"WHAT TIME IS IT?" " You said 120 thousand." " Here's your bag." "Excuse me." "I know!" "Your coffee." "The grappa." " Have you got with rue?" " No, just this one." "Michele!" "Michele!" "Dad!" " You look good." " Can't complain... so many years and I'm just one, they win by default." "You look like a young man!" "Three young men, each one is 20." "As long as the three are all right." "You really look good, yes, yes..." " Marble, right?" " Cut it out!" "Let me see!" "Listen, where can we sit down?" "I have to give you mom's and Paoletta's gifts." " This bag is really heavy." "Here." " Yeah, I'll take it." "That way." " Where did you park?" " I've come by taxi." "It's 500 meters from here to the station." "103 Km, to be exact." " You've come from Rome by taxi?" " I was going to come by train..." "As I was going by taxi to the station..." "I started thinking:" "strikes, delays... whether I would get a non-smoking car..." "Right, so you came by cab." " Listen, aren't you a bit thin?" " No, no..." "I'm fine." "And mom?" "She said she'd come with Paoletta." "Yes, the Brambilla family on vacations." "I just preferred it this way." "I wanted to be alone with you, you know what I mean?" "To chat a while..." "Why, do you think it's wrong?" "No, on the contrary." "I like it." "You did the right thing." "Do you know it's been a long time since we saw each other?" "I know." "The last time was when I went to Rome." "Yes, and we didn't speak." "I know talking to mom is enough." "C'mon, don't start." "I call home." "But you're never there." " Because you call when I'm not home." " What do you mean?" "Yes, I know that talking to the one from Naples is enough for you." "The Neapolitan is always home, you're not." "Each time I call it's "Is dad home?", "no, he's not"." " Dad has to work." " Well, don't work so much." "That's easy enough to say." "Every Italian is a case." "50 million cases, you see." " 50 million, all for you?" " Well... 50 million cases, all yours." "When one calls, tell him:" ""there's too many of you, just behave"." "Did some Neapolitan woman tell you to scold me?" "Was it your mother or your sister, the pharmacist?" "Nobody, just my own thoughts." "Did you understand?" "Understood." "You've ordered a car for me." "A car? "The car"!" "A top of the line Lancia." "The best of the top of the line." "For a while, I thought about ... a Mercedes 300 coupe, but I said to myself... perhaps it's a bit pretentious, know what I mean?" "Isn't that the car you've got?" "Sure." "It's just that I am a bit pretentious." "And I've got another surprise." "Another one?" "Wasn't it just one, dad?" "This isn't really a surprise, it's a project of a surprise." "Porta Pinciana..." "Villa Borghese on the left." "Up to Largo Spinelli, what do you see?" "What do I see from Largo Spinelli?" "A sea of cars." "Right on the corner." "A penthouse for you." " A penthouse?" " Yes." "Once you're there and..." "Why a penthouse?" "What for?" "So you can see your clients in a nice atmosphere..." "What clients?" "I have a degree in Arts." " Do I have clients?" " No, but you'll be fine there, no... noise to disturb your reading and writing." "If only I had had it... when I was sleeping with my brother in the corridor." "Open the folding bed." "Close it." "You have to see it, it's an opportunity." "Just imagine, Rome at your feet..." "A sea of green it's like living in the country... but just a few steps away from the Piazza del Popolo." "I have an appointment with Di Tulio, the notary." "As soon as you return to Rome we'll sign the contract, OK?" " Are you happy?" " Yes... really happy." "Oh, I was forgetting the parking spot." "Parking... dad, I don't even have a driver's license." "You can get it now, it's the perfect time." "I know Mr. Bartoccini." " Right... you already have an appointment." " It's just a telephone call." "Sure, a telephone call." "Do you like sirens?" "It depends, sometimes they're sad and sometimes they're cheerful." "Depends on my mood." "What did you think of that one?" "So-so, neither sad nor cheery." "What about you?" "Me?" "I don't like sirens." "They remind me of the war, alarms, bombings, curfews." "Running to the shelter when I heard them." "In the corridor, next to the door, there was always... a bag ready with sweaters, water... coffee, what passed as coffee at the time." "And then my mother would shout:" ""The bag with the silverware"!" "You know what was inside?" "Six silver teaspoons." "We had to run to the shelter that..." "Stop me or I'll go on until dusk." " It's a pity." " What's a pity?" "A pity about the war, the fascists, the Germans." "It would have been a good age otherwise." "Nice to live in." "I mean, six teaspoons were important." "They were used on special occasions... to stir coffee in cups on special occasions." "For other days, there were second grade teaspoons... and the teaspoons were important, really important." "They were important to grandma, who wanted... to save them from the bombing, just like she wanted to save you or uncle Umberto." "Nowadays we always need more... because what we have is worth less each day." "It wasn't a good time, believe me." "Now is better, today." " Don't you like it nowadays?" " The end of the 20th century?" " Do you find it nice?" " Nice!" "It's the end of the century." "Like all the other ends of the century." " How are they?" " How should I know, Michele?" "I don't know." "We have this one." "I know!" "Michele!" "MIchele!" "Long live the sea horses!" "Michele!" "We're going to stick it to the sperm whale guys!" "Remember to wear the boots with high stumps," " because the field is boggy, OK?" " Friends of yours?" "Is it true that you load up frozen fish, then thaw it and bring it back... and sell it as fresh?" "It's my father..." " See you later, Michele." " Bye." "You play soccer, good for you at least you get some amusement." "Tell me, tell me:" "You are the horses." "Sea horses." "And the sperm whales you trounce..." " would be your rivals." " That's right." " Is the game tomorrow?" " We have our derby." "So tell me, tell me, are they nice people?" " Are they friends?" "Do they play well?" " They're pretty good." "Michele, pardon me but... when you talk about stuff... any stuff, the teaspoons..." "You don't tell me anything." "I'd like to know what you do, how you spend your time, what you think... if not, well maybe... that is..." " Tell me something." " What do you want me to tell you?" "We meet on Sundays, we play a game... end of the story." "And if we're still friends... after your frozen fish joke, I don't know." "Which is the best bar in town?" "There isn't." "Let's go." "I have to make a call." " Work call?" " An appointment with a new client." "I don't know how I'll get rid of him." "You said: "sometimes you could just say no to one of them"." "Right." "I should say it to my brother." "He brought me this scoundrel." " What does he do?" "Who is he?" " He's mixed up in a hospital... scandal." "The usual." "I should send him to jail instead of defending him!" "You would send him to jail." "Then why did you accept?" "Why?" ".." "Why?" "..." "I just had to do it." "You know my brother:" ""I beg you, he's a friend... you have to help, he's in trouble"." "It's always the same family stories... always someone to make your life miserable." "Understand?" "The regional law that doesn't allow... 0.07 and limits it to 0.003... fine, then the mayor writes us... to ask for a new project, we present it." "They give us 30 days, we do it in three... and they start beating around the bush" "It took them a year, and when I was about to start on it... another regional law comes out... approving all the projects that were presented before... the previous law." "I was expecting it to be by court appointment." "But no, I get another letter... saying that, no, we have to make a new request if... we're still interested in the original project." "How's it going with Grazia?" " Who's Grazia?" " Your girlfriend, right?" " Gloria." " And what did I say?" " Grazia." " OK, Grazia and Gloria." "Nothing.... we called it... off... before I left for the service." "I didn't know." " You must have told mom." " I haven't told anyone yet." "You're the first one." "Perhaps it's better that way." "A broken family with separated parents..." "I don't think she was the girl for you, you were right in breaking up." "I didn't leave her, she left me." "We had broken up hundreds of times, we were always arguing..." "Rather it was she arguing with me, but..." "Then, it's me, it's not that..." "I look like it, but I can also... cause harm." "I'm always doubting, can't make up my mind." "I'm indecisive!" "No, no." "You're not indecisive." "You're pensive, which is different." "Anyway, I was too..." "pensive for her, she was too... frantic for me." "It wasn't really that bad." "I was fine like that." "Thing is, she left me." "She went to Milan." ""The lifestyle here agrees with me"." "That's what she wrote herself." "It's better this way." "Besides, she found someone else, so..." "She didn't waste any time." "Just separated and..." "No, she'd met him before, when she was with me." " And how did you find out?" " Find out... hmm... she told me..." ""I'm with someone else, you know"" "In these things she didn't... on the contrary..." "she was... sincere, a good girl." "Where is the Hertz?" "You know, a rent-a-car." "I don't know, don't think there is one around here." "I'll take you to dinner in Porto Santo Stefano." "How about it?" "Waiter!" " How much is it?" " Thirteen." " How much?" " Thirteen." "Keep the change." "Come on." "Didn't you have to make a phone call?" "Don't feel like it right now." "Later." "The specialty of the house... are fusilli-stuffed peppers all'arrabbiata." "But my favorite is the "legumata", a soup with pasta, beans... peas, lentils, broad beans and mussels on top." "Don't you like it?" " OK, let's skip it then." " No, why?" "There's probably something lighter." "You can have it and..." "Wait, think about it." "It's an hour by car." "When we get there it'll be closed and I'm hungry already." " I don't mind going." " I'm starving already." "Listen, where do you normally eat?" "Not at the barracks." "But there's a restaurant at the station." "I'd prefer to avoid the restaurant at the station, OK?" "Sure, we'll find a place." "Michele, have you noticed that only people in the provinces whistle?" "In big cities like Rome nobody whistles anymore." "In my days, whistling was an established language." "Me and my brother Umberto, we'd dress up as sailors... but we'd whistle like herders." "Then there were those that did it with their fingers like this... or with four fingers, I never managed that." "Nice." "Where did you learn?" "I've always known how to do it." "Michele, the utmost was the "mute"." "Imagine you saw a pretty girl walking in front of you... and wanted to let her know that..." "Then..." "There was this muted whistle." "Look!" "Look there, that officer!" " Where?" " Not there." "Look there!" "That's Captain Cochia." "All this whistling..." "He turned round when you did the "mute"." " What's with the "mute"?" "Is he a bit...?" " No way!" " No, no." " Has he seen us?" "No, come on." "What have you got with fish?" " Whatever you want..." " Is it all fresh?" "And all good." "Will you be choosing?" " What's that?" " Nothing, a present." "Another present?" "What day is today?" " What is it?" " Surprise." "I know it's a surprise." "A quartz radio alarm clock," "Japanese technology." "Pocket TV's, that kind of stuff." " Come on, tear it." " I'll ruin the paper." " That's what it's there for." " OK, let's tear it." "Grandpa's watch with the locomotive on the back." "Beautiful watch." "I still remember that I used to ask... grandpa for the time every two minutes:" ""Grandpa, what time is it?"" "I liked the fact that he kept it in his pocket." "When I was sick, he would lend it to me when it was time for an injection." "Yes, this opens..." "I remember now." "Inside, it's written in English..." "No, French, it's in French." "Really pretty." "I'm just sorry you'll be left without it by giving to me... your father's watch." "Keep it, dad!" "I'm sorry!" "It's all the same to me." "I prefer for you to have it." "But I appreciate your gesture." "I want you to have it." " Really?" " Yes." "I'll wear it, then." " See if it works." "What time is it?" " Five past one." "Perfect." "It's not a watch to use with jeans, but..." "Who cares?" "Excuse me, what time is it?" "You're asking me the time?" "Five past one plus 32 seconds." " Thank you." " You need the time, I got a watch." "The time?" "Sure, it's five past one plus 53 seconds." "You're welcome." "If you need the time..." "I'm happy, you know?" "It's really a wonderful gift, dad." "Well, you prefer a watch to... a Lancia Thema Turbo, 16 valves." "Who said that?" " Very pretty." "I'm really glad." " So am I." "Listen, won't they take us for members of Captain Cochia's team?" "Stop it with that." "He's not, he's not" "That's the impression I got." " The Captain is from Alto Adigio." " He might be, but..." "I already ordered from the cook, give me the wine list." "Bring us a Prosecco." "I was so proud when I was a kid." "I had a grandpa who was a train conductor..." "To me he was..." "Remember when mom... was teaching in Naples and I was with the other grandparents..." "I used to tell all the kids..." "tell all the little ones..." ""My grandfather from Rome is a conductor"." "Like saying, you know..." "my grandfather works in the railroad." "And my grandfather from Naples would always correct me..." ""He's not a conductor, he's a manager for the railroad"." "One day he came home with a professor named Nardella." "A guy that..." "As a kid, I would tell it to everyone..." "I got home and said:" ""Professor, do you know... that my grandfather in Rome is..." "So I froze and thought:" "is he a manager or a conductor?" ""Grandpa from Rome is a locomotive... manager." I messed it all up." "Grandpa from Naples got really crossed." "You know how he was." "He was like that, I remember when he was obsessed... with the De Fonseca surname." "Said he was a De Fonseca." "He would come to school to speak with my teachers." "Every day he would come." "To see how it was going." "Every day. "How's Michellino doing?"" "How's Michellino doing?" "Just like yesterday." "And then when he left: "Bye, Michellino..." "remember you're a De Fonseca."" "I could have killed him when he said that." "That's typical of Neapolitans with a Spanish family line." "And in front of all my friends, get it?" "All right." "Then they would make jokes during roll call... they would say Ridolfi, father's name..." "And all the kids: "Remember that he's a De Fonseca"." "He was a kind man, but he had his own ideas." "When your mother and I started going steady, he asked for information from Rome about me and my family... through the police force." " Cheers." " Cheers." "Do you get wine in the barracks?" "Just on holidays," "Saturdays and Sundays." "Not even Sundays for us." "At mess time, we all got in line with a plate." ""Soup is ready, soup is ready, come and eat."" "What about taps?" "It ends like this: "If you got clean shoes you can leave"." "Do we have to go through the whole repertoire?" "Why not?" "I get it, when you're doing military service... it shows, even when dressed as a civilian." "No, it's not that." "Most of all if the father starts playing the horn at the table." "When I was a conscript in Rome, at the "Macao" barracks... there was this horn player from Sardinia... named Porcu, Gesuino Porcu." "he was small, dark, and you couldn't understand anything when he talked." "But when he played the horn... it was music." " Of course, he played the horn." " Sure, it was music, sure." "But what I mean... is that he put... feeling, subtlety into it." "How is yours?" " Ours what?" " The horn player." "There are no horns nowadays." " Really?" " No." "There's a cassette." "When the watch officer arrives, at whatever time... he plays the cassette and you can hear it all over the barracks." "I see, like in a church, no more bells, now the priest plays the cassette." "That's right, yeah." "Amazing." "Absolutely amazing." "What?" "Nothing, you said..." ""absolutely amazing"." "So?" "It's just... that I hadn't heard it from you in a long time... and there was a time when... you said it very often." "So, I thought..." "You thought what?" "Nothing, I thought that... you might have seen again..." "Who?" "Who?" "The person that had you mimicking... a youthful and modern way of speaking... that you would use now and then." "Dad, you understand, right?" " No." " Who I'm talking about." "No, no, no." "No, I didn't understand!" "Let's skip it, anyway, there's no horn player now..." "I didn't..." "I didn't understand you!" "Who am I supposed to have seen?" " No one." " Who's this person?" "I don't have time to see anyone." "This very morning, in order to come here..." "I had to postpone at least 10 appointments." "Does that mean that you did wrong?" "You shouldn't postpone them." " You're right, I did wrong!" " You're right, I... you did..." "Always ready to observe, scrutinize and judge, right?" "Who's scrutinizing?" "Who's judging?" "Dad!" "You're making a big thing out of nothing." " Yes..." " It's you, you make up your own bed." "As if I didn't know you." "Always ready to weigh up words." ""You said absolutely amazing"." "I always say it." "All right." "Enough." " Forget it, OK?" " Yes, yes." "Not OK, not OK." "Absolutely amazing." "I say it when I feel like it!" "OK?" "Where and when I feel like it!" "Yes, it's amazing, amazing." "Even you, you..." "the waiter is amazing." " Bon apetit." " Likewise." "Thanks." "All right," "I've seen her again... now she's a lawyer too... she must be 40... and a happy mother with three kids." " Does she still say "absolutely amazing"?" " I don't know." "That's semiology for you, right?" "Through the father's language... you could tell when he'd lost his head over someone... or the moment after a reunion with that... very same person." "Sometimes I run into her at the court." ""Hi, you're looking good"." ""Looking good yourself"." ""Bye". "Bye"." "Who knows if she still remembers." " But you remember quite well!" " Who, me?" "I can't remember anything these days." "Where can you find anyone as bewildered as me?" "Still with that olive in your mouth?" "You'll never grow up!" "Come on, eat, damn it!" "Excuse my language." "Getting back to the war which is such a joyous topic... the German High Command was over there... in Via Tarso, 30 meters from our house." "Political prisoners were tortured there." "Me and my brother, uncle Umberto... would watch from the balcony as those trucks arrived... all those men that had been rounded up were unloaded." "There was this wool carder who used to come around once or twice a year... to fix the mattresses." "He was a little old man... and when he would sit astride over his stool to card the wool... he made us laugh, because... he looked like a little kid on a wooden horse." "One afternoon, my brother and I saw a kid coming down... from the truck among the political prisoners." "We couldn't really tell because it was dark." "But..." "Next day, while walking past the wool carder's shop... in Via Contevete... the shop shutter was down and there was a sign:" ""Property of a Jew." "Closed by order of German Command"." "We better change the subject." "You say "bewildered", but... your memory is fine when you want it to be, right?" "Only when the subject is the Germans." "What's that?" "Is that you?" "What's that noise?" "The pills." "Damn it, I never hear it." "I'm getting deaf." "Stop." " Japanese?" " Yes, Japanese." "Gotta take the morning pill also, I forgot." "Two and three..." "Wash them down with liquor?" " As long as I swallow them..." " Yeah, as long as you swallow them..." "Dad, you're supposed to take medicine with water." " 485 square meters." " Nice." "It's not the National Library... but it's pretty and has a good selection... you never have to get in line." "To be honest there's never anyone around..." "Do you come often?" "When I'm free, in my free time..." "You spend some here..." "This city is a bit squalid, isn't it?" "Squalid?" "It's all there is." "Michele, but are always alone?" " No, who said that?" " Besides the Sunday game... with the pelicans." " Sea horses." " Sea horses." "Don't you ever see anyone?" "At night after taps, for example." "What do you think about?" " Don't you get depressed?" " What depression, dad?" "I don't even think about military service suicides." "That's good." "Sometimes, I come here to see the employees." "There's a girl and a Mr. Monaldo, a retired teacher... who's quite a character... a showman." "Even physically, he's got a huge nose with pimples, he's tall... and has a nervous tic... a tic like this." "When he talks he seems to be saying... let's go, let's go that way, but it's just a tic." "What a character!" "He and I made up this game, a memory game... about famous quotes from literary sources." "For example, I arrive and suddenly say..." ""Have you eaten?" "Who said that?"" "And he says: "Ciela Conte to del Dongo, who's a prisoner at the Farnese Tower." "The Charterhouse of Parma, Stendhal, 1839"." " Sounds like fun!" " And it's hard too, no..." "You win!" "Me, win?" "He's very good." "He's..." "Sometimes I win, sometimes he wins." "It's a hot rivalry." "Besides, he's here... while I am at the barracks, he's... here practicing." "This guy..." " knows it all." " Sure, he makes the most out of it." "He caught me yesterday as soon as I arrived." "He says..." "Brother!" ""I'm pure as if I had just left my mother's womb"." "Who said it?" "Cepparello da Prato." "As evil and sinning man as they come, who after a false confession on his deathbed, was made a saint." "The Decameron, Bocaccio, 1350... 1350, that's precise..." "How do you know?" "I went over it this morning, while riding the cab." "Michele, I have read The Decameron." "I've read it too, but to remember like you:" "Cepparello da Prato." "Evil and sinning man... word by word... not even Monaldo knows it that well." "And it's not just an approach!" "You... you should be the one playing with him, not I." "And you don't do it with..." "That's some memory." "Come on, I have to make that phone call." " Where can I find a phone around here?" " There's a booth over there." "But I can't." "That lawyer Ajello is an excellent defender, even better than me for this kind of litigation." "So Mr. Antonazzi can rest assured..." "I can call Ajello if you'd like..." "No, it's useless to call me at the office, I'm not there." "And I won't be there." "And, listen, my decision is final." "I'm sorry." "Good bye." " You won't defend him." " No." " Very good, bravo." " Yes, bravo." " We'll see what Umberto says." " Let him say...!" "In my opinion you did right, and I'm glad, really." "What did you say?" " I told him I don't have the time." " Bravo, bravo!" " How did you put it to him?" " I said:" "I'm sorry, I have other plans..." " and I can't." " Bravo, bravo!" "Easy, easy or I'll run out of breath." "Dad, come on, get on." " No, not on the carrousel." " Come on, get on." " Come on..." " All right." " OK?" " Yeah." " It's ridiculous at my age." " What's ridiculous?" "Besides, who knows you around here?" "I like the merry-go-round." "Michele, these are nice... but you should see them in America, Disneyland, an amusement park... that's larger than a city." "There are planes, helicopters, submarines." "It's crazy, they've got hotels, because you have to stay 3 or 4 days to see it all." "I thought I would go crazy." "America is a fantastic country... everything is impressive, everything is huge... it's a country where enterprise is glorified... because intelligence is highly valued... a young, modern country." "For example... you want to become a writer, that's your country!" " Do I want to become a writer?" " Yes!" " I don't want to be a writer." " What do you mean?" "I wanted to get you into law school, at the University of Rome... and your mother said: "no, he wants liberal arts at the University of Naples"... and you said: "Yes, dad, I want to become a writer"." " Did I say that?" " Yes, you did." "It's just that I didn't want to be a lawyer..." " so I said that." " Don't want to insist, but... your concepts regarding the teaspoons this morning... that was a profound image... and also beautiful, Michele." "A topic like that, you're smart, you develop it... you take it to New York, to the Journalism Institute, you take a four month course, with your talent..." "Do you realize the great career you could have?" "You finish military service, you leave... you arrive at Kennedy Airport." "It's beautiful... madness, chaos, confusion." "I have a lawyer friend there, Steiner... who'll wait for you with a sign that reads "Ridolfi"." " And you speak English, right?" " No, I don't." " But I've heard you." " Not me." " You used to speak English." " Maybe it was Neapolitan." " I've never spoken English." " All right, even better." "You take a three month course." "Full immersion, day and night." "Non stop." "Because that country never stops... even at night everything's open, theaters, movie houses, drugstores... run, gallop." "There's so much activity, such creativity... a magnetic energy, stick a key into a keyhole and out comes a spark, so much excitement, so much electricity in the air." "Anyway, it's hell, you'd love it." " What do you say?" " About what?" "About those vacations." "Some vacations!" "Look at your hair!" " Let's hope they come out well." " 20, 10, they're ready." "Wait, wait." " Isn't this one funny?" " And this one." "Which one do you want?" " I'll keep this one." " Sure?" "No, no, this one is good..." "I knew it." "You look as if you had passed out in this one." "Michele, did you see these?" "Nice shoes." " Yes?" " I'd like these here." " Size?" " 44..." " and two others." " Same shoes?" " What size are you?" " I don't need them." " No?" " Not for me, for you." "Not even for you." "You've got millions of them." "What size?" "Don't want them, don't need them." "For you." "Nice, aren't they?" "Duillio model." "A bit too... yellow." ""English yellow", that's the style." " Michele!" " What?" "Take a look!" "Just like yours." "Only yours is a turbo... and silver gray." "It's just like it, look." "Look." " Big." " Yes, it's large." "I imagined it somewhat smaller." "Yes, like the Easter egg cars." " No, but not so..." " I understand." " You don't like it!" " Yeah, yeah, but..." "But what?" "I don't know, dad." "All these big presents... house, car... just like that." "If you'd tell me beforehand, and we talked it over..." "if you'd tell me..." "Listen, if I had told you before it wouldn't be a surprise, right?" "Could be, perhaps there should never be surprises." "Don't take it like that." "It's not like I'm saying something..." "No, no, you're right." "I've had the bad taste of buying you... this... piece of shit of a car." "And of finding you a study in one of the ugliest places in Rome." "And you have enough good taste to tell me: "I don't really care"." "Did I say that, dad?" "I'm not saying that, I'm just saying that... sometimes you do things for my own good, but you do it your way... and put me in a fait accompli situation." "It's troubling, because perhaps I'm not... not prepared, I may have other ideas, other projects." "Well, if you have other projects, tell me about them, get them out, tell me, damn it!" "Did I say I have other projects?" "I'm just saying..." "A way of speaking, I don't know..." "OK, a house in the prettiest place in Rome, but I'm fine at home, I don't want to leave, don't want to live in the prettiest place in Rome... just because it's the prettiest place in Rome." "Look, if you want to stay at home... nobody's throwing you out, it can only make me happy." "You can rent the penthouse, you can sell it." "It's an investment." "What can I say?" "I thought you... wanted to build your own life." "You said it, "build my own life"." "Not for you to build it on your own." "I'm feeling distressed since you arrived..." "I can see myself living in Rome..." "I get to the station and they're waiting for me:" ""Good afternoon, I'm Di Tullio, sign here for the penthouse"." ""No, first the driver license, I'm Bartoccini"." ""No, the plane is leaving for NY, we get to NY..." "I'm Ridolfi, where is the Ridolfi sign?" "and Steiner: "Come home with me, in three months you'll learn English"." "Full immersion, no, come here, stick the key... and I'll be... electric shock from the lock... 24 hours a day, always open, everything open, run Michele, run..." "I don't want to be open 24 hours, I want to close now and then." "I know, you worry about me, I... you worry about me because you think I'm useless... instead of pensive." "I am useless, with a B.A. in something that's worthless." "And I'm worth even less than my B.A., say it... say these things." " I mean what I say." " Say it, then." "I bought a car and an apartment for you sister... and thought it normal to do the same for you." "I'm your father, aren't I?" "I've made a mistake, forgive me, forgive me all of you." "How about a movie?" "Yeah, so I can sit down a bit." " Good afternoon." " No, no, I'll pay." "One service ticket, one normal." "No, wait, a service ticket and a pensioner's ticket." "Six thousand." ""Watch out...!"" ""Some night... it's a respite..."" "Michele!" ""What I'm trying to say is that maybe this is my last night..."" ""before the..."" "Michele!" ""...within three months"." "Michele!" "Enough!" "What are you doing?" "Michele!" ""Valentina, you're nuts, it's 7:30..."" " "I love Tom Waits." " You know Tom Waits?"" " "Keith Jarrett, Coltrane..." " All right..."" ""I'm very selective, right?" "And relentless for movies"" ""I have no choice, I have so little time..." "I just don't have time"." " "None at all?" " Just for the essential."" ""Do you know what is 'essential'?"" ""Pragmatically, yes..."" ""She was the other one." "My ex."" ""I've seen you talking on the phone." "This half a day with me has been such a burden to you... that you ran out to talk to somebody to make you feel better." "I hadn't seen you so happy since you were eight." "I thought you were lonely and lost in this little city." "But instead... you've got plenty of friends... fishermen, librarians... and others that you can now be with, because..." "I'll now leave you alone." "Good bye." "Your father."" ""...their free will..." "an exceptional situation..."" ""Molière, before his time, used to..."" ""a fundamental problem in modern couples, women's independence"" ""...each one of the two heroes is moving through his own universe..."" "Here he goes again!" "Hasn't let us hear a single word." " What's the problem?" " He's busting our balls." "He's got a cough, OK?" " Watch your words, OK?" " He can go to a hospital, not the movies." "It's you who's going to the hospital, understand?" ""...it can be changed, but with no right to add..."" " Are you all right?" " Yes." ""...from the seventeenth century, I have what is needed to learn..."" ""..." "I have what she's trying to tell you..."" ""...if you love me, take me as I am, because I won't change..."" ""...take me as I am and I'll take you as you are..."" " You want to go?" " Yes, let's go." ""...my emotions, in a didactic context." "With a certain selfish and possessive..."" "...intransigence." "I can go on..."" " Good riddance." " Sure... or else the critic misses the dialog." "Watch yourself." ""..." "I'll risk talking about self esteem because nothing has changed, today..."" ""it is just as difficult to reconcile love and personal independence..."" "What's wrong?" "Dad?" "Nothing." "Listen Michele, if you've got things to do, if you need to see somebody," "I can leave at any moment, there's a train every hour." "I don't have to see anybody." "Maybe you prefer to be free... because I arrive to..." "how do you say it?" "... bust your balls." "What balls?" "If you want to leave, go, but..." "No, I had planned to stay until midnight." "So?" "Michele, let's be frank." "I've seen you stealing away to talk on the phone." " Stealing away?" " Yes, stealing away." "Couldn't you be a bit more sincere and say: "Excuse me, dad, excuse me... today I have a date with a woman?"" " You spied on me." "." "Me, spy?" "I saw you by chance while going to the bathroom." "And I wasn't talking to a woman." "I was talking to a friend who's got a bar." "Yeah, yeah, a bar." "You seemed very cheerful and funny." "Can't I be funny with a guy who owns a bar?" "You looked like another person." "Besides, what are you trying to let me know?" "That after a year here you don't know any women?" "I'm not trying to let you know anything, dad." "And besides..." " yes, there's one, but..." " You see?" " There's one." " But I wasn't talking to her!" "See how I have to pluck information from you." "You could have spent the whole day with her." "Why don't you go now?" "I can take the train now, and even have time to stop by the office." "Please, dad!" "OK, you go to her place... and I'll go for a stroll and see you later, OK?" "Why should I go to her place?" "I can go tomorrow or the next day." " I'm with you now, right?" " Yes, I know... to make me feel guilty, right?" "And what's her name?" "Loredana." "Nice name." "I like it." "Intriguing." "Yes, I like it." "Why don't we do something?" "Let's surprise her." "We can go together and you introduce me..." " I'd like that." " But dad, it's that..." "It's ridiculous, we come unexpectedly..." ""Dad, this is Loredana"." "Loredana, this is my father." "A pleasure." "Likewise." "Come in." "Please." "Thank you." "I'll be right back." " She was having a shower." " At this time!" "Is there a time for the shower?" "Where are you going?" "They're her shoes." "Nice view." "It's the port, you can see everything." "Are there painters doing work?" "No, they're all hers." "I help her sometimes." "Squirrels." " Hamsters." " They're squirrels." ""USL, write down Carmela's money"" "She's the assistant." "Pretty, eh?" "A bit pale." "Is she all right?" "What do you mean?" "She's perfectly fine." "She's... not pale, just fair complexion." "Where are you going?" "Sit down." "You always want to sit down when we're on the street... and now you're walking around the place." "Sit down." " Have you noticed that this...?" " Yes, I see." " Who's Lucio?" " What Lucio?" "She wrote: "Remember Lucio"." "Her agenda... please, dad, please..." ""Remember Lucio" is for her, not for you." "Sometimes a detail helps understand..." "Cut it out with the details, do me the favor." ""Sometimes a detail"." "What is this, a trial?" "Has someone indicted Lucio?" "No." "So what do you care?" "Can't a father show interest in his son's girlfriend?" "A father can't show interest." "Understood?" " He can't." " He can't." " Michelino, could you come here a moment?" " Yes." "Please don't touch anything, keep still." "Hello." "How did it occur to you?" "He insisted on coming. "Come on, I want to meet this Loredana"." "And I couldn't resist without seeing you until tomorrow." "Yes, my love!" "You did right." "What's that you're wearing?" "The shoes he insisted on buying me, I'll tell you later." "Handsome!" "She's still with the shower." "What are you looking at?" " She's a photographer." " No, I did these myself." "They're all mine." "They're pretty, I didn't know that..." "Yes, but I don't want to be a photographer, dad!" "Take it easy!" " Is this her father?" " A fisherman." "They're all fishermen." "This is her." "I see." "Good looking." "She's photogenic." "Where did she steal this from?" "A building hall?" "Stolen from a building hall, that's right." "Shall we sit down?" "What's up?" "Is that a kiss, Michele?" "What kiss?" "She asked me to get her some clothes... 'cause she's showering and wants to get dressed... this and that, pants, the shirt, but she... changed her mind." "Because she prefers this, and I prefer this." "That one's also pretty." "Nice and comfortable." " It's a bit of a mess." " No, not at all... it's charming." " Would you like some chocolate truffles?" " No, we're leaving soon." " Yes." "Why not?" "Some truffles." " Sure." "Why not?" "Fuck!" "Bless her." "Not a single one!" "I ate them all last night." "No problem, though." "I'll get some at Pietro's." "Some coffee is good enough for me." "No, now I want them too." "I have to go." "Where is it?" "Not here." "Who knows where it is!" "Michele, you go." "Can't you see she can't find the other shoe?" "Should I go?" " Leave it, I'll go." " OK, wait a moment." " I'm going, OK dad?" " Go, go." "Take the keys and return these to Pietro." "Pay with this, it's on me." "Try to hurry." "He said coffee, you can give him some coffee." "Loredana... is a name... from the Veneto." " Is that so?" " Yes, so I believe." " How did you meet?" " At the library." "Are you also passionate about literature?" "No, I'm passionate about my salary, I work there." "Right, Michele had mentioned it." "Right, there's also Mr. Mo..." "Monaldo, right?" "Sorry, I'll take it." "No, thanks." "Look, you can tell me, how old are you?" "Thirty one." " And your parents?" " How old are they?" "No, how..." "How are they?" "Fine." "Well, one died." "The other is fine." "I also have a brother." "No criminal record." "You're right to make fun out of me." "When parents want to take care of their children... all at once... and suddenly... they become pathetic." "They want to know in one moment everything they haven't known for years." "To recover what was lost... like students who do nothing during classes... and then, the week before the exams..." "You're right to make fun out of me." "Rest assured that I wasn't fucking around with you." "Bless her." "On the contrary." "It's a sign that you love your son, and he loves his father." "You know, he often talks about you." "I'll be!" "Michele talks to you?" "Yeah, well... he talks." "I saw him talking to you on the phone." "To me?" "I still don't have a phone." "Who was he talking to then?" "I don't know." "He knows so many people." "Maybe he called Pietro, or some other boy or girl." "Excuse me, but aren't you..." " jealous?" " Jealous?" "Not me." "And you?" " You're in love, right?" " Yes." "That is... sometimes I think so and other times not." "What does it depend on?" "Mood, I suppose." "His or mine." "Get ready, I'm going to ask one of those questions that... will make you laugh." "How is Michele..." " In other stuff?" " What stuff?" "I mean..." "All fine?" "No complaints?" "Complaints about what?" "What I mean is, how is Michele... when it comes down to it?" "What you mean is..." "Yes..." "I'd like to know." "I have to say that you get a zero in discretion." "Listen, I asked you a question." "I want to know how my son fares in bed." "The ice cream." " What did you say?" " Me?" " I didn't say anything." " Nothing?" "What did you hear?" "If I ask the question it's because..." "Nothing, we spoke about you, about her..." "Comparing opinions..." "just made her laugh, as you can see." " Yes, she's a bright girl." " I know." " Very nice." "A good choice." " Thanks." "Damn it!" "All these expressions." "Does she always swear?" "Leave her be." "Think about the words you use when you speak." "You complain that grandfather asked for information about you from the police." "You're just the same, 50 year later." " I'm sorry." " Sorry what?" "If you'd just mind your own business." "I would never have spoken to my father like that." "If he did that, you were wrong in not telling him." "I just wondered if everything between you two was all right, it was a gesture, an act of kindness." "Spare me those gestures, please, I would prefer..." ""I would prefer not to"." "Who said that?" "Do you know it or not?" "You don't." ""Bartleby the Scrivener"." "Herman Melville, 1851." ""Moby Dick" is from '51, Bartleby must be from '53." "I'll trust you on that." "Da Pietro Port Bar." "The call to Sor Pietro, Sor Pietro's truffles..." " Let's go and see the mythical Pietro." " Forget it, let's go." " It's nothing." " Come on, I'd like to meet him!" "Michele." "Don't tell me that's your father?" "Yes, my father." "Let's finish this hand, please." "Watch out, the king is good and the ace is already out." " I'm glad you noticed." " Of course I noticed!" " The two is over, damn it!" " What two?" " Michele, help me see what I've got." " Excuse me a minute, dad." "Stay right there." "What a nice surprise." "How did you manage?" " Handsome." " My father brought me." "He's my son." "But he's bad." " This is high, this one's also no good." " What?" "Don't you count the cards?" "Mr. Lawyer!" "You don't know how pleased I am to meet you." "I told Michele to bring you here tonight... and repeated it today over the phone, but..." " he said he couldn't and then..." " You're Sor Pietro!" " Yes." " My son has really taken to you." "He's a good kid, so... so sensitive." "I envy you, I've got two children but... they're in Rome..." "to make their careers, they say." "They're something." "Marika?" "She's never there." "Excuse me a moment." "Hello." "Who is it?" "Yes, that's me..." "Tell me, yes." "Of course you're on time... for the petanque tournament, of course." "That's a "gronca"." "That fish is called gronca here." "A strange fish." "That fisherman over there caught it, see him?" "The one with a scarf by the heater, he caught it many years ago." "They say he stopped speaking after he caught it." "As soon as he saw that fish he stopped speaking." "It's a strange, beautiful and mysterious story, right?" "But I think that maybe..." "he was already a mute." "It's a kind of legend..." "Listen, should I make some coffee?" " Thanks." " Some good coffee." "No, we've got too many sweets." "Let me take a look at the notebook." "Here, here." "Here they are." "Everything's here." "Don't you want anything?" "No problem." " Michele, make me some coffee!" " Sure, one more coffee." "They're friends... and I enjoy... making coffee with this machine." "It's one of those things..." "I lower this, it grinds it, see?" "Hear it?" "Comes out of here." "This heats it up." "This cleans the cups." "This cleans here." "You want a coffee?" "Sure..." "Nothing's done by hands." "But it's important." "You could even learn how to do it." "Excuse me..." "I left without even offering you anything." " I'm an animal." " Coffee is ready." "Just the coffee?" "Grappa with rue, your favorite." "Michele told me." " Now we only serve this one." " No, put it in a glass, thanks." "That's the way I like it." "For you just a little, Sor Pietro." "Is it a drinking holiday just because my father came to visit?" "Coffee's ready!" "Here you go, workers of the sea, excuse me..." "You said no milk, get lost." "Coffee with sugar, already stirred, drink up." " He's nice here." " Yes, well... he's among friends and your son is one of the family." "And he comes around here when he's free." "You should come around on a Friday... when we all get together to bet on games... we buy sport newspapers, see who's playing, who's not... it's a riot... all the arguments..." "Then Michele runs all the data through the computer at the barracks." " Michele with a computer?" " Sure." "Don't you know he works at the data center?" "Really?" "Yes, yes, of course..." "He's studying a fail-safe system to get all 13 results right." "And he will, you'll see." "Why not?" "He already got a twelve-pointer right, worth 3.5 million lira." "We had to split it among twenty people, 175,000 lira each, but just to give you an idea... but if we get the 13 results right, it's a billion lira..." "Look at that one over there... the one with the pipe, he'll buy his own fishing boat... and his wife who's now a maid will be a lady." "It'll come!" "Or that one by the heater... he's very poor, just muddles through life." "We get him a house and someone to take care of him." "Every one has a project." "It's all been signed." "Landlord wants to kick me out, so I'll buy the place and renovate it." "And your son can go to Iceland." " Iceland?" " That's his dream, isn't it?" "Since he was a kid and read the books you gave him." "Look, it's not like we... believe this story of 13 results... 100 percent, but... since your son got here..." "I don't know, it's as if... there's more faith, more friendship." "Rolling OK?" " Excuse me, is there a restroom?" " Yes." "This way." "The glass door." "Excuse the hygiene." "I'd imagined your father differently." "A gentleman lawyer, approachable, so discreet..." " to the point of shyness." " Not shyness." "And he was there, impassive." "OK, I'm leaving, the train." "Thank you for the grappa and the coffee, Mr. Pietro." " Thank you for coming." " No, you stay, no need to come." " But why are you leaving?" " The station is very near." " Alone?" " Well." "Good night." " Good night." " It was an honor." "He had a rough day." "This morning things..." " He's really tired now." " So go with him." "Stay with him." "Some son you are!" " Why did you get angry?" " I didn't get angry." " You left the bar just like that." " Just like what?" "Like a bad-mannered guy?" "Did I embarrass you?" "No, I didn't say that." "You should be used to it, I've embarrassed you all day." "When I'm wrong, I'm totally wrong." "Nothing seems to please you." " I don't understand you." " Don't understand me?" " But I understand you." " Don't know about that." "Your service will be over in a month and I don't seem to understand your plans." "The problem is that you don't know yourself." "I know perfectly well." "I know that for a time... for a period of time..." "I won't be... returning to Rome." "So, you're not returning?" " No." " I've..." "I understand." "You want to go to Iceland with the billionaire 13 results." "Yes, to Iceland." "There's no danger of getting lost at the airport in Reykjavík." " Go, go." " What's with Reykjavík?" "It was just... the sport bet." "Everyone had to make a wish." "So why couldn't I make one?" "I came up with Iceland." "Everything's clear now." "I'm glad, my son, now I have peace of mind... because you're not coming to Rome and you're not going to Iceland." "Do you mind telling me where you're off to?" "Don't know, I think..." "At least for now I'll stay here." "Here?" "In Civitavecchia!" "You're mad!" "What will you do?" " I don't know..." "I'll do something." " The coffee!" "Mr. Pietro's coffee." "Coffee for sailors with salt-marked faces... in a foggy bar with smoke, pipes, and embalmed monsters." "What a scene!" "Is that your future?" ""But give me a break", like Totó used to say." "My future?" "Who's talking about the future?" "I know that... anyway it's useless talking to you, useless..." "We better go or you'll miss the train." "It's always this way, you close up like a sea urchin." " Me?" " Even as a kid you used to do it." " Yes, yes." " You were hostile, you avoided me." "As soon as we were alone together... you would flee, saying that you had something to do." "You would invent any excuse to disappear." "You also wanted to stay in Naples." "But you..." "You understood everything, bravo!" "I like that, even as a kid you understood me, you always understood me." "Want to know why I used to run away from you?" "Because of all the questions, OK?" "Yes, my own father wasn't pleased with me." "Just imagine." "And when I was alone..." "I'd try to imitate you, I wanted to be like you... because I'd see... you as who knows what." "And then... nothing... when I was by your side I couldn't stand it." "Yeah, well..." "Maybe I never knew how to let you be." "Not even now... not for a few hours." "Well, not so... not so few." "Moreover... it's no problem talking to a stranger." "Talking to a father is hard..." "And who said that a father and a son should talk?" "No, not talk, Michele, but there are some things that need to be said." "How can I know if my son wants to be a guru... in a place like this, if he doesn't tell me, if he's like a wall?" " We've talked today, haven't we?" " Yes, talked..." "A sea of words without any meaning." "Me with the Germans, you with the Parma book." "We talked about everything without a meaningful word." "You say: "I'm staying here"." "I'd understand if it was love. "Me and Loredana love each other madly"." "But you couldn't be any more indifferent to each other." "Why is that?" "I'm fine with..." "Loredana, notwithstanding your interrogation." "I believe you're fine... with a half-baked relationship with no commitment, no projects." "Maybe you're fine... but with the other one, Gloria, Grazia... the one that left for Milan with some other guy... you used to love her and you lost her." "I loved her and lost her..." "What do you know when you... can't even remember her name?" "Why this?" "You loved her and still do." "You're with this one hoping to forget about the... other one, even if I don't remember her name." "And remember, behind every change... every conversion, there's always a woman." "That's a good one, we'll frame it." "Big cities suffocate you... pollution, consumerism." "Quality of life is something holy, who can deny it?" "But keep in mind that in Rome you had the right woman... and you lost her by not having the courage of making... half a decision, half a commitment, understand?" "Yes, everyone has to be like you." "Everybody has to have precise ideas about everything and that's it, right?" "You always know what is good for you and for the others." "Good for you!" "Good for you!" "I don't know how to choose..." "I don't know how to choose the ideal restaurant, the right wine..." "Maybe that's why I don't drink." "I can't decide, can't choose, I can't do anything, dad!" "Nothing, OK?" "And when my father's here, even less." " So just leave me, please." " Michele, stop playing the victim, stop feeling judged." "If there's a judge here, it's you." "Who do I judge?" " Yes, you judge my choices... my way of being." "You judge it all because... you feel nobler, superior." "What do you care about... working, starting a family, a home." "You are... believe me, Michele..." "You're very conceited." "I'm conceited?" "But you really care about the family, don't you?" "Of course!" "All your life you've always done what you wanted!" "You would have lost the family, the perfect wife... if it were up to you." "I don't think so... we'll be celebrating our 35th wedding anniversary in March." "You'll celebrate, but it'll be none of your doing." "Sure, it's all due to poor mom." "Enough with that poor mom stuff." " I didn't even name mom." " Yes, you're always the victims." " The pills." " I don't want to take them." "You Neapolitans." "You, your mother and your sister, always pointing at me with a gun." "What do you think?" "That your mother was the only one that suffered?" "Remember that professor Nardella that used to come around... to visit us at the grandparents' house in Naples?" "Well, your mother had some consolation with that Nardella..." " It's useless to look at me that way." " What are you saying?" "Well, yes..." "Even you children smelled something." "And she told me herself." "Love, passion... are not eternal between man and wife." "Unfortunately." "And for your mother... it wasn't any different." "What are you saying?" "What are you talking about?" "I feel sorry for you... it's very mean of you to be bringing up these things." "Look at yourself... old, fat. "I eat, drink and smoke":" "He does it all." "You sleep two or three hours." "Just two years after the stroke and you still think you can get over it all." "He's immortal, he'll always be here." "Why?" "I'd rather croak happily than spend my whole life whining!" "Then go croak somewhere else... because I don't want to see you." "All right?" " It's better this way, I'm off to Rome." " Go, go to Rome." "I'm going." "And you stay here." "Of course I will." "The old shoes." "What time is taps?" "Sometimes, there's no taps." "Go, you'll be late anyway." "There's time." "What time is it?" "Three past ten and ten seconds." "Exact." " Can I say it?" " Yes, thank you." "Ten, three minutes and 22 seconds." " Thank you." " You're welcome." "It's very precise... perfect for telling the time on trains." "It belonged to my grandfather, an old... watch, a gift from my father." " Pretty." " Very pretty." " Do you want to know the time?" " Thanks." "Three past ten and 45 seconds at this moment." "Whenever you need it, just ask me and I..." "Just look at it." " Excuse me, what time is it?" " Ten o'clock, 3 minutes and 52 seconds." "This watch never fails." "At any moment, it..." "Are you tired?" "And you?" "A bit." "You OK?" "WHAT TIME IS IT?" "English subs by scalisto for KG." "Translated from Spanish subs by tahita."