of the way
because we're socialists.

OLMO: We want our rights.
Then what are you waiting for?

Women, get down, you hear me?
All of you. We need everybody.

Get down, all of you.
Don't give up now. Don't give up, women.

ORESTE: They don't
respect the law.

The padrone make the law
and break the law!

A law for thieves
and murderers!

Don't go away!
Stop! Don't be afraid!

Stop! Get down!
We can't let them pass!

Come with us tonight!

Stop! Wait!

They're taking Oreste away!
Stick up for your rights!

You've got to help him!

Get down!
ANITA: Get down!

Hurry! Hurry!
Get down, get down!

OFFICER:
Left turn. Forward.

Close formation!
Double up column!

Aranzini.

Now the royal guards
can take care of providing

a nice harvest holiday
for them.

Unsheathe sabers!

Let's get some sticks!
Come on, we have to fight them!

Let's go! Let's go!

(ALL CLAMORING)

Now is the time.
We'll show them.

(WOMEN SINGING IN ITALIAN)

You'll have to kill us all!

You won't pass here!

(OLMO WHISTLING)

(MEN WHISTLING)

(WOMEN SINGING IN ITALIAN)

Go, men, go on!
Teach them a lesson!

Tell them to go find
their own property to huddle on!

The property is inviolable!

Halt! Squad, halt!

OFFICER: Go on back!
Move out!

Move out!

(ALL SINGING)

Ha! Congratulations.

Afraid of peasants?

You're to protect us?
What a joke!

Religious cowards!
You're a disgrace!

I'll drive you off myself!
Stop it.

Criminals! Bolsheviks!
What are you doing?

What are you doing, you fool?
You're starting a one-man war.

(PEASANTS CONTINUE SINGING)

Damn you!

Go!

(GRUNTS)

REGINA: Go on. Go on.

You look fine.
They must see you. No, I'm not dressed right.

It's not the way to start.
They must get to know you.

Your time has come.
This is your chance. Go on.

PIOPPI: 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 they're giving him
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
at Rivarolo, let me tell you.

They made only one martyr,
that was their mistake.

(MAN CHUCKLING)

MAN:
It's the same with my dog. If you hit him once, nothing.

Hit him again, still nothing.
On the 10th crack, though,

he does learn
to obey with his tail between his legs.

May I speak, please?

Here, in church,

they baptized us,

they confirmed us.

Here in church,
we were married.

And one day,

they will carry us in

through that door

feet first.

(LAUGHING)

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?

Huh?

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?

Am I right or not?

Hey, Pioppi?

Talk, nothing but talk.

I know what has to be done.
Get rid of them all.

GIOVANNI:
But the new fascist movement doesn't want vengeance.

We want order first.

We are the new crusaders.

And we must instill courage
in our youth.

They're waiting
for a sign from us.

So let us give them
this sign.

(SOFTLY) Go on. Go on.

We've already
saved the country once.

We answered the call
in the trenches.

And now we're here.

MAN: It's only right.

When you start
a new enterprise, you need a little capital.

Total solidarity, eh?

This is what Italy needs
to get the ball rolling.

Not even a bastard
would've done this.

(HORN HONKING)

They work hard
in the city, too, huh?

Imagine the look
on my father's face if he knew we were here together.

(EXCLAIMING)

Your father, "Respect!
Respect! Respect!"

Your father is just a thief
who longs for respect, like all masters.

Really?
Uh-huh.

Wait till I become the master,
because I'll be twice as hard on you.

And on that day,
I'll kill you.

(GRUNTING)

(LAUGHING)

No, seriously,
when you see my uncle, you'll really like him.

He's much nicer
than my father.

(OCARINA PLAYING)
He's totally different. He's more like us.

Hear that music? I know it.

Montanaro! Dalco, Olmo.

Don't you remember me?

(GROANS)
Oh, your foot. I'm sorry.

Aren't you Olmo,
the bastard child? Really?

Remember all the polenta
we used to eat?

Always polenta.
ALFREDO: Olmo! Olmo!

Don't go.
We'll talk later.

We'll talk later. Don't go.

Come on. Let's give this
lovely young lady a hand.

Oh, uh, you don't
have to bother.

Alfredo,
it's Montanaro.

The one who cut his ear.
He's right there. See?

(PEOPLE CHATTERING)

(MAN SINGING IN ITALIAN)

Signorina, I bet
you'd never guess we're twins.

Oh, you're lying.
You're making fun of me.

ALFREDO:
Oh, no, that's the truth. We share everything.

What's his is mine,
and what's mine is mine.

Yeah, that's about it.

Good morning,
signora.

WOMAN: Where are you going,
Nicoletta?

NICOLETTA: I'm going down.

ALFREDO:
Service with a smile. WOMAN: Thank you.

Where, signorina?
On the table.

Ah! Will you look at that?

It's been ages since I've had
homemade liqueur.

You want some?
Oh, yes, I would indeed,

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.

Hmm?

You should have a drink, too.

I better not.
It's bad for me.

Then don't waste time.
Get undressed.

Huh?
Huh.

(WHISPERING) You see?
I told you she was a whore.

Didn't I?

The girl is poor,
but that doesn't mean she's a slut. Does it?

If she wasn't a whore,
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, no, you go.
Go ahead. I insist.

No, no. You paid.
You have the right.

I'm cold.
I'm freezing.

You're older than I am.

(CHUCKLING)

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?

Your friend...

Maybe you can do
something better.

Don't you have
a girlfriend?

(MOCKING)

What's so funny?

I was just thinking
about Anita.

Leave Anita out of this.
Is she your girl?

Come on.
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.

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?

Hmm?

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.

(SHUDDERING)
I'm ashamed.

Please.

You must go away.

Go--Go away.

(CHOKING)

Go away now.

(SOBBING)

Please! Go away!

(MOANING)

Oh! Oh, no!
Oh, God! Oh, God!

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.

Don't.

We didn't do anything.

Let her go.

Stupid.

She knows
she must never drink.

Shall I get a doctor?

It wouldn't do any good.

She'll stop.
Have to have patience, that's all.

Alfredo.

Uncle Ottavio?

It's me, Alfredo.

Anybody home?

Hello?

Who is it?

I'm really very sorry.
I didn't mean to disturb you.

Ottavio is not here.

Ah, well, perhaps
I'll come back later.

Do you have
a cigarette? Yes.

Oh, I don't smoke.

How nice.
What did you come for?

Who are you?

My name is Ada,
and I want a cigarette.

I'm Alfredo,
and I want my uncle.

(GASPS)

Have a cigar?

Oh! My savior.

(CHUCKLING)
For so little.

Good afternoon, Uncle.

Well, what are you
doing here?

Uh... 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.

There. Set it down there.

ADA: How did the auction go?

Ah, all morning a bad sale.

I didn't know that
the search for pleasure could be so tiring.

Oh, 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.

What do you think
the man is doing?

ADA: He's sleeping.

No, he's dead.

He's asleep,
I tell you.

He's dead.

Look at the hand.

The hand may be dead
but he's alive.

Guess what?
Hmm.

I've fallen in love.

Again?

But this time
it's serious.

Oh...

Let's see if I can guess.

Blanchi?

Bugatti.
Mmm.

Mmm.

The Roadster?
No, Torpedo.

Mmm.

But it's an impossible love.
It's too expensive.

Torpedo.
Oh, I was just thinking of buying one tomorrow.

Can you drive?
Yes.

I mean, no,
but it's not difficult.

(CHUCKLING)

This nephew of yours
is really a bit of a liar.

(OTTAVIO LAUGHING)

Bravo. Bravo.

Make that tight,
stingy brother of mine spend some of his money.

(CHUCKLES)

How's your mother?

She still paints

endless ancestral landscapes.

Mmm.

My lost countryside.

Ottavio, lend me the car.

If you're ready,
I'll give you a lift home.

I'm ready. Let's go.

"Vroom, roar

"First, second and third gears

"Dry my tears
and leave me cold

"Bureaucratic, gray and old"

You like it?

Uh...

Yes. It's, uh...
Yes, 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."

Uh, yes,
it has a certain, uh...

I like it. It's good.
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 already too many.

And you just throw them
away like that?

(MEN CHEERING)

Why don't those pigs
let me pass? Bastards!

(SCATTING)

ADA: I saw you.

(MEN LAUGHING)

I want to pass.

Come on!

What did he say?
Go ahead. Pass them.

(MAN SINGING)

Now, come on.
They're letting us through.

Go ahead.

(MEN CHEERING)

Are they friends of yours?
They look like murderers.

No, no, they're not
friends of mine.

I know that whenever
they go out like that, there's trouble in the making.

They revolt me.

I don't want to see.
I don't want to see anymore.

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! I'm blind!
No.

Blind!
No.

Blind!
No.

(SHUSHING)

OLD MAN: "Gives

"youth

"to mankind."

ANITA: Pietro, read aloud
what you've written there.

"Communism gives
youth to mankind."

And now Olmo will explain
what that means.

(LAUGHING)
OLMO: Well, um...

What does it mean?

It means...

Schoolmistress?
Comrade.

Comrade schoolmistress,

I am close to 71,
and being a communist,

I find I still do for a woman
more than youngsters do.

You big bull,
we don't come here to be braggarts.

We come here to learn.

(LAUGHING)

School's over for today.

Go on, we'll keep an eye
on the community house. Don't worry.

And we studied
this whole bottle.

(OLD MAN EXCLAIMING)

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.

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 Risotti barn, that's why.

(OLD MEN COUNTING)

You're wasting your time.

Giving lessons
to four old men, what good does it do?

I wanted to dance, too,
but I had to wait for you! No?

Dancing with that belly?

Anita. Anita. Anita.

No!

(GRUNTING)

Anita!

I feel better now.

Yeah, I feel
better, too.

(LAUGHING)

(LAUGHING)

Help.

Eight. Six.
Seven. Two.

One. Eight. Nine.
Three. Seven. Six.

Nine. Seven.
Three. Five.

Eight. Eight.
Six. Five.

What do you have
inside that head?

What do you have?

(MOANING)

You have another woman.
No.

No?
No, no. No.

No.

Come on,
let's go dancing.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

ALFREDO:
Have you ever danced in a barn before?

ADA: No,
it's the first time.

Wait. Wait here.
I'll go get something to drink.

Wait!

Two glasses.
Thank you. I'll pay later.

Certainly.

ADA: Alfredo!

Alfredo, where are you?

Alfredo!

Don't leave me alone!

Oh!

Alfredo.

MAN: What's wrong with her?

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 PLAYING)

Faster. Faster.

Faster! How wonderful!

Make me fly.

And to think she has such
beautiful eyes, huh?

Mmm, oh, yes.
Very beautiful.

(MUSIC STOPS)

(PEOPLE CHATTERING)

Alfredo, give me a kiss.

WOMAN: Hey,
look at the blind girl.

Would you like
a drink?

No, no. I think
you need a drink. I know I need a drink,

and therefore
if I need a drink, I know that you need a drink,

and, therefore,
we should both have a drink.

All right?
Yeah.

Blind, eh?
You're not Alfredo.

Who are you?

How awful!
You have no pity for a blind girl.

Monster!

(MUSIC PLAYING)

Oh!

Oh, Alfredo.
Come on, stop this game.

WOMAN: Pretty, isn't it?

ADA: Alfredo, how could you
do that to me?

You mustn't ever
leave me alone again.

Oh, stop it.

You're outrageous.

I'm an animal de luxe.

This is my, uh,
best friend, Olmo.

This is Anita. This is...

Anita, this is Ada.
This is Anita. This is Ada.

WOMAN 1: It's soft.
WOMAN 2: Imagine if we had one like this.

It's warm.
WOMAN 3: It's warm. Yes.

Oh, it feels good. Oh, yes.

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)

A 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?

Uh...

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--I want everyone
to stay still. Stay still.

Give me your hands.
Everyone give me their hands.

Put your hands here.
Here, here.

Hey, look.

It's horrible.

Oh!

ADA: I'm sorry.

I apologize to all of you.

It was just--just
a stupid joke.

It was very silly of me,
I know.

Nothing to
worry about.

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 all a joke!

She's not drunk.
I can see like you...

She's fantastic.
...and you!

She smokes, she drives,
she writes poetry.

She's-- She's very modern,
something you don't understand.

OLMO: Hey!

Something
you don't understand.

You're a country bumpkin.

MAN: Help! Help!
Wait.

Wait! I want to tell you
something. Wait!

Don't fall.

MAN: Help! Everybody!
Hurry!

And she's wild berries.

I'll kill them all.

(CHILDREN CHATTERING)

(TRUMPETS BLOWING)

Hey. Hey.

Hey.

Who are you?

You don't know me.

What the hell do you want?

(TRUMPETS BLOWING)

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.

I'm an orphan.

Three years ago,
my parents had the bright idea

of organizing
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 1: The community house
is on fire!

MAN 2: The community house
is burning to the ground!

(PEOPLE CLAMORING)

The community house
is on fire!

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!

No.

(BELL CLANGING)

Come here.

(SCREAMING)

(BOTH MOANING)

Kiss me. Kiss me.

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 Pecurare!

Seventy-eight years old!

Wake up!

Farm laborer!

Wake up!

Exploited
by the landowners!

Murdered by the fascists!

Wake up!

Vircimo Bonazza,
age 74,

(WOMEN SOBBING)
day laborer from the age of seven.

Exploited by the landowners!

Murdered by the fascists!
Murdered by the fascists!

Wake up!

Jofren Zuelli, age 72.

Wake up!

Farm laborer
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!

OLMO: Wake up!

ANITA: Wake up!

Wake up!

(SOBBING) Wake up!

Look, there's no one!

(CRYING)

It's over. It's all over.

It's the end.
No.

It's the end.
No.

No, no!

We're strong!

We're many!

We're united!

They'll kill us all.
They'll kill us all.

No, no, no.

No.

(BAND PLAYING)

Listen.

They're coming.

They're coming.

Yes. They're coming.

They're here. Look, Anita.

I'm not well.

Could it be the baby?

What a child you are.

There's time.

It's finished.

Hey, did you see?

MAN 1: A crowd like that.

No one will believe
that all those people are relatives.

I don't believe it.
They were over 1,000 of them, Barone.

Over 1,000,
at least.

They're saying
it was no accident.

It was deliberately set.

(MAN WHISTLING)

(MEN LAUGHING)

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 a man
has to fear is fear itself.

Shall we take some tucks?

They give the shirt
a greater elegance.

ATTILA: I don't want it
to look elegant. I want it to look strong.

This isn't a shirt,
it's a symbol.

You're not a tailor.
You're making a flag for the people.

Does it look good, Barone?

Uh-huh, more manly.

More manly, yes,
but not pretty. Not pretty. More manly.

Well, good.
All of you get one. You all get one.

You all look like this.
Give the people something to follow.

Yeah. Give me that pussycat.

(CAT PURRING)
Listen.

Communists are smart.

They play on
your human feelings.

They're like this
little pussycat.

It plays on
your human feelings. Huh?

Communism is a disease.

It can destroy the world.
Come outside.

If this little pussycat
has got communism,

(CAT MEOWING)
you can't think of this little pussycat.

You got to think
of all the other pussycats in the world

and you got to protect them.

You got to protect
all those pussycats.

You got to look
at that pussycat and you've got to say,

"That's not a pussycat,
that's a communist."

And you've got
to destroy it!

(CAT YOWLING)

(SINGING IN ITALIAN)

(ALL SINGING)

(MEN CHEERING)

Where do we make
the communists go?

ALL: Jail!

Where do we make
the Workers' League go?

ALL: Jail to all!

End Act One