Original subtitles

You should be ashamed of yourself, you filthy little brute!

I saw it!

- You've got dirty, smelly underwear! - You've no right to say such things!

- They're smelly! - Come back here, you little bastard!

I saw it! It's black and hairy!

It's black and hairy, like Garibaldi's beard!

- What did it look like? - A big gaping hole!

HOT PAOLO

- Oh, look at those horrible frogs! - Ugh... disgusting!

- I wonder what they'd do if we pissed on them! - Let's see!

Me too! Me too!

I don't suppose I could fill up Tilde's great big hole with my tool.

I bet I could. My dick's bigger than all of your's put together.

Mine gets a lot bigger when I pull on it.

I think we ought to have a contest to see who's got the biggest.

- Look at mine! - Have a look at mine!

It doesn't matter how long it is, if you can't make it shoot.

I'll show you how to shoot!

You disgusting creatures!

- Salvatore, don't shoot! - Go inside!

- It's just lucky he missed her! - He's jealous of her.

- You'll kill them. - I told you to go inside!

- He shot at us. - No, he has no reason to!

I forbid you to look. Shut your eyes!

- Let me have another shot at them! - No, Salvatore! Don't shoot!

Let's go, he's aiming in our dicks! Run! Run!

I recognize you, you little devils! Don't run away!

My wife saw them, as well as my sister and my niece Anna. They saw everything.

Surely that's not possible. Be reasonable...

I never did anything like that, not even when I was young.

If someone is doing something he wants to hide, ...

... he would naturally turn his back to the home.

Then how do you think I was able to see everything so clearly?

Perhaps some may have turned in your direction.

No! The little devils deliberately stood in a line facing my villa, ...

... in my orange grove, ...

... and I could see them in minute detail.

- You mean you were watching through binoculars? - Certainly not.

I was spared nothing! Every vile movement was plainly visible.

- I saw everything they did. - What exactly did they do?

Played with themselves, Baron. They were masturbating!

Please, control yourself, Baron.

I'd never have made such a revelation if I'd know your reaction.

- Where is the bathroom? - Try to control yourself, please.

It's true, my uncle saw your little dicks, and I did, too.

- Paolo, your's is so little! - It's like that!

That would be like my cousin Ernesto's, not like yours!

This is not the sort of company I want you to keep dearest, retire.

As you like, uncle.

If you have the courage to face the music, get in there. You, too!

Those awful, wicked, sinful things you were doing ...

... are also extremely harmful to your health.

If you continue, your hands and feet will turn yellow. So will your face.

- Excuse me, Doctor. - You've made your uncle cry in shame.

And now your grandfather must come to the shop to ask for forgiveness.

Poor little Paolo! It could be that he did it unconciously...

The fact that Paolo has come to ask for forgiveness is the right thing to do.

It would have been even better if he'd come with his son Edmondo.

What do you mean by making that obscene gesture?

- I don't know what you're talking about. - I'm sure you do.

- Exactly what are you suggesting? - That you're no gentleman!

- How's that? - It's something you're incapable of understanding.

One more word and I'll beat you in front of your wife!

Filthy old bastard! Drop dead!

Help me up and I'll kill him!

- You fucking idiot! - I'll have you thrown in jail.

How dare you! Wait until I get my hands on you!

Just because you're an overstuffed Baron.

I'll kill him! I swear I'll kill him!

I swear before God, I'll kill him!

How can I avenge my honor? How?

Just because I struck a policeman 20 years ago...

It's not fair, my God! It's not fair!

It's not fair, must I die of shame?

Our father who art in heaven, hallowed by Thy name...

Damn, damn, taking advantage of a man who can't defend himself!

My honor! Where is my honor? In the shit!

- He won't eat? - Nothing for three days, just water. He'll die.

But surely there's something we can do, papa.

- If there were something, I wish I knew. - You don't, but I do.

- We can't allow him to die like this. - Tell us your idea.

It's my idea.

- Good morning. - Good morning.

I haven't finished yet! Good morning... you old bastard!

Help! Help! Help!

Lapadula!

Our pharmacy!

Hey, Lapadula, wake up! You're missing the spectacle.

- A bit of ammonia should do the trick. - Salvatore!

You have plenty more to see! Come on, Lapadula, pull yourself together.

Fuck...

Make yourself more comfortable, Lapadula, let me get on with the job.

- Not the cash register! - And why not?

Wake up, Lapadula, you can start clearing up the mess now!

Giovanna! Bring the food in at once. The Baron is famished!

- What is it? - I destroyed his shop. It's completely torn apart.

- Didn't you do anything to him? - He's still sleeping.

Go on eat, you've been avenged.

Holy Mother of God, what a son! The pride of the family.

You are the only true Castorini!

Blood tells! The only who can avenge an offense.

And I love you!

That's enough for now. Go and take what I promised you out of my wallet.

Ah, at last. I suppose you have no appetite as usual.

I'm as hungry as a wolf. If I don't put something in my stomach, I'll die.

Eat, Mister Constipation!

- Baron, am I permitted to remove this tie? - Take that red thing off, Cavaliere.

- Why do you choose to wear a red tie? - That's not red, it's wine-colored.

- I thought you'd become a socialist! - Are you mad?

I'd put them all up against a wall and shoot them down.

The Cavaliere's right. We should shoot them all. They're thieves.

- Why are they thieves? - How can you ask why?

They want to come in here and take away all of my property.

My father's property, my grandfather's.

What do you call a man who wants to do that if not a thief?

So what if they send a band of sissies around ...

... waving a red flag in the name of equality.

When they pass by my window, you know how I salute them? Like this!

I don't call that equality. I call it injustice.

- No bigger injustice than your own. - What's my injustice?

You're rich, while Lucia lives in poverty.

You have houses, land, money in the bank.

She's never had a pair of new shoes or a pretty dress.

What's that got to do with me?

My father, my grandfather, all worked for those things!

What makes you think Lucia's relatives didn't work for them as well?

They worked, but they didn't make money.

My ancestors worked and they knew how to make money too.

It's just that my ancestors won, and Lucia's lost!

- We call that the law of the strong. - And what other law should be there?

- There's always equality. - What does that mean?

That your ancestor and Lucia's, both did their work, ...

... and therefore had an equal right to make money from their sweat.

Therefore you mean to say my servant's grandfather is as good as mine?

- Yes. - Defeatist! You're nothing but a natural born defeatist.

You don't love your country, you don't love your family. Masochist!

A person doesn't put his feet on his face because he can't.

- You're only fooling yourself! - No, no!

He's the most sensitive little man you could ever know.

Just my big baby, the smallest of our children.

Papa, you can't be upset with him now.

I don't get upset when I talk to him, I get mad.

He knows that I love him, which is why he tells me these crazy ideas.

What an example he sets for my grandson.

Marchese Carandola, I love Michele best, ...

... even though Edmondo is stronger.

- Excuse-me. - Where are you going?

I have some documents that have to be completed before two o'clock.

- You haven't eaten anything. - I've had quite enough. I'll leave you.

Michele...

You should let me give you an enema.

What's the meaning of this parade?

- I've got a stomachache. - Yes, me too...

If you keep it up you'll crap your souls out, my boys.

That whore!

A fine pair, licking out of the same dish like a couple of dogs.

One way you get married, the other way a man knows what to do with his wife!

Don't confuse sex with marriage. Giovanna's not married to anyone.

You, bitch! You sucked 17.OOO lire out of me in three years.

I... like a jackass, I thought I had you to myself.

Tomorrow you'll sleep upstairs in the attic with the door locked. Whore!

If you don't straighten your ways I'll send you to a convent.

The nuns will give you an education!

- There you go. - Bravo, well done.

That should keep the wolves away.

Sounds hollow! Mr. Barone, it sounds hollow.

- It's been loosened from the inside! - That's enough! Enough!

What are you doing?

Where are you going?

Are you looking for someone?

- Have you seen your grandson's face lately? - I'm responsible for that.

Do you enjoy seeing him in such a state?

What do you want our home to become? A house of pleasure?

You mean you'd rather he went out and got gonorrhea from some whore?

That isn't it. I still maintain that boys should behave like boys.

Tell me where you've sent her!

I should tell you so you can go after her instead of Paolo.

- I'm not a man who likes servant girls. - He doesn't like servants.

Who was with Giovanna in the living room ...

... when I took an enema and had to go downstairs to crap?

That's something you do once in your life. It meant nothing more than spitting.

If you mean spitting something of yours into her, all of us have done that.

She's become the family cuspidor.

Me, you, Paolo, Luigi... we should all be ashamed of ourselves.

Was it shame that made you sack Giovanna? Or jealousy?

Jealousy... jealousy!

When a man reaches a certain age, he should die ...

... because we all become snivelling, slimey creatures like snails!

Paolo! Paolo, come here!

A man should not only lose the strength to do certain things, ...

... he should also lose the desire to do those things.

And he should lose the memory of how those things are done.

I love Paolo more than I love myself. Just look at what I've done to him.

You're like a skinny little lizard.

The eyes! Look at those eyes. Grandson and grandfather. Paolo!

You have a fever! Did anyone take your temperature?

Go to bed and get a thermometer. He's got a fever... at least 103!

There's only one thing that's going to cure that, and you know what it is.

Giovanna...

Giovanna is at...

Go, she'll be there.

You're burning hot ...

... as if you have a fever. What's wrong with you?

It could hardly be my presence. Is it being near me that does it?

Make your choice.

I haven't chosen between you and Vincenzo yet.

Why don't you take your clothes off and then I'll decide.

While we're young being unclothed is a pleasure.

They say I look like an angel on the stage, but I'm a cynic at heart.

I don't believe in anything. And I think that we should try everything.

Now get undressed. Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today.

That's just what I intend to do, you may never get a chance again.

You can afford to make mistakes with the soul, but not with the body.

A woman can use her body however she likes, unless she falls in love.

To enjoy one's self, a person should take things as they come.

Don't waste time. Don't you say that in Sicily?

We do!

Now make your mind up, Rodriga!

Perhaps I can't. What if I'd like you both?

Enjoying the kind of endless love that you both wish for.

Now let's have a look at you. Not bad looking... cold sensual eyes.

How come you have such blue eyes? Did your mother like Germans?

You have to choose one of us. You have to choose.

In that case I'll be happy to. I choose your friend Vincenzo.

Get your clothes on and scram!

- Fuck off. - Paolo, don't get mad!

He's the one who wanted me to choose.

Maybe I'd have liked you together, but now you're leaving. Are you happy now?

Yes, a lot! Very happy.

I don't wish anything other than to get out of here.

Two men together? Naked men make me sick! Even if they're my friends.

Naked women, yes! Three, four... as many as you like.

If you wanted, I could have sex with you, your mother and all your aunts.

- Paolo, why are you talking like this? - Let him talk, he's jealous.

Jealous of him? Bitch!

I wouldn't screw you now if you were the last woman in the world.

Oh, hold me... yes, that's it!

Oh, Vincenzo... Yes, like that, Vincenzo.

- Do you love me? Yes, harder! - Yes, Rodriga... do you like this?

- Yes, yes... harder, Vincenzo! - Yes...

All alone this evening? Isn't your uncle here?

No, he's not here. I'm here. What is it, won't I do?

Well, actually no, you won't.

I know this pharmacy as well as he does. So, tell me what you need.

Condoms...

You'll find them over here, Miss, in the top drawer on the left hand side.

Without the reservoir tip, please.

That will be 800 lire.

Have you been served, Baron?

I'm sorry that I wasn't behind the counter to serve you personally.

The visit of a Castorini to our pharmacy is an important event for us.

- What did the Baron need? - Painkiller... I have a toothache.

- Which tooth? - A wisdom tooth.

My gum is all swollen. It's so swollen and hard that it bothers me.

Good night, doctor.

Baron...

Baron, the word ''gum'' in Catanian also means ''dick''!

- Angela, turn off the water! - Just a moment, Carmelo.

- Be quiet, he might hear us. - No, he'll only hear the music. Don't worry.

- Are you sure you put it on right? - Yes, I put it on right.

You understand I don't want to have a child that isn't his?

No children. Don't worry. Now shut up, please.

Angela, the song is finished. Turn the record over.

I'm coming... Carmelo! I'm coming!

Why did you say you preferred Vincenzo to me?

You expected me to fall in love with you at first sight.

- If you really wanted me... - I did, in fact.

You told me that until you were thirty, you would go to bed with anyone.

I would have done that.

- Then do it. Goodbye. - I said, ''I would have,'' but now I can't.

Why not?

- Because I'm in love. - With who?

With you, idiot!

When did you decide to tell me that?

When I discovered you'd been having an affair with Mazzaglia's wife.

I said to myself, ''Paolo is like me, he likes to make people suffer.''

''Let's take off the mask and tell him the truth''.

Didn't you feel jealous about what went on in the garden?

No, I was proud of you.

- A woman who isn't jealous isn't in love. Goodbye. - No, Paolo, you misunderstood. Don't leave me.

Ah, smell that? It smells like freshly baked bread.

Instead are pepper trees, incense and magnolia mixed with horse shit.

I read the story you wrote in the Sicilian Journal.

I thought it was as good as Maupassant.

The description of the girl was good. She was anonymous but very sweet.

Now that you've had her too, didn't that describe Rodriga?

Yes, that was her.

She fell madly in love with you that night we met her.

Perhaps... What time is it?

- 23:30. - In half an hour I'll be 25!

Best wishes. On my next birthday I'll be in Rome.

- Rome? Doing what? - Living.

- The editor of the Empire offered me a job. - It's a Fascist rag.

I don't care. I'm going to be a literary critic.

- Why don't you come with me? - I might, but what would I do?

Who did that? I'll do it in your mother's face!

Hooligans! Anarchists! I recognize you, sons of bitches!

- Anarchists! - Salvatore, please... let them go!

I was looking for you. Come home at once. Excuse me, Vincenzo.

What's happenend?

He blew a hole in his stomach with both barrels of a shotgun.

- He's so small! - Papa?

He might as well have used a cannon.

A little bird... that's all he is.

I prayed to the Son of Mary!

I prayed on my knees hoping that he would open his eyes for five minutes.

I need to try something else since faith doesn't work.

Listen, if you don't open his eyes, I'm gonna throw you out on the street.

I swear, I'll destroy the whole chapel!

How is he?

How is he? The way he wanted to be.

Two barrels at once. It's madness.

He had never fired a gun. The only time he did was to end it all.

- Why didn't he want to live? - Shut up! You don't care.

I should kick your ass to make you cry. It's your father who's hurt!

- Holy Mother of God! - What's she done? Help me carry her.

We need a doctor. She's dying.

- Give me a bandage. - My blood isn't good enough for him.

- What's she's saying? - Nothing.

Why did she do it?

She's distraught because we couldn't give her blood to Michele.

Rubbish! Absolute rubbish!

- Finish bandaging her. - You can comfort her!

- What's wrong with her? - Nothing.

Paolo... Paolo...

After this I'm sure he'll be alright.

- After what? - After I offered my blood to God for him.

- Don't say such silly things, mama. - You think I'm being silly?

- Have you seen your father yet? - No.

Why haven't you? Quick... go in there and tell him if he needs me I'll come to him.

Be quiet. Lie still...

I can get up. I'm strong. I feel okay.

I want to be next to him. Let me go. I want him to live!

What will he do without me? He needs me.

He wouldn't let anyone else give him an enema. He'd rather explode.

- I want him to live. - Go to your father and calm the others.

Michele... my Michele...

Saro hopes that if papa dies he'll get the gun. Why should he get it?

It's a hunting gun for hunters like me and Edmondo.

I'd give both my arms if I could save him. Oh, the poor boy was so good!

Why couldn't this have happened to me? Why must it be him?

It's no use now.

I've been trying to get you to keep quiet. Especially you, papa.

I can hardly speak.

- Papa, what is it? - What is it? You're speaking, my son!

Talk to me, Michele. Let me hear your voice. How are you? How do you feel...

Try to calm yourself, you're upsetting your son.

I'm better, papa, much better. Now, I'd like to talk to Paolo... alone.

Why have you done this?

That's the way things are. You just have to accept it.

Paolo, what I'm going to tell you, ...

... it's something I wouldn't have told you until you got married.

But events force me to anticipate...

I don't give a damn what you think, doctor. I'll get a specialist.

So loud in everything he does, always exaggerating.

That isn't speaking, it's trying to break the door down.

When he screams like that, I feel the blows he gave me when I was a child.

- Didn't he love you? - Yes, he loved me.

Forgive me, I shouldn't speak badly about your father... or rather your grandfather.

But we have to talk about him. It's a disgusting thing I have to tell you.

When your mother was pregnant, the doctor wanted to see me in private.

''Your father had syphilis and your wife must be treated, ...

... if you don't want this child and his offspring to have the disease as well.''

So your mother was cured and you and Luigi were born healthy.

When your wife is ready to have her first child send her for treatment.

Paolo, I have to tell you this. It's very important.

My mother wasn't treated. My father didn't want anyone knows.

Later, I realized a lot of things ...

... my depression, my constant sickness, my impotence ...

... and above all, the revulsion I've always had for my father.

Even when I was a child, the thought of his caresses revolted me.

I preferred that he hit me.

- I don't know how you feel about me. - I'm very fond of you.

And yet we're so different.

I'm not hot-blooded and sensual like your grandfather, your uncle ...

... but I passed all that down to you.

You're all in love with life.

I've never tasted it. Even love.

No woman has ever arisen my desire for more than five minutes.

But for you, sex is as fundamental as eating, breathing... yelling.

You think you're happy, but you don't know true happiness.

Although you laugh and smile a lot, you have my sympathy.

Many things pass right under your noses, but I'm the only one who sees them.

The servant's children barefoot on our marble floor.

But you don't ask yourselves why they say nothing. Aren't you afraid?

Never forget that reason is happiness.

Can you hear them? They're saying goodbye to me.

Everyone is here. Paolo, don't let them start shrieking!

After I'm dead keep them quiet, as serious people should be.

Tell them I don't want confession. The priest is so vulgar and hypocritical.

He'd leave me with horrible thoughts.

And I have... I resp...

I respect my... church!

Papa!

Doctor! Doctor!

Where are you going? Don't make noise! I beg you!

Don't make noise!

Light of my life!

May I come in?

Please.

I came to say goodbye. I'm going back to Ferrara.

Sit down.

- What will you do now? - Continue with my medical studies.

My family never made the jump from laborers to professionals.

They never became middle class. I hope I'll be the lucky one.

Even doctors, you know, have to work hard with their hands.

Yes, but just a little.

My father's library is full of medical books. If you like, you can have them.

Thanks, I saw them, but they're a bit out of date.

Modern medicine is progressing quite rapidly.

Perhaps you'll visit Ferrara one day?

I hope to travel some next summer... I shall visit Ferrara.

What has happened? How did it happen?

What has happened? How did it happen?

What has happened? How did it happen?

What has happened? How did it happen?

Now that we're no longer in mourning, I want to get married.

- Is this a joke? Who is it? Tell me! - Anna, the pharmacist's niece.

No, it's not a joke. I'm very fond of that girl.

You're very fond of her? Make love to her, kiss her, have fun with her.

When you've had your fill and the plate's cold, change it for a hot one.

Uncle, I said that I'm fond of her.

Because you like her? That's no reason to marry her.

Take my advice, travel around, have a look at Rome.

- What for? - For nothing... just enjoy it.

Freedom means living without doing anything. That's what freedom is.

The rest is nonsense for the moralists, fascists, communists and generals.

- How old is the pharmacist's niece? - Twenty three.

You want to marry a girl who's only two years younger than you are?

If you like that kind of girl, wait 20 years and marry her daughter.

Maybe you're right, so the daughter will be 20 years younger than I am.

20 years is the right difference in age between a man and a woman.

It's not enough for me, at 46 I find women of 26 much too mature.

I have two mistresses. One is 18 and the other is 20.

20 years from now you can marry that girl, and get a mistress even younger.

Where are you going, to ransack the city?

- At your age you should be in bed by now. - I'm taking them out.

There are too many for you. I'll come along.

My love! My love, Michele... my love.

- He has finally come to Rome. - I bet a girl is the reason.

- You'll find plenty of consolation. - He doesn't need to be cheered up.

Don't be fooled by his blue eyes, they don't even belong to a Sicilian.

Do you have German blood in you? No offense intended.

Vincenzo has told me so much about you. I even know about Rodriga.

He can tell you the rest. Sometime when you're alone with him.

Just go to his flat, knock and ask to come in. Eh, Paolo?

But be careful, women fall in love with him. He's got sex on the brain.

Paolo, I'm leaving you in Lilia's hands. She'll show you the flat.

I've got to run, the paper's already gone to press. They need my article.

- Thanks, Vincenzo. - I'll call you and introduce you to lots of people.

Rome isn't Catania. You'll enjoy it.

It's so corrupt it may seem wild even for you.

- Bye, Lilia. Look after him for me. - Bye, Paolo.

I don't know what you must think of me, after all Vincenzo said.

Good... very good.

Come on.

I found this flat for you. Vincenzo told me not to worry about the cost.

Look, do you like it?

Come on, there's still more.

Come on.

Look, isn't that the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?

What?

I said I'm happy.

Look!

- Off you go! Go on, quickly! - Get in line, you pigs!

What is it? What's going on?

Shit!

As long as you're with me, there's no room for anyone else.

Your rigatoni, signora...

This is the last supper for Vincenzo and Mariella.

Why is that?

Vincenzo wants something from her that she doesn't want to do.

- Something that you do all the time. - So what? All women are whores.

It wasn't a dig at you. He's the one I was getting at.

Excuse me, Paolo, you insist I'm a jealous lover, ...

... and if you left me to marry a girl like Mariella, I'd be hurt.

But I'd have to admit that you did the right thing, ...

... because a girl like Mariella comes along once in a lifetime.

- She's not without her defects, you know. - What are they?

She's quiet, shy, and seldom opens up to people.

And she's surprisingly puritanical for this day and age.

Vincenzo, you're cuckolded! And Mariella, you're a big whore.

And you're a bastard.

Excuse me.

Why did she call me a cuckold? Why?

Swine!

- I'll kill you if you take another step. - Don't be stupid.

What's the matter, your feet get cold, or did her pussy need a scratch?

- You're an idiot. Stupid! - You're an idiot and a pig. A filthy pig!

You're the pig. You said you weren't jealous of Mariella.

- No! - Then what the fuck are you yelling about?

Fuck you!

- Who the hell do you think you are? - Let go of my hair! I'll punch you!

- Go ahead, punch me! Go ahead! - I'll kill you!

- I'll kill you! I'll kick you in the balls! - Let go of my hair, bitch!

- I said let go! - I'll send you to the other girls without balls or hair!

- Let go of me! Let go of me! - Creep! Scum!

- A man doesn't beat up on his girl. - Mafioso!

- Who said that? Who dares to speak like that? - It was me.

You're stupid and the rest of you are idiots. You don't know what's going on!

- Mind your own business. Come on! Let's go! - Fuck me... what a lady!

Paolo! Paolo, wait for me, you ungrateful wretch! Paolo!

Paolo, stop.

Please, Lilia, leave me alone. What do you want?

You didn't know Vincenzo was my lover, did you?

Wretch!

Cuckold!

Whore!

- You slept with Vincenzo! - You and that slut. I'll kill you!

No, it's not that I'm jealous.

When you're tempted you just have to remember that I'm here to rip it and satisfy you.

- And if I have to take a leak? - You come home to me, dear.

- And if I'm far away? - Then you can wait. I can hold it for a day.

If I piss in my pants, it's your fault.

Where are you going? There's no more room.

Hang yourself!

- Can you give me a ride to Monteverde? - Is it far to Monteverde?

If I wait for another bus, I'll lose my job because I'm so late.

- What is your job? - I make trousers.

- All those people make me crazy. - Who?

They want to force you off the bus before you even get on.

I don't suppose things like that ever bother someone like you.

- You said that you make trousers? - Yes.

And you carry all the tools of your trade with you?

Of course. Everything. Needles, thread and scissors.

- What are you doing? - We're stopping for a while.

I asked for a lift to get to work on time, and you want me to look at the scenery?

- I need to tell you something. - What?

I'm sewed.

- Look. - You're crazy!

What a swine!

My motorbike! You're crazy... blind idiot!

Say it again and I'll split your face in two!

You're crazy... blind idiot!

So, you already fucked her. You can tell me, we're friends!

Yes, and you dared to put your foot between Mariella's legs.

Who's that laughing with you? Are you making fun of me?

No, it's Mariella. She decided to do those kind of things with me.

She did?

Of course. And I found out this little angel wasn't a virgin after all.

The truth is they're all the same, all whores, as Lilia says. All whores!

Speaking of whores, do you know who called me last night?

Princess Banchieri, "The Artichoke".

- What did she want? - She said that her pussy was itching.

With the phone tapped she talks like that?

She was calling from a friend's house.

She had managed to give her bodyguard the slip, and her husband was out.

- So what did you tell her? - Nothing, I went to meet her.

And "The Artichoke" looks better naked than dressed.

- What are you doing? - Nothing...

Paolo, what are you doing? It's dawn. Are you still awake?

My God! Did you pick a fight with someone? Have you been beaten up?

Why don't you answer? Are you angry with me?

Rip it.

Oh, dear! The trousers! I completely forgot! I'll do it right away!

- I guess you have a big urge. - Pull them off!

Oh, my dear, of course. At once.

Your Lilia will take off anything you want: shoes, trousers... just like a baby.

- Now the underpants. - I'll just take off my jacket and I'll be with you.

I'll pull off everything so you can pee in comfort.

I don't want to pee. Stay where you are and strip.

Who was the policeman?

- Who? - The one that gave you a ride home.

Achille. He's been courting me for two months. He loves me.

He says I suit him, and I feel at ease with him, relaxed. Not like with you.

I don't feel jealous, because I trust him completely. He won't be unfaithful.

He wants to marry me in St. Peter's when he becomes an officer.

He won't be a sergeant forever.

And we'll have a family, a small one.

We'll live in town were he knows all the right people.

He wants me to stop working, because, he says, I'm a lady.

He's a kind man and very sweet to me.

He'll provide for everything, because his family is rich.

And his dick, is it big?

- Yes, it is. - Come here to me.

- I knew you were leaving me. - Unfortunately...

I'm sorry I didn't understood you in time. I'd have given you what you needed.

But there's still time, my love!

Whatever. Come closer and finish your job.

My trousers were sewed, but your underpants were torn. Whore!

- That's why I'm mad about you! - Paolo, you're hurting me! My love...

They have turned this ''boot'' of a nation into a worn out sock.

We have war debts with Albania, Greece, France and England.

We'll work without pay 'til the year 2100. It's madness!

And to think we fought like lions!

The destructive policies of the church and the cowardice of the objectors ...

... prevented us from breaking their backs.

And you, Baron, did you go to war?

- I made love. - An objector, right?

Most objectionable!

They say the Christian Democrats are corrupt, yet they pretend to be moral.

Hi, Paolo. What do they want from us?

If we turn towards the left, just watch out for our morals!

The socialists hate us and court us at the same time.

In winter, in Sardinia and Sicily, many people go to bed without a meal.

If there is a Sardinian or Sicilian here, look at your watch at 17:OO ...

... and remember that your friends there go to bed at that time.

They go to sleep in order to forget their pangs of hunger.

Rome is provincial and wants to see her nobilty through the eyes of Proust, ...

... forgetting that our democracy had a great respect for Mr. Ciano, ...

... who was appointed a ''count'' by a blacksmith.

- To tell the truth... - Pardon?

... we have to admit that democracy opened the door to the Fascists.

I assume, Prince Banchieri, that you never opened your door to them.

Yes, that's right. They were never in our home.

May I introduce you to Baron Paolo Castorini?

My wife had hoped to meet you since back before the war.

- I'm honored. - I wish to be alone with him for five minutes.

As you wish, Princess Banchieri.

You may call me ''The Artichoke'', like your friend Vincenzo, the writer.

Whenever I can't sleep I call him, telling him the strangest things.

My pussy is itching.

- Really? - That's right.

- I've heard a lot about you from Vicenzo. - I've heard about you, too.

- Then you must know my other nickname. - No, what is it?

You really don't know it? Everyone knows it.

Well, what is it?

- Do you know about my theater? - No, I don't.

Then come, and I'll show you.

And when they can't sleep, they try to forget their hunger by making love.

It's the only amusement they have. Isn't that right, Prince?

It's true if you say it is, comrade.

I was speaking of the love making of the poor, not the rich.

- The rich are better lovers, they can give. - Or take everything away.

- You have too many prejudices. - Let's ask the writer Vincenzo.

Apart from our gender we are all comrades.

Come with me.

Look at all those idiots talking politics.

From the stage they can be seen for what they are: puppets in the street stalls.

- So, tell me your second nickname. - Do you really want to know it?

- "The Queen". - Why that?

It seems that I was once the mistress of the most powerful man in Italy.

- The king? - No, the other one.

- Ah, il Du... - Yes, it was him.

But why ''The Queen''?

Look... look at my skin.

Thinking back to that time, I remember all the kisses he gave me on my body...

... with his beautiful, moist, funnel-shaped mouth ...

... that was photographed many times while he was crying ...

... during his threatening speeches.

Forget about that time. Tell me why ''The Queen''.

So you really want to know?

After making love, he liked me to put my hand and my bare foot on his ...

- On his ... - I'm sure you understand.

And then?

I'd say, ''You reign over the world, but who reigns over this?''

- And he... ? - He'd say, ''You. You reign over my...''.

''Over my...''? Come here!

When there's a flood they try to forget their hunger by making love roughly ...

... with every woman as poor as them.

So the only thing they have is degraded by incest or infidelity.

- You're exaggerating! - Look, my husband is out there.

If the curtain were to raise up, he'd discover us naked.

Come on, tell me that you'd enjoy it if my husband could see us.

If you want me to, I'll tell you. But I prefer that your husband doesn't see us.

Are you happy, dear? Are you enjoying yourself with me?

Yes, I'm enjoying this, but I'd like it better with those people out of here.

- I don't know, it makes me nervous! - Don't you want to make love?

Yes, I want to. But I've never done it in front of an audience.

- You're inhibited like all Sicilians. - Me... inhibited?

I'll show you! Turn over.

Sometimes they look at the falling rain like astonished children.

Then they start making love again to avoid thinking of death!

Many times, while water is soaking into their miserable houses ...

... through the broken roofs, onto the poor beds, onto their feverish bodies.

The women wipe them with their bodies...

How you're sweating! You're completely soaked.

- The poor... - How sad! Where's my wife?

I saw her going up the stairs with Paolo Castorini.

- When? - Ten minutes ago.

Tell me, ''Who reigns over this?''

- Come on, tell me who reigns. - You control my dick, as you can plainly see.

Tell me, do you have the communist's number?

No, but you can find her among the homeless near the waterworks.

Paolo, why do you spend your entire life with the women?

Because it's the only happiness in this world.

Art, politics, work... all rubbish!

Entering into a woman for the first time... that's the supreme moment!

It's the only thing!

- Have you ever tried to write? - Yes, after Rodriga had chosen you.

- What does Rodriga have to do with it? - She has everything to do with it.

During that time I hated you every day of my life.

Really? Why?

Because women found in you the intellectual, the writer...

In one word: brains.

Lilia was also yours first, then mine.

You always succeed with women, you can't complain!

But I do, because your success depends on your brains, ...

... while mine depend on my dick.

See, I look like these miserable people.

But they make a living by having sex, while I'm destroying my life.

Honey, do you have it?

- It's up to you. - It's in the blood I was born with.

It's the same for all my family, except for my father, who's escaped by chance.

Because we can smell a woman before we turn the corner.

The veins pulse in our head and there's no room for reason.

- There's a solution. - Sure, cut off my balls.

- No. Get married. - No!

There's only one type of woman who could become the Baroness Castorini.

There she is. Let me introduce you my friend Vincenzo.

Vincenzo, I'd like you to meet my old whore!

Fuck you! Look who's talking!

I've taken your concerns to the committee. You'll see that sooner...

What are you doing here?

I come here when I need to think about the inequity in our society.

- It's good for my soul. - There should be a law to control people like you.

What do you think I've done?

You have a large soul, but it's filthy and dirty.

You're here like a jackal with your dirty looks to fill your disgusting soul.

You get excited by a poor girl who has no hope.

Are you finished?

If you knew what it was to be poor, we wouldn't have problems like this.

Life will be easier once you've turned us into dogs with one master ...

... the Party.

Comparing people like you to dogs is impossible.

You're worse than a pig, but you don't realize it.

If I were to forget that you're a woman, I'd punch you in the teeth.

Come on, break all my teeth. Let's amuse these poor people!

Can you imagine the headline in tomorrow's newspaper?

''Forty-year-old dandy severely beaten by jobless people.''

- Maybe he's the police. - That's a dead end. Where is he going?

You want to change men without knowing their souls.

How can you pretend to understand?

Last night at the Banchieri's you were talking about misery.

I looked at you and it seemed to me you were speaking of it with fondness.

The problems of these people are not my problems.

And all the revolutions in the world can't deal with my problems.

Let your socialism try to take care of what's inside a man, not outside.

A man's anguish is far worse than any slum.

''Getting inside'', you mean like this?

- Were you waiting for me earlier? - Yes.

Why were you looking at the girl? Swine! Lecher!

Dirty swine! Swine! Swine!

What an immoral person! Getting excited by a girl while waiting for me!

There's the car! At Giovanni's house!

No! Not this way! Let me go, you're hurting me!

Let's go, he's killing her!

No! Not this way! Let me go, you're hurting me!

As on every Sunday, the Pope has blessed the people ...

... encouraging them to avoid temptation.

"The devil lies in everyone, always spying on us to catch our weakness."

"We can drive him out only through our faith..."

Hello, who's speaking?

I'm sorry, but you don't know me. I saw your ad in the newspaper.

So you need a tailor?

Yes, miss.

When?

Right away.

What's so urgent?

I have some buttons...

I'm not the tailor. She's a friend of mine.

Is your friend there?

No, she's out. But if all you need is to sew a button, you can do it by yourself.

Actually I need something else.

What?

I need them removed.

They are sewn in quite firmly, and I don't want my suit to be damaged.

I see. Are you alone there? Call the concierge.

There's no concierge.

Call a neighbor. Are you really alone?

Yes. Why don't you come here?

Me? But I'm not a tailor.

I'll pay you quite well!

What would you pay me?

Five... ten thousand lire.

But... Is this a joke?

This is no joke. I'm not joking.

Will you really give me ten thousand lire?

I swear it, sweetheart.

Where do you live ? Wait a moment, I'll write it down.

Via dei Gracchi 35. Is it all set?

That's quite a distance! Can you give me your number?

Yes, of course. 804142.

Good, now I'll call you back to see if this is a joke. Then I'll come.

When will you be here?

In an hour.

An hour? Damn! Why don't you take a taxi?

Will you pay for the taxi?

Yes, I'll pay for the taxi.

Good, I'll take a taxi. Hang up and I call you back.

Hello?

Hello. Is this Baron Castorini? Baron Paolo Castorini?

Yes, that's me.

Scoundrel! Rogue!

Who's speaking?

You're a scoundrel!

And you're a cuckold!

Stupid!

Coward, tell me your name and I'll ...

I'm Lorenzo Banchieri, Beatrice's husband. Now you know.

Is it really you, Prince?

Yes, and I'll say it again: scoundrel!

I'm sorry, there must be a mistake!

Ask your friend Vicenzo what this is about. Scoundrel!

Prince, you're a crippled man, but don't try to take advantage of that.

Who's crippled? I have three wooden fingers.

But with the other two, I can hit you in the face with all five fingers.

Ok, when we meet you can hit me in the face.

- No, I will hit you in the face! - Ok, you'll hit me.

And don't talk to me in such a sardonic way.

It's not sardonic.

I'll break your face.

Then do it.

Don't be so patronizing. You understand?

Just stop this nonsense!

Hello?

Hello, Paolo, did you read Vincenzo's article?

It's in today's newspaper.

We're all mentioned: you, Beatrice, her husband, Ester... even me.

Obviously using false names, but everyone who was at the party.

Sorry, but I'm expecting an urgent call. Tell me what it says about me.

It says that every Saturday evening you entertain a certain "Beatrice Barredi".

Think about it, "Barredi", not "Banchieri"!

And you're called ''the transfusion''.

Why's that?

Because after each rendezvous the lady becomes frisky.

I'll let you go now, since you're expecting an urgent call. It may be a client.

Hello.

It's me. Your line is always busy. I thought you were playing a joke.

No... come! It's already getting late.

Should I bring a needle?

No, just the scissors. Now, call a taxi.

You'll pay for it?

I'll pay. Yes, yes.

See you soon. Goodbye.

Goodbye.

Who is it?

Scoundrel! Wait... hold on! Scoundrel!

What do you want?

Right now I want to break your face!

That's fine, just give me three hours. Come this evening, whenever you want...

No, right now! I'm coming now, if you don't run away like a rabbit.

Prince, can I tell you something in confidence? Go fuck yourself!

Oh, God! Oh, God! It's Jacomini!

Why are you laughing?

Didn't you read the newspaper?

Laugh at my dick!

Yes?

Stay right where you are.

Frankly, I think you're a jinx!

First I felt sick, then my car broke down.

But I'm still coming to beat you.

There's a bus every five minutes. From Piazza Flaminio I'll take the tram.

Why don't you take a taxi?

You jinx! I also forgot my wallet.

I'll pay for you.

I don't want money from you. Scoundrel!

Yes?

Dickhead, why did you tell your friend about us?

He profited by selling the story to the newspaper.

So it was me who cut a sorry figure? While you were with Mrs. Banchieri, that whore!

You too, Ester? I'm sorry, I don't have time for this now, I'm closing an urgent matter.

I'll call you later. Bye.

You scoundrel, I'm here in a bar...

Yes, I'm here. I'm waiting for...

He must be sick!

Hello? Are you a relative of the man who was just talking to you?

No, but I know the bastard.

He feels sick.

We've sat him down.

I want to tell you you're a scoundrel.

You take advantage of me because I'm sick.

But I'll won't always be sick...

- It's not worth it... - Why?

Good morning. Are you the one who phoned?

Yes, miss. I did indeed. Come in.

Telegram!

Good day...

This is your job. Would it upset you to take your clothes off?

Come home to Catania at once, your mother is very ill. Uncle Edmondo.

Quit that!

Stop it, Giovanna.

So I said, "As soon as the period of mourning is over, I'll marry her."

And he tells me that the family has decided to give me a pendulum clock.

They told me to tell you. Did they say anything to you?

"Gold?" "No, that would cost too much. We can't afford it."

But if you remain a bachelor, ...

... with some effort, we could give you a gold clock.

Her fucking relatives will only give me a wedding gift if I don't get married!

They hope that I'll stay a bachelor and leave all I own to their children.

- But I have a family... - No, I told you no.

At least give me a try.

What do you expect me to do? You haven't lifted a finger all day.

Greetings, Mr. Luigi. They come around here bothering me, ...

... when you said we should work alone.

No, Baron Luigi, I only wanted to work. Only to work!

Sorry, Paolo, would you do me a favor?

Would you give me a gold pendulum clock if I get married?

I'd be ever so grateful to you.

Happiness doesn't come to anyone in our family, ...

... because happiness requires reason.

Get out before I throw this at that sickening little face of yours!

Two hours! It took you two hours to go to the drugstore and back.

The truth is you sat on the curb because you had a little pain or something.

A pain in your chest shouldn't stop you from walking, for Christ's sake!

I could fly at your age!

Get out! I don't want to hear that awful cough around here.

The kid's disgraceful. I should have gotten a trained nurse to take care of me, ...

... instead I get that little moron ...

... who's not even capable of serving properly at table.

- Why don't you get a proper nurse? - Because I'd have to pay for her.

- Why don't you pay her? - I have no money.

What have you done with it? You made 380 million from the land you sold.

That's not true! Not true.

It's true, the lawyer told me.

- I've hidden it. - Use a little of it if you need it.

- That's not possible. - Why not?

- I buried it deep in the ground. - Buried?

Yes, now don't bother me! I won't tolerate any interference.

Yes, buried it. I sent it forward, then I'll follow.

Baron Paolo! It's my granddaughter. I don't know what's happened.

I found her on the floor. She's fainted and I couldn't wake her.

The child needs a doctor. Where can I find one?

At the pharmacy. Go! Go!

What have I done to deserve such punishment?

I'm dogged by misfortune.

I need a doctor at once!

Caterina! Caterina, who is it?

- Caterina! - This gentleman urgently needs a doctor!

A doctor? Immediately? He's upstairs.

Paolo! The Baron Castorini! What an honor! Is someone sick at your house?

Yes, the servant girl.

You don't know my great-niece, Caterina. She's helping out. Her mother's not well.

Did you notice her? She was at your mother's funeral.

I saw her.

I'll go up and tell the doctor he's needed.

Caterina, a long time ago I almost married your mother.

I know.

- But nothing ever came of it. - Because you went to Rome, Baron.

Someone suggested I should come back.

Because you want to marry the mother's daughter -- me. Is that it?

Shit! My head! I've got a thick skull.

You can go. Here's Doctor Mondella. Hurry!

I'm coming too. Wait a second, will you?

Her heart's not functioning properly. I don't know how she's lived this long.

- Is there no hope at all? - She may live some days or some months.

Let's see if this helps.

Have I got to be pricked?

In the shadow of Saint Peter's there are plenty of Madonnas ...

... and candles offered in atonement of sins, yet corruption flourishes.

The censors cut films, stop plays, and sequester magazines.

And the corruption still flourishes.

I'm talking about another kind of corruption: thieving, cheating ...

- What you consider corrupt, I don't. - You don't?

To judge someone for their sexual behavior isn't right.

- That's a theory of yours? - Yes, it is!

Nowadays young people go to bed together quite easily.

They think sexual relationships are not important. And that's okay.

- Everyone? - Everyone.

Stop the car. Stop the car.

What do you want to do?

- Good evening. - What does the lady want?

- I'm young too, so my place is here. - It's not a place for you, miss.

It's a hard life.

That's how they all begin.

Paolo, what are you doing? Paolo!

Are you crazy? Here, in the street? Let go of me. Stop!

What are you doing? Stop it! No!

I told you to leave me alone!

We've been married for ten days and it's always like this.

- Why? - I don't know.

Don't listen to her. Come to me tomorrow, by yourself.

What's happened? What's the matter?

Nothing, everything is fine. I like talking with you, being with you.

- It's just this other thing that's a problem. - It's all in your head.

I'm not saying that it's your fault, maybe I should have ...

It's just how I am. I had no experience when I was younger.

Lucky you! Otherwise I would have broken your backbone.

Sorry.

I'm sorry, but I need you, Caterina.

You're the only one that can save me.

You're all the good things that I could have done, that I didn't.

At this time in life I realize ...

... I realize that to save myself, I mustn't be like my grandfather Paolo, ...

... or my uncle, or my brother Luigi or anyone in this cursed family, ...

... full of egotism and lust.

I want to be like my father.

Yes, I want to be like him.

I want reason to guide my life. I'm sure of that now.

I don't want to come to the same end as the others. Help me!

- Is that why you married me? - Yes, yes. But ...

... if the thing that bothers you doesn't work out, that's unimportant. I still love you.

- Do you want me to leave you alone? - Yes, yes.

- Caterina, I... - I'm tired, Paolo. Please.

Do you want me to come with you?

You were wise to choose me. They're all ugly and filthy, aren't they?

My scarf! My scarf! Let go my scarf!

Faggot!

Are you headed to Trastevere? Can you give me a lift?

What a scoundrel! That's the second time that's happened.

One can't always trust someone just because he looks like a gentleman.

I had a client in Fregene who hadn't been with a woman for 15 days, ...

... a banker, a very important person.

He picked me up... I don't work around here, I'm in San Pietro.

He drove me to Fregene and then the banker told me he was too tired.

At least he could have brought me back to where I'd been.

He left me waiting for the bus. "Bus 139 doesn't run now", I told him.

"You can play the numbers on the wheel of fortune", he said.

"I'll give you the numbers to play: three, ninety and go fuck yourself."

Luckily there are still good people in the world.

- What's the matter? Are you upset with me? - No, I'm not.

- Would you like to go somewhere? - Why?

If you have time, I could stay a while longer.

- Here? - Sure! There's no one around.

No, I'm in hurry!

We could be done in five minutes.

You feel bad because you really want to make love, don't you?

I perfectly willing if you want to do it.

- If you want to, we still have time. - Tomorrow would be better, goodbye.

When I give in to temptation, I felt better physically, but not mentally.

Your complex is out of date.

It's incredible that there's still someone in Rome who has the Jesus Christ complex.

- When did sex ever damage the mind? - It's not just sex.

- Then what is it? - I don't know.

It's the deterioration of something greater.

It isn't based in the senses.

It's a denial of something that comes from up here.

It's the reason that suddenly stops me short with the word "No".

But that "No" creates an emptiness that immediately fills me with obscene desire.

Go on, Paolo. You're taking this much too seriously.

We Sicilians are all made like that.

This longing to do wrong things, it's our marvellous life-force.

When we do those things, we feel as proud as if we'd won a game.

- It's not that simple for me. - No, yours is a form of neurosis.

For you sex is becoming a sin. Something to be denied.

You hoped marriage would redeem you. From what?

From myself.

Did you tell your wife about that whore from last night?

What are you waiting for? Go home to her.

Tell her that for the first time in your life, you defeated your instincts.

That you're changing, because you've found the right woman for you.

Caterina!

Caterina!

Cateri...

- What are you doing? - I'm going to Catania for a while.

- When are you leaving? - This evening.

So soon?

The sooner I leave, the sooner I'll come back.

- Do you want me to come with you? - I need to be alone.

I'm sorry, Paolo. You understand everything. I couldn't talk about this to anyone else.

- I need to be alone and catch my breath. - So, you're tired of me.

Please, don't think that.

It's my fault, I had the wrong impression of you. I thought I knew you.

- I disappointed you! - No!

- I came back to tell you that... - What?

Nothing, it's not important.

You won't be coming back, will you?

Take this, read it on the train.

It's nothing important. I don't mind if you throw it away.

The hope of a decent, honorable way of life has left with you.

The happiness of love, ...

... the promise of escaping my own lust through your innocence.

Once again I find myself alone with my physical needs.

My selfishness, my narcissism, my hard-heartedness and my pride.

It could have been so different with you.

Once again the devil rides inside me, deep down inside, ...

... and no matter how hard I try to shake him off, he clings tightly to me.

Our brief marriage was built on affection, sacrifice, ...

... sweetness, purity and reason.

The things that I chased in vain all my life.

As repayment, I blindly tried to impose my stupid sensuality on you, ...

... the only thing I was capable of.

For a moment I believed that with you my life could change, ...

... and if you had had the strength to stick by me, it might have.

That's what I came home to tell you today, but it was too late.

Now this body that has been denied joy and pleasure for so long ...

... is once more consumed with its own gratification, ...

... widening its scope hourly to encompass the ridiculous, the obscene, ...

... invading my mind and hurling me into despair.

I've never been happy, my love, never truly happy for even one moment.

I know what it is to sell your soul to the devil for the pleasures of this world, ...

... but you pay a bitter price!

Our Father who art in heaven hallow'd be Thy name, ...

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, as it in heaven....

Hello!

You're back. For a while I was afraid you wouldn't come.

Why are you crying?