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1 [Ethereal melody; Soothing, bell-like percussion]

[Delicate violin plucking]

[Sustained, warm violin tone joins]

[Music fades]

[Low whoosh, cheerful piano notes]

[Air plane engine rumbles]

[Dissonant, high-pitched note]

[Insects chirp; Light bulb buzzes]

[Dog barks]

[Pencil scribbles on paper]

[Multitude cheers]

[Birdsong]

Italian constitution Art. 87

"The President of the Republic is the head of State

"and represents the national unity."

[Aircraft engines roar]

"He may send messages to the Houses."

"He calls the elections of the new Houses and sets their first meeting."

"He authorizes the submission to the Houses of the Government bills."

- "He promulgates the laws - [Intriguing, mid-tempo electronic beats]

"and issues law decrees and regulations."

"He calls for popular referendums

"in cases provided for by the Constitution."

[Aircraft roar; Music intensifies]

"He appoints State officials in cases provided for by the law."

"He accredits and receives diplomats,

"ratifies international treaties,

"following authorization by the Houses when required."

"He commands the Armed Forces,

"presides over the Supreme Council of Defense set forth by law,

"declares a state of war decided by the Houses."

"He presides over the High Council of the Judiciary."

[Electronic textures build progressively]

"He confers the honorifics of the Republic."

"He may grant pardons and commute punishments."

[Music continues]

- [Music halts] - [Man] Aurora.

Aurora,

I miss you.

[Woman] President De Santis you've been smoking.

No.

You deny the evidence.

In law, evidence isn't evident.

I know, it's written in "De Santis".

[De Santis chuckles]

Dad, must I remind you you have only one lung?

No, since I only had two.

What are you up to?

[Woman] Reviewing some sub-sections of the bill you have to sign.

- What bill? - You know perfectly well.

Have you heard from your brother Riccardo?

He's happy he moved to Montreal, he says it's beautiful.

You know him, he finds everything beautiful.

Tomorrow we go into the White Semester.

Six months more and you go back home.

Now, even if I wanted to, I couldn't dissolve the Houses.

[Woman] Would you dissolve them?

No, there's no need any more.

Problem solved. Everything is the same as before.

Right?

No.

[Birdsong]

[Delicate, melancholic violin music]

Still in the office, General?

When I don't work, President,

I get bored.

So do I.

In six months you'll be back home.

But we can still declare a war, right?

Don't tempt me.

My grandfather was in the Alpini troops of Valpolicella.

A great section, now led by a man of merit.

We call him the Barrel,

because of his size.

Do you have a nickname too, General?

I'm the Night-Mare.

[President] Why?

Because of my name:

Lanfranco Mare.

And me?

Do I have a nickname?

No one would dare.

What happened to the proverbial courage of the Alpini?

Some call you

Reinforced Concrete.

- It's a flattering nickname. - You think so?

I'm not sure.

[Secretary] At 5pm,

weekly meeting with the Prime Minister.

At 7pm, dinner with your friend, Coco Valori.

The President of Portugal is expected on the 21st.

Protocol wants to know if you like this suggested menu.

"Eggplant medallions. Sole meunière..."

Are we joking?

- Quinoa and steamed fish. - [Secretary] Excellent.

The editor of Vogue would like a statement on fashion.

[Clock ticks]

Fashion is a prominent industrial sector in Italy...

No, Dad.

- In recent years... - [Secretary] Forgive me, President.

Vogue doesn't want a formal statement on the fashion industry.

They want your opinion

on what you like to wear when you're not in your suit.

The suggested title is The Elegance of the President .

My wife was elegant.

[Secretary] Excellent.

I'll politely decline the request.

Anything else?

The connection with Engineer Giordano is still pending.

He's in orbit in the space station.

- How long has he been in orbit? - A year.

- How long until he comes back? - Six months.

We have plenty of time until my term ends.

[Sirens blare faintly in the distance]

Hence,

at this point, I'd say: excellent.

And the opposition?

As always, pretending to be angry.

So, after years of tribulations, everything's going well,

the country is secure thanks to you.

And I've become irrelevant,

which is, what it is.

[Man] I wouldn't say irrelevant,

you still have to sign the bill on the right to euthanasia.

Talking of which, the Pope wants to see me.

[Man] It would be odd if he didn't.

Will you sign it?

My legal advisers are honing some crucial points.

Will six months be enough?

President, it's a good law.

Stay to dinner with my daughter and I.

An old school friend of mine will be there too,

Coco Valori, she's fun.

- With great pleasure. - A light dinner.

My daughter is trying to keep me alive by turning me into an ascetic.

[Man chuckles]

I struggled so much on your manual, President.

2,046 pages, we students used to call it "Himalaya, K3."

- But K3 doesn't exist. - Exactly, it was impossible to scale it.

Well, that renders the idea.

That's what criminal law is,

- scaling the impossible. - MANUAL OF CRIMINAL LAW

If I may ask, what do you mean by impossible?

To establish the truth.

Are you done fiddling around with your boring small-minded Italy?

See? Coco is super fun.

True, only assholes are fun. And I'm both.

You look rejuvenated!

Dori was right to cut out your smoking and pasta.

- Giulio Malerba. - Coco Valori, parody of an art critic.

Not at all, you're an institution.

Then tell me why my oldest friend, who's now Head of State,

hasn't given me a museum to direct?

It doesn't fall within my purview,

sanctioned by Article 87 of the Constitution.

[Coco] I was joking. I'd burn down all museums.

Prime Minister, I've known this monolith for 56 years.

Coco, let's not talk about me,

I'm the most boring subject I know.

I adore him, he always tells the truth.

Desk mates from day one in high school.

He owes me everything.

I introduced him to Aurora, my best friend.

Without me he'd never have had the courage to court her.

Aurora was a beauty,

he was an acquired taste, to be kind.

Thanks to me, the marvelous Dori arrived.

- Have you met Riccardo? - No, I haven't had the pleasure.

- [Coco] He lives in Canada. - What does he do?

- He composes classical music. - [Coco] Nonsense!

He writes songs for American pop stars and earns more than all of us.

When is the contemporary dance festival starting?

I'll let you know.

Are you happy that in six months you'll leave this museum

and go home amid your law books?

- I confess I am happy. - He doesn't speak, he confesses.

He's a great Catholic and I'm a great atheist.

That's why we get on, right?

Ugo Romani, your Minister of Justice,

was in our class too, did you know?

Yes, because Romani has a passion for old class photos.

- He collects them. - So much for passion.

Ugo's another long-time friend.

But he was repeating the year. He's one year older.

Handsome but dumb.

Him becoming a minister

is an enigma like the Shroud of Turin.

- But is he competent? - Very.

[Coco] I don't trust you.

You politicians have a hysterical relationship with the truth.

- I'm a politician too. - No, you're a jurist.

- As kids... - Enough with prehistory.

Rather, what's the latest in your scintillating art world?

It's a morgue, in comparison this is like Ibiza.

Everyone claiming they're artists

but they're not worth De Chirico's pinkie.

I was a protégée of the maestro's.

He liked me a lot physically too, I was 21...

For years, she's been stoking the legend she was De Chirico's lover.

Coco, stop it, this is not the place.

This is precisely the place. It's covered by state secret.

Sooner or later state secrets become public domain.

Please, let me be public domain! I can't wait!

[Giulio chuckles]

What are you doing for your birthday?

Nothing.

Full of surprises as usual!

The diet's one thing, but you're starving him to death.

I'm off, I have a dinner with some Hungarian dealers.

- [President] Another dinner? - This wasn't dinner, but a suggestion.

- Prime Minister, it was a pleasure. - [Giulio] Pleasure was mine.

- Darling, I'll call you tomorrow. - I'll see you out.

- How did you find him? - Your father's indestructible.

- I need a gift for his birthday. - For Reinforced Concrete: a pickaxe.

- What's worrying you? - He keeps everything inside.

- You're the same. - In what way?

You're stiff, you don't know how to relax.

Follow my example,

I'm light despite an outrageous 22 kilos of excess weight.

But he's oppressed by the weight of responsibility.

And you?

[Hip-hop music plays in the distance]

- Do you have something to say? - Just goodnight.

Do you like Guè's rap?

It's idiotic!

I detest the refrains of modern music.

[Music halts]

Malerba kissing her hand,

didn't he strike you as unctuous?

Did you know my nickname is Reinforced Concrete?

[Dori] Everyone knows.

Why didn't you ever tell me?

I didn't want to stir up your subconscious.

[Pen scribbles on paper]

Good call.

PETITIONS FOR PARDONS

- Don't tell me... - But I do tell you.

Two petitions for pardons worth examining.

Lately we've neglected this side of things.

The Minister of Justice is promoting them.

My office and I unanimously agree on the Arpa case.

The Rocca case is more complex. Our opinion is negative.

[President] Would you handle it?

You have Ms Gallo and a team of jurists, why me?

Dorotea, you are the jurist your father holds in the highest regard.

- After him. - [Ms Gallo] It goes without saying.

[Officer] Honor to the President of the Portuguese Republic.

[President] Colonel,

do I look that old too?

No, President.

Do you believe me?

- [President] I always believe you. - [Officer shouts indistinct order]

But lately, when I pray

- I fall asleep. - [Faint fanfare]

I crash. For a few minutes.

And I never dream.

Would you like to dream?

Very much.

I'd like you to find out something for me.

[Colonel] What?

The title of a song.

[Thunder rumbles]

[Heavy rain pours]

[Sombre, atmospheric music]

[Rapid drums and strident screeches join]

[Thunder roars]

[Music turns muffled; Thunders continue]

[Wind howls]

[Music intensifies]

[Electronic beats join, rhythm accelerates]

[Music halts]

[Faint strident screech]

[Faint strident screech]

[Faint strident screech]

[President] I never got over it, Aurora.

I never got over your passing.

It's been eight years now.

You left me a widower, alone, old,

useless and worn out.

- And life, without you, - [Delicate, melancholic music]

no longer excites me.

But let's not talk about me.

You know,

I'm the most boring subject I know.

[Birds squawk]

Let's talk about you.

I was just a kid.

[Music continues, faintly]

My family had just moved from the provinces of Naples.

I saw you from our farmhouse and I was struck by a precise thought:

she's immortal.

For a moment your feet didn't touch the ground,

they were suspended, as if in zero gravity.

Unforgettable.

Aurora, when I remember,

I die.

[Music continues]

[Sorrowful, delicate piano notes join]

[Music fades]

[Hip-hop music plays] ♪ And so shh Shh, if you don't get shit

♪ On the 39th floor Smoking a hookah

♪ I got the flow The temperature rises

♪ And now all these chicks are cryin'

♪ Lean out window O my dealer

♪ Dreamin' of a Bentley Ridin' in six in a Clio

♪ Dreamin' of dough And a heart donor

♪ Snooty babes Give 'em a hard-on

♪ Now I'm livin' my dream I expect no respect

♪ You're serious, you reflect... ♪

[Hip-hop ends, resonates]

[President] Remember when I dedicated that little poem to you?

- It was called Autumns. - [Melancholic music resumes]

You didn't like it. You were right.

I've never been much of a poet.

But you? What were you?

A disarming smile,

and then what else?

A lie.

Yes.

That lie!

[He breathes shakily]

How much did that shadow loom over our life back then?

I know you'd say, "It was so long ago, stop it.

"We loved each other."

Then why hasn't time healed me, Aurora?

Why, since that day, 40 years ago,

have I never moved on?

I'm Reinforced Concrete.

Now I understand the secret origin of my nickname.

[High-pitched, resonating beep; Music concludes]

[Horse snorts]

How is he?

He's recovering quickly.

Elvis is indestructible.

Colonel,

how did you find that song title so quickly?

A cuirassier has to know how to do it all,

even be a secret agent.

[Dori] What's wrong?

- When I pray, I doze off. - Then, don't pray.

This morning at Mass the priest spoke about life after death.

I bet he said life doesn't belong to us.

[President, chuckling] Yes, in passing.

I think that when I'm dead,

I'll still be with you,

close to you and your brother, but without ever interfering.

How's that different from now that you're alive?

Why are you so bitter?

Because you never interfere, you always play it safe,

that's how you faced six government crises.

Maybe.

The old Christian Democrat culture hangs over me.

But the Christian Democrats, at crucial times, knew how to decide.

They did, but do you?

[President] What do you want to ask me?

We've been working on the euthanasia bill for three months.

Me, Ms Gallo, the entire legal team, day and night.

Filing down, cutting, correcting.

All this to please you.

But it's useless, because you'll never sign that bill.

Signing that bill requires courage that you don't have.

- No, it's not like that. - Then what is it like?

You're reducing the matter to a conflict between courage and fear.

- But that isn't the point. - And what is?

If I don't sign, I'm a torturer,

if I do sign, I'm a murderer.

That is the point.

Actually, that is the dilemma.

You know the theory of the slippery slope, right?

Very well. The Holocaust is the final result

of an innocuous and generous initial intention:

to ease the suffering of those who are ill.

If the legislator yields on A, in time they'll yield up to N.

First, it can't be proved and besides it won't happen.

[President] Why?

Because thanks to you, we're better than you.

It just comes down to one question.

- There are many questions. - No, just one.

Who owns our days?

[Grandfather clock ticks]

[Tense, melancholic music]

[Birdsong]

[Lighter clicks]

Who owns our days?

[Music continues]

[Music fades]

[Wind howls]

[Howling stops; Birds call]

Thank you, Sister.

Now tell me something.

In spite of all these clouds, it's a beautiful day.

Women's smiles are changing the world.

Isn't that so?

I find you very optimistic, Holy Father.

My friend, my friend.

You are my friend.

My dear friend.

You wish to ask me something, don't you?

- I can tell. - Yes, I do.

Go ahead, you can ask anything of a friend.

I feel lonely, Your Holiness.

You are elderly,

aches and pains are frequent,

your political and social function is running out,

the horizon is approaching,

your children's heads and hearts are elsewhere,

your wife passed away.

The past is a burden.

The future?

A void.

You are certainly not lacking in sincerity.

Lies are for country priests,

I am the Pope.

Listen carefully.

Are you afflicted with loneliness

or are you simply weighed down by the length of life?

Can you still remember what it means to feel light?

Have you ever been light?

Light?

- I don't know... - [In French] Et voilà.

[In Italian] No one knows.

No one.

God suggests questions and carefully avoids giving answers.

He keeps us alive with mystery.

It is not our task to provide answers.

It is not the task of science,

not even of the science of law,

of which you are an illustrious representative.

This is why

I am sure that you will not sign that law of death.

Right?

Right, my friend?

I, you...

No one can answer.

[He chuckles]

[Delicate electronic beats]

[Indistinct conversation in the background]

[Music turns tense, intriguing]

- Happy birthday, Mariano. - Thank you, Ugo.

[Music continues, faintly]

It's the original. Second year of classical high school.

I kept a copy for myself.

- So many memories. - Very thoughtful of you.

[Ugo] You've lost weight.

When I want to let loose, Dorotea gives me herbal tea.

How is she?

Combative, as usual.

She accuses me of lacking the courage to sign the euthanasia bill.

A thorny and sensitive issue, I wouldn't like to be in your shoes.

It seems immobility is a historic trait of mine.

Did you know my nickname is Reinforced Concrete?

They can call you whatever they like,

but you have been a great President of the Republic.

The sixth government crisis triggered by that irresponsible fool.

You've done an incredible job, Mariano, always sticking to the Constitution.

Are you relieved it's about to end?

Yes, I can't wait to go home.

And to regain your freedom.

- At our age, freedom's not good for much. - [Music concludes]

Besides, my freedom was called Aurora.

Do you miss her?

[He sighs]

[Ugo] I miss her too.

[Ugo sighs]

Ask me.

Very well.

When your term ends,

if my name were to come up

as a candidate for president, would you support me?

What a question! We've known each other forever!

- Is that why you came? - Not only.

There's another matter, more delicate.

I want to share it with you right away,

to dispel any misunderstandings.

I don't want you to think I'm taking advantage of our friendship.

I sent you two petitions for pardons,

one regarding Isa Rocca,

45 years old, first-degree murder.

She's served nine years.

Isa Rocca...

is my current partner's niece.

I know, there's a conflict of interest.

To be honest, I'm tired,

I'll entrust the examination of the petitions to Dorotea,

as a jurist she's much sharper than me now.

[President sighs; Tense piano notes]

Wasn't I supposed to have quinoa tonight?

We'll make an exception for your birthday.

[He chuckles, surprised; Music fades]

- Have you ever thought of remarrying? - [President] Never.

- Why? Mom would be happy. - I don't think so.

- [Dori] She told me so. - Anyway, I wouldn't be happy.

Why doesn't Riccardo write classical music again? He was so good.

Because he likes pop music, like you.

Your present.

- What is it? - A headset for your phone.

You can't go on with CDs.

- I don't know how to use it. - Labaro will help you.

I don't know either of you.

Riccardo and I don't know you either.

[President] What about you?

Will you ever get married?

Did you look at the pardon petitions?

No, I want you to handle it.

[She chuckles]

Now you have more free time, why don't you do it?

[President] I haven't been a judge for years now.

A judge remains a judge all his life.

[Hip-hop music plays on cellphone]

[Music stops]

I wonder what Engineer Giordano is up to in his space capsule.

He's probably sleeping.

It mustn't be easy to sleep without gravity.

Or maybe it is.

Mosquitoes.

A cuirassier has to know how to do it all.

[Wind whistles]

[Sparse, high-pitched beeps]

[Distorted screech]

[President] Aurora,

why did you cheat on me 40 years ago?

[Beeps continue]

Aurora,

why, on the day of your funeral

did I have the distinct feeling that your lover was there?

You never wanted to reveal his name

but I sensed his presence.

Aurora, he was there.

[Beeps continue]

What are you doing?

You're losing your grip. Go back to your seat.

Go back to your seat.

[Beeps continue]

[Ugo] Will you handle the pardon petitions?

[Dori] I'm examining the dossiers, yes.

What do you make of them?

[Dori] Isa Rocca's case moved me.

But it's irrelevant because from an ethical standpoint

granting her a pardon is a gamble.

- I don't think Dad... - I know her.

[Low, tense music]

You should meet her.

What do you mean?

Go visit her in jail, she's in Turin.

- It will give you a clearer picture. - There's no need.

The legal picture can be inferred from the files.

Files aren't everything,

there are people too.

Do you think Dad will sign the euthanasia bill?

I don't think so.

But if I were to take his place,

I'll do it.

[Music brightens]

[President] "Isa Rocca, born in Rome,

on 9 October 1980.

Convicted of the first-degree murder of her husband Alessio Picone.

Alessio Picone, born in Rome, on 2 August 1975,

"he oppressed, threatened, beat Isa Rocca for 15 years."

"Cristiano Arpa, born in Turin, on 3 February 1951.

History teacher at the classical high school in Moncalieri, Turin.

Convicted of the first-degree murder

of his wife Diana Della Ragione, suffering from Alzheimer's.

[Music continues]

'I'd like to thank my students for their solidarity,

'but I don't think I deserve a pardon.

"'I didn't measure up.'"

I called you in because I don't remember my schedule.

In two hours you'll receive the Lithuanian ambassador.

Right, I'd forgotten.

[Secretary] Remember, on Wednesday there's the contemporary dance opening.

The editor of Vogue ...

Excellent.

Excellent.

I'll prepare for the meeting.

Very well, then.

- As always it was a productive meeting. - [Music fades]

Perhaps our last,

my term is coming to an end.

Mine too.

- What's your next posting? - I don't know.

But I've decided to take a one-year sabbatical

and to stay in Rome, so I can finally visit the city.

And seeing as your term is also ending,

maybe, if you'd care to,

you could show me the monuments I've been unable to see so far.

Soon we'll be two free citizens.

[Clock ticks]

- It's a bizarre idea. - Still, it's an idea.

I nearly forgot to tell you...

Short hair becomes you.

[She chuckles, nervously]

[President] Your same way of walking, Aurora.

[Electronic, distorted screech]

What did you wear back then, Aurora?

What was in fashion?

We were just kids.

[Elvis snorts]

Elvis?

What's wrong?

[Elvis snorts]

[Elvis grunts; Tense, rhythmic string plucking]

He was doing well.

He had a relapse.

Let's put him down.

[Elvis neighs, softly]

No, keep him alive.

[He sighs]

President,

he's in agony.

[Sparse, dramatic music; Elvis breathes heavily]

I have decided.

[Music fades]

[Clock ticks]

Ask me.

Do you want to read the latest draft on euthanasia?

The orange highlighter.

[Dori] Yes.

Here.

Excellent.

[Anticipatory, determined electronic music]

Article 4, sub-section 1:

misleading, cut it.

Sub-section 2: clarify the meaning of agony.

Sub-section 3: add "only in cases provided for by law."

Article 4: add "subject to written medical opinion."

"As well as a second opinion."

Article 5, sub-section 1:

misleading, cut it.

Clarify agony.

Go back to sub-section 3: clarify agony.

[Music subsides, clock ticks]

If you seriously address these points, I'll consider signing it.

[She exhales, relieved]

Dad, I...

Let's move on to the pardon petitions.

[Dori] "Cristiano Arpa, 73 years old.

Married for 35 years, no children,

high school history teacher,

his wife, suffering from Alzheimer's for seven years.

He applied for early retirement to take care of her.

A year after obtaining it, he strangled her.

[Low, dramatic music]

He maintains, 'I was no longer able

to bear her continuous fits of rage and violence.'

He didn't ask for a pardon, his ex-students did.

He has been in jail for 15 years,

he confessed and says he does not deserve a pardon.

The petitioners attached love letters

the teacher wrote to his wife during her illness.

He doesn't read any more, he barely eats,

he doesn't go out for yard time,

he doesn't want any visitors.

"He is letting himself die."

What do you think?

Dad, what's wrong?

Today, I happened to see the truth up close.

The law always shows it from a distance.

[Loud ring]

[Music continues]

[Music concludes]

[Metal detector beeps]

[Distant, indistinct murmur]

We've reserved a room for you to wait in, madam.

Thank you.

[Heavy doors open and close in the background]

[Door lock clanks]

How are you?

I met my husband at university.

After the first kiss he fainted.

Immediately, I loved him more than myself.

You should never love anyone more than yourself.

I know.

[Isa Rocca] You don't know anything.

Why not?

Because you're free.

You would be too,

if you hadn't stabbed your husband 18 times in his sleep.

[Isa Rocca] I had to.

- You had to? - He was terminally ill.

[Dori] What did he suffer from?

From his obsessions.

- Your husband was healthy. - [Isa Rocca] No.

He was broken.

He was broken inside,

I freed him.

- I deserve a pardon. - You won't get far with that theory.

[Isa Rocca] You don't know anything because you've never loved.

Enough, you know nothing about me.

You're a moron, I know that much.

Why did you come here?

To make an attempt.

But you being unlikeable doesn't help.

Pardons are granted out of clemency, not for sympathy.

Clemency is not enough, it requires a legal pretext,

you don't have any.

Euthanasia.

I freed my husband from his terminal illness.

It was euthanasia.

In Italy we don't have a law on euthanasia.

As an aggravating factor, it seems you had a lover.

Of course I had a lover.

The least I could do, my husband burned my hair in my sleep,

he locked me in the basement and turned off the light.

Of course I had a lover.

I needed to breathe too.

You're not breathing, madam.

At least write a letter of sincere repentance.

- If you asked for forgiveness-- - From whom?

From God?

Under these conditions the President of the Republic

won't grant you a pardon.

[Isa Rocca] But he will.

Why should he?

Because I've suffered.

And your father knows it.

[She inhales shakily]

I'm not breathing.

I know.

[Door lock clanks]

I need a coffee.

Certainly, ma'am.

[Gate whirs]

[Indistinct chatter; Cutlery clanks]

[Dori] Marco, leave him.

Although you might think the opposite,

she was pleased to meet you.

- You are...? - Yes, I come here every day.

- [Dori] To meet her? - No.

You can only meet inmates once a week.

- So why do you come? - Me?

I'm waiting for her.

[Anticipatory, determined electronic music]

[Electronic textures build progressively]

[Music continues]

[Music builds]

[Music concludes]

[Tap water runs]

[She sighs, frustrated] It's not him.

- Then, who is it? - I swore to Aurora I'd never tell you!

You swore on what? You're an atheist!

[Coco] I promised her!

That promise isn't valid, Aurora is dead.

Now you have to tell me!

I want the name of my wife's lover!

I've been wondering for 40 years!

Get the fuck off my back!

Get the fuck off my back!

[He breathes shakily]

You can't speak to the President of the Republic like that.

Arrest me for contempt of the State, but I'll never say that name!

[Delicate, melancholic piano notes]

[Rain patterns]

[Dori] Hi, Riccardo.

How am I?

[Dori chuckles]

Got a backup question?

Dad?

He's fine.

He only smokes one cigarette a day

and after 7 years at the Quirinale Palace he's scared to go home.

Today I met Isa Rocca,

she told me I'm a moron,

but I wasn't offended.

She said I've never loved anyone,

and I wasn't offended.

She says I'm not breathing

and that broke me.

It broke me inside.

Yes, Riccardo, sooner or later I'll come visit you.

Mm-hmm.

[Music continues]

At the café, I met her new partner,

he spends all day outside her cell.

Doing what?

Waiting for her.

[Music concludes]

[Sirens blare in the distance]

[Clock ticks]

Are the changes alright?

The government has accepted your suggestions.

You can sign now.

[President] Why did this man, Cristiano Arpa,

stop reading and receiving visitors?

Why has he stopped living?

- You're changing the subject. - You're right.

On Ugo's advice, I went to visit Isa Rocca in prison.

It doesn't follow the rituals.

But you said one must see the truth up close.

No, I said I happened to see it.

- I'm tired of rituals. - I can understand that.

[Delicate piano notes resume]

Tell me about Isa Rocca.

Her husband tortured her for years.

He'd lock her in a basement with no light,

he'd burn her hair, he'd beat her.

But she killed him in his sleep,

Eighteen stab wounds.

It's first-degree murder.

I know.

Is she repentant?

- Is she repentant? - Yes, yes.

[President] You don't know how to lie.

She maintains that by killing him

she freed him from a terminal psychic disorder.

For her it's euthanasia.

We don't have a law on euthanasia.

[She chuckles]

And yet, she deserves a pardon.

- It requires a legal pretext. - [Dori] I know.

Yet, she deserves a pardon beyond any reasonable doubt.

Here's the doubt:

Isa Rocca is the niece of the Minister of Justice's partner.

- Ugo? - [President] Yes, Ugo Romani.

Ugo and I have been friends since high school.

If I granted this pardon, public opinion would destroy me.

Bureaucracy.

Everyone hates it because it slows things down,

but that's what it is for.

- [Dori] What is it for? - To avoid hurried decisions.

[Clock ticks]

I need more time to reflect.

[Folder thuds against table]

[High-pitched, resonant beep; Glitching audio]

[Footsteps approach]

There's a problem with the audio connection,

we can't speak with Engineer Giordano.

He doesn't know we're connected.

It doesn't matter, I'll stay and watch him for a while.

[Footsteps recede]

[High-pitched, resonant beeps]

[Glitching continues]

[Beeps continue]

[Elegant, sorrowful string music]

[Music continues; Birds call]

[President] "My love,

behind the cultured and serious appearance I have built,

I realize I have always been inhabited by a single goal:

love,

my boundless love for you.

Today this love has become impossible,

that's why, soon, you will no longer be.

Therefore, I shall no longer be.

I'll try to let myself live,

awaiting our next mysterious meeting,

what the world calls by a beautiful word:

the beyond.

"Yours always, Cristiano."

[Music continues; Clock ticks]

- Can I tell you a joke? - No.

- Pity, because it was funny. - [Music concludes]

Want one?

[President] It was you.

What did I do?

You were Aurora's lover 40 years ago.

Mariano?

If this is the ploy you've come up with

to tell me you won't grant Isa Rocca a pardon, spare me.

You can tell me directly.

It was you.

Listen,

at the risk of committing contempt of the State, I have to say it:

you've lost your mind.

How can you think that?

I've been your best friend since high school.

It was you.

I know.

[Ugo huffs]

Ugo.

[Sirens blare in the distance]

What does my dad think about when he smokes?

About your mother.

My mother?

Yes.

[Elvis grunts]

Ask me.

[Elvis snorts, grunts]

Ask me.

[Dori] Why don't you let him go?

Because he didn't ask me to.

- Where are you going? - I have nothing left to do here.

Besides, I haven't taken a vacation in years.

I'll go to Montreal to visit Riccardo.

I could come too, I haven't seen him in ages.

No, Riccardo and I have decided

to spend time together by ourselves, as siblings.

You're punishing me for not signing that bill you cared so much about.

It doesn't matter,

Ugo Romani will sign it when he takes your place.

Oh, yes? I wouldn't be so sure.

Why are you so interested in that law?

What kind of question is that?

If the world no longer excites you,

you can't expect others to stop being excited by it.

You're leaving to punish me.

You don't understand anything.

What should I understand?

I don't want to be here when you leave the Quirinale for good.

[Elvis snorts]

It's true, I don't understand anything.

I've never understood who your brother is, who you are.

I don't know if you have friends,

a boyfriend, a girlfriend.

The only thing I know about you

is that you study law every day.

And that I've sacrificed my life taking care of you?

Don't you even know that?

But now you don't need me any more.

To be honest, you've never needed me.

Everything you've always needed is "more time to reflect."

[She huffs]

Your term is about to end, Dad,

when will you ever decide on anything?

Soon.

You don't know anything about me either.

I know what you let me know.

Forty years ago,

your mother...

betrayed me with another man.

I've never gotten over it, fuck it!

[She chuckles]

I've never heard you swear in all my life.

[He chuckles, softly]

Me neither.

What can I say, Dad?

It was 40 years ago, it's past the statute of limitations.

It's time to recover, to make some changes.

I have to go, the plane's leaving. I'll call you when I land.

[Elvis exhales sharply]

I'm confused.

An astronaut cries in space and then laughs at his tears.

Coco Valori is ready to burn down the museums,

but she won't reveal the name I want to hear,

she doesn't want to betray an old friendship.

But isn't she my friend too?

A beautiful woman asked me to go out with her.

I see her walking away, free, jaunty.

So, I get a glimpse

of what happiness is made of.

And the light wasn't even that great.

I don't eat much, I smoke even less.

Yet, the lung I don't have, hurts.

My children...

have organized things without me.

They're smart,

they know the future, I don't even know the past.

And then there's my best friend,

I've...

I've offended him, worse, I've humiliated him.

There's also a man

who no longer reads, who doesn't see anyone.

What does he know?

What does he know that I don't know?

Yet another man waits for his partner every day outside a prison,

in the rain, in the cold, in the heat.

I think of my wife every day,

I adored her,

and I hated her, she betrayed me.

And yet I've continued to love and respect her,

even though the only reasonable idea that came to mind

was to kill her, but I didn't.

Why?

Lastly, there's this horse, Holy Father.

He's dying.

We're all suffering together with this horse.

You know what you have, my friend?

What?

Grace.

[President] And what's that?

[Hip-hop music in the distance]

[He raps] ♪ Scan us through If we get there

♪ Name the sentence The bros got on their back

♪ Ten years in the head Three on the iPhone, four in the pocket

♪ So long Retail Yay, Sebastian Ingrosso

♪ Black Amex and Gold Visa Crushin' it up

♪ Two half-Filipinas In Philipp Plein sneakers

♪ Purple haze in the sky My bank accounts swell

♪ Yo, when ya rap

♪ The chicks are cryin' And so, shh, shh

♪ If you don't get shit

♪ On the 39th floor Smoking a hookah

♪ I got the flow The temperature rises

♪ And now all these chicks are cryin'

♪ Lean out the window O my dealer

♪ And now all these chicks are cryin' ♪

[Colonel] President.

- Elvis... - [President] I need more time to reflect.

It won't be necessary.

You don't have to take this decision.

Elvis died.

Of natural causes?

Yes, President, of natural causes.

President, there's the opening night at La Scala in Milan.

Good,

but first I want to go where I met Aurora.

The prison where Arpa's being held is near there,

- I want to talk to him. - It doesn't follow the rituals.

I'm tired of rituals.

Usually this form of rebellion appears at 18.

Forgive me, President.

[President] I want to ask you something, secretary.

Who owns our days?

[Elegant, sorrowful string music]

No one knows.

Let's try to find out.

[Music continues]

[Indistinct, lively chatter]

[Music concludes]

[Man sings] ♪ From the trusted roofs Of the village

♪ The valiant Alpini have left

♪ They show the strength and courage

♪ Of their firm youth

♪ They are handsome cadets from the Alps

♪ In the robust youth

♪ From their bold strong hearts

♪ Breathes an indomitable pride ♪

- [Men join] - ♪ O you valiant Alpino

♪ Always defend the frontier

♪ And there on the border

♪ Always keep the flag high

♪ Sentry, stand guard

♪ Defending our Italian soil

♪ Where love smiles

♪ And more benign the sun shines ♪

- [President joins, men stop singing] - ♪ There, amid forests and ravines

♪ There, in the cold fog and ice

♪ They strongly strike their pickaxes

♪ And the paths seem shorter

♪ And when the sun burns and heats

♪ The mountaintops and the depths

♪ The valiant Alpino guards and looks

♪ Ready to ask, "Who goes there?" ♪

[Men join] ♪ O you valiant Alpino

♪ You always defend the frontier

♪ And there, at the border

♪ Always keep the flag high

♪ Sentry, stand guard

♪ Defending our Italian soil

♪ Where love smiles

♪ And more benign the sun shines ♪

[Delicate, melancholic music; Insects chirp]

NONE SHALL PASS HERE

[Electronic, distorted screech]

NONE SHALL PASS HERE

[Music continues]

[Music continues; Chicken clucks]

I'll resign...

two weeks before the end of my term.

[Colonel] Why, President?

Because that way,

as a senator for life

I'll be entitled to vote for the next President of the Republic.

President, will you allow a compliment?

[Birds call; Music continues]

Please.

You are very, very clever.

Yes.

I've heard that too.

I used to live here.

And she walked by.

[Music continues]

Why are these two chairs here?

[Music fades; Bell tolls in the distance]

I don't know exactly.

Mr Mayor,

what's your stand on the pardon petition for Arpa?

It's an example of how the community unites for a cause.

Arpa taught generations of students in this town

and he was always loved and respected.

Everyone was moved

by the way Arpa took care of his poor wife with Alzheimer's.

The petition for a pardon was signed by all the citizens.

All of them?

That's surprising.

[He clears his throat] Almost all of them.

- Who didn't sign? - Only two people.

[President] Who are they?

My wife

and I.

- Why? - This is a small town.

I didn't ask you how big the town is,

I asked why you two didn't sign.

[He sighs]

My wife has never liked Cristiano Arpa.

- And she adds... - What does she add?

According to my wife

it wasn't Alzheimer's that caused her to have violent fits of rage.

But this is only my wife's opinion.

What was it, then?

My wife claims that Arpa had another woman for some time.

Why is Cristiano Arpa letting himself die?

[Mr Mayor] I don't know.

[President] What does your wife say about it?

She maintains that it's a tactic

to move you,

to increase the chance of receiving a pardon.

She also adds...

What?

That Cristiano Arpa is very clever.

- That's just her opinion. - What's yours?

My wife is also very clever.

[He exhales deeply]

[President] What if it's a mistake?

What?

[President] Coming here.

Meeting Cristiano Arpa in prison,

in an attempt to come closer to the truth.

May I talk frankly?

It's madness.

But you are a great jurist, you can find out the truth.

Don't cut him any slack, put his back to the wall.

General, this is not a war.

Pity.

Have you ever done anything foolish?

Once.

I inspected my son Antonio's room.

In a drawer,

inside a pencil case,

I found a joint.

I smoked it.

And did it have any effect?

No,

because I don't know how to inhale.

And you?

[President] I've never been brave.

[Fast-tempo, emotive piano music]

[General] You jurists and we military men

thought that law and discipline

would have divested us of the annoying duty

of possessing sensibility.

But that's not how it went.

[Music continues]

[Strings join]

Do you want to meet Isa Rocca too? She's also detained here.

I don't see the need.

President, we've reserved a room for you to wait in.

No, I'll wait with the others.

[Music continues]

[Metal detector beeps]

[Music concludes]

[Door lock clanks]

You taught history?

Do you miss teaching?

I never taught anything,

I only enthusiastically acted out what was written in the books.

My students appreciated me because I was a rather good actor.

Did you only act at school or at home too?

Forgive me, but there's no point in answering this question.

If you're a good actor you're never believed,

whatever the answer may be.

- They say you had a mistress. - It's not true.

I have no intention of putting you on trial.

Thank you.

Thank the Lord, my sentence was passed in a short time.

I turned myself in immediately.

That's not an attenuating circumstance.

No, but it's a fact.

You stated you don't deserve a pardon.

You don't seem interested in regaining your freedom.

At my age, freedom's not good for much.

- Did your wife have Alzheimer's? - Final stage.

Her life was a living hell.

And mine too.

So you killed her to free her from suffering?

- No, I killed her out of love. - Out of love.

I've heard this story too many times.

Each time I don't understand it.

Love as an alibi for death.

For me, love is a celebration of life.

You're absolutely right,

but unfortunately that's not the point.

What is the point for you?

The point is that it's not always easy to live up to one's principles.

In short, you don't want a pardon?

Everyone in my town wants it.

Not everyone.

In a letter written to your wife a few days before strangling her,

you say, "I'll try to let myself live."

But now you've changed your mind.

You're letting yourself die.

You're claiming that I'm acting?

No, I detect an incongruence.

And incongruences lead to doubt.

That's why it takes 2,046 pages to write a manual of criminal law.

But I don't see any incongruence,

letting yourself live is the same as letting yourself die.

Why are you letting yourself die?

Because I only want to forget

and become light again.

[Metallic clanks in the distance]

[Birdsong]

[President] "Cold, you heat up.

Darkness, you light up.

I'm lost,

you will find me.

Not now,

tomorrow.

One, ten,

"a hundred autumns."

[Sombre, low hum]

[Audience murmurs]

[Humming continues]

[Humming fades]

[Man in audience] You saved us from that rash fool!

President, you saved us!

[Delicate, sparse music; Audience quiets down]

[Music continues]

[Coco] See the warm welcome you got at La Scala?

The country loves you.

Soon they'll love Ugo Romani.

[Coco] What are you blathering about?

Didn't you know?

Ugo wants to become the President of the Republic.

[Coco] Good Lord!

Before retiring, couldn't you sign a bill

that definitively bans ambition in our country?

What's wrong, darling?

It was a good line.

When I pray, I fall asleep.

Lucky you, I need two sleeping pills.

Aurora dreamed every night

and in the morning she'd give me detailed and surreal accounts.

They enchanted me.

Do you ever dream?

[President] Never.

Would you like to?

Very much.

[Coco] What would you like to dream about?

Aurora?

[He sighs]

The absence of gravity.

[Elegant, melancholic string music]

Okay, I'll tell you.

It wasn't Ugo.

You've already told me that and I didn't believe you.

Mariano, it wasn't Ugo.

[President] Then who was it?

Me.

[He exhales deeply]

[Music continues; Inaudible dialogue]

Congratulations.

[Music concludes]

[Hurried footsteps]

[He recites, whispers] "I say sorry after Not please before."

[He raps] ♪ A splatter film in my head I drink chocolate milk like in Clockers

♪ A pile of cash Like a Double Whopper

♪ The Italian nightmare If you're broke

♪ A red target Like Metal Gear Solid

♪ I look at the sea And I see a sea of money

♪ You turn up the volume I turn up the income

♪ Scan us through if we get there

♪ Name the sentence

♪ The bros got on their back ♪

[Hurried, robotic footsteps]

[High-pitched whirring]

[Bell tolls in the distance; Pen taps]

[Anticipatory, delicate piano music]

EUTHANASIA

We didn't get along very well.

But we were clever enough to keep it to ourselves.

No,

we weren't clever,

we were elegant.

Would it be a problem if I walked home?

I haven't taken a walk in seven years.

Not a problem, we'll sort it out.

[President] Excellent.

[Elegant, melancholic music]

[Sirens blare in the distance]

[Music continues]

What if she lied?

Who?

Coco.

About what?

I'll never know with absolute certainty who my wife's lover was.

May I offer a criticism?

Yes.

But be gentle.

You attach too much importance to the truth.

It's a professional quirk among judges.

But now you're retired.

[Music concludes]

[Colonel] What are your plans for tonight, President?

I'll order a pizza.

I've given you a small present.

Where is it?

You'll find it. In due course.

A cuirassier knows how to hide things.

To avoid showing emotion in public.

A cuirassier knows how to do it all.

[Shaky exhale]

[Sirens blare in the distance]

[Editor] Hello?

This is Mariano De Santis,

former President of the Republic.

[Editor] Oh, fuck!

Forgive me.

You're forgiven.

[Editor] But you have my number?

I took the liberty asking Ms Cafiero for it, was I wrong?

[Editor] Quite the contrary.

Are you still the editor of Vogue ?

- [Editor] Of course . - Good.

Are you still interested in that article

about how a former President dresses in his free time,

or is it too late?

[Editor] Late? Of course not.

Good.

I'm ready to answer your questions.

[Editor] Yes.

Let's begin.

President, do you remember how you dressed as a boy?

Of course.

I don't like forgetting.

I like remembering.

I won't deny I also wished to be

one of those men who are at ease wearing a red jacket with white trousers,

but I never had the nerve.

You know, madam, I have always been

a gray, boring man,

I've always been a man of the law

and I don't mind it at all.

My wife was...

the outgoing one in the couple.

And that made me happy.

She loved...

red, yellow, cream.

In summer, light blue.

Yes,

light blue.

Light blue in all its nuances.

How wonderful.

In winter, green.

[He chuckles, softly]

Yes.

As you know, it's not easy to look good in green.

And yet, Aurora was stunning in green.

Then one day,

just a few days before she passed away,

she wore a brooch on a blue jacket.

So I said to her,

"No, Aurora, with a brooch on your jacket you look too ladylike."

And she,

surprised, said, "Why?

"Am I not a lady?"

In that instant, I came up with a bizarre reply,

I said,

"You're my girl."

[Editor] It wasn't bizarre,

it was heartrending.

Yes.

Heartrending is the right term, in fact...

Aurora didn't laugh.

[Editor] What did she do?

First she said, "Stop it!"

But I quietly noticed she was moved.

I realize I'm not telling you much about myself.

[Editor] It doesn't matter.

It's wonderful hearing you talk about your wife.

It interests you?

[Editor] Very much.

Look, quite simply,

Aurora was the perfect woman.

The perfect woman for me.

[Editor] Why?

Because she never forgot me.

[Bell tolls in the distance]

[Editor] Take all the time you need, President.

I'll wait for you.

[He breathes shakily]

[Bell tolls in the distance]

[Keys clang in lock]

[Bell tolls in the distance]

[Loud street murmur]

You are truly perceptive.

You know, madam?

[Editor] Thank you, President.

[President] And that's why I'd like to give you a scoop.

[Editor] It would be the high point of my career.

[President] Before leaving the Quirinale,

I wanted to sign one last bill,

the one on the right to euthanasia.

No one knows yet.

[Editor] Oh.

This truly is the high point of my career.

How will the Pope take it?

I don't think he'll take it badly, the Pope is my friend.

[Editor] Allow me to think he won't like it anyway.

Oh well,

it's inevitable, we have different roles.

The Pope has to answer to God,

I, to my children.

[Editor] What convinced you?

This really is a surprise.

Everyone thought that as a Catholic,

as a man inclined to balance and compromise,

you would have played for time without signing,

leaving the task to your successor.

What convinced you?

[President] My daughter.

She convinced me.

She is a great jurist,

because she was able to crack my principles.

[Editor] You are a great jurist too.

Now I'll tell you something banal, madam.

There's a time when children should follow their parents,

but there's a subsequent time when parents should follow their children.

Besides, my daughter has something extra,

passion,

which, for reasons of age, I have lost.

[Editor] Have you found your passion again?

It's late for passion, madam,

but...

I've found something that resembles it.

Grace.

Grace is the beauty of doubt.

[Editor] So you signed it, you decided, even if in doubt.

Isn't that what we always do?

Every day?

Feign certainties.

[Editor] Yes, President,

- it's what we do every day. - [President] Mm.

[Editor] It's called courage.

One day, my daughter Dorotea asked me,

"Who owns our days?"

The answer is so obvious.

They are ours.

But paradoxically, a lifetime is not enough to understand it.

[Birdsong]

[Heavy gate whirs]

Arpa, you're early.

Didn't your day leave end at 10pm?

[Sharp exhale]

[Mobile rings]

Hi, Dorotea.

Hi, Riccardo.

Hi, Dad.

What are you doing?

[President] Eating dinner.

What?

[President] Quinoa.

He had a pizza delivered.

You're like your mother.

[Dori] How?

You know me.

Not really.

I'd never have imagined you'd grant Isa Rocca a pardon.

And the motivation.

"Preventive self-defense."

A truly daring extension of the principle of self-defense.

Self-defense from a life that was hell.

But she killed him in his sleep.

He would have woken up and continued to torture her.

- [Dori] She could have run away. - No.

She couldn't.

[Dori] Why not?

Because she loved him.

It would have meant running away from her very life.

She had no choice,

that's why we pardoned her.

Why didn't you grant Arpa a pardon?

His account was misleading.

[Dori] In what way?

He did not love his wife.

How do you know?

[President] I spoke to him.

He was broken.

Broken inside.

Beyond any reasonable doubt.

Dad,

would you like to hear the latest song I've written?

Alright.

[Riccardo breathes shakily]

[Low, drone-like music]

[High-pitched, resonating beep]

[Delicate, melancholic string music joins]

[High-pitched, resonating beep]

[High-pitched, resonating beep; Music continues]

[Music continues]

[Music continues]

Isa Rocca and her partner, six months after the pardon was granted, broke up.

Cristiano Arpa, after he was denied a pardon,

reapplied, this time in his own name.

Ugo Romani did not become President of the Republic by one vote.

Rumor has it that it was Mariano De Santis' vote.

Dorotea De Santis enrolled in a dance class.

Every morning, Mariano De Santis goes to his office as a senator for life.

In the evening, he waits at home.

He waits for his friend Coco Valori to eat a light dinner.

[Music halts; Loud slurping and gulping]

Get off my fucking back.

[Funky, hip-hop music]

FOR CLAUDIO

WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY

PRODUCED BY

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

MUBI EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS

IN COLLABORATION WITH

PRESENTED BY

[Music continues]

PHOTOGRAPHY

EDITED BY

LINE PRODUCER

CASTING

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

COSTUME

PRODUCTION DESIGN

SOUND

[Music continues]

[Music continues]

[Music concludes]

[Delicate birdsong-like beeps; Birds chirp]

[Delicate birdsong-like beeps]

[Rhythmic, electronic beats join]

[Birds squawk]

[Low, drone-like hum joins]

[Squawking and music continue]

[Music continues]

[Music subsides, squawking resonates]

[Music resumes]

[Music concludes]

SDH created by Eugenia Saúl for MUBI