"TIME STOOD STILL" "At 8,530 feet, on the Venerocolo glacier," "The construction of a dam is on the brink of completion." "During winter, the construction site is deserted." "There are only two men left." "They are the interpreters of this film." "Eat, you must eat, You have to!" "Okay." "One, two, three and four." "I ate four of yours." "Stop showing off." "It's no fun playing with you." "Fortunately, Pedrazzini will be here tomorrow." "It'll be a better game." " Is it still snowing ?" " Yes, heavily." "I won't come back until January 17th." "That's not possible." "I assure you it is." "This year we're lucky." "Look." "Thursday, it's Christmas," "Friday is a holiday too," "Saturday, we only work in the morning," "Sunday we don't work," "Thursday, New Year's Day," "Tuesday the 6th is Epiphany." "It's simple math." "It's the 22nd today," "We leave tomorrow, Tuesday the 23rd, the 24th, the 25th... the 26th, the 27th... the 31st... and the month of December is over." "After that comes January." "And the 2nd doesn't count." "So, the 3rd... the 4th, the 5th, the 6th, the 7th..." "14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th." "It goes by fast." "Just about a month." "Just about." "About enough to get bored." "Not at all." "First, I'll spend a week in Gênes at my sister's place." "She lives near the port." "There are so many people around that you don't see time go by." "You should see all those ships!" "They're marvelous!" "Over there... they've got everything:" "Shops, banquet halls," " There're even cinematographs!" " Not possible." "I'm telling you." "And then, it's crowded." "Whites, blacks, there's all races!" "And at night, it's so lit up you'd think it's day time." "That I can believe." "Marcello?" "It's Venerocolo." "Hello, you're doing all right?" "Not bad." "So?" "Plus five, minus twelve." "Snowfall: 0.2" "Snow on the ground: 3.4" "Total: 5.2" "Yes." "Wait, Salvetti wants to speak to you." "I'll put him on, goodbye." "Hello?" "Marcello?" "Yes, do you know if Pedrazzini is gone?" "You don't know." "Tell me please, is the surveyor there?" "Can you put him on?" "Hello?" "Mr. Surveyor?" "Good morning, it's Salvetti." "I wanted to ask you if I could come down." "I want to go back home." "Around noon." "It's past 9:30, Pedrazzini must be boarding." "I may?" "Thank you, best wishes." "It's fine, I'll be able to take the noon bus." "I'll get going then." "Bye, see you soon." " Do you want anything?" " A pretty brunette!" "I'll tell your wife!" "Tell her if you like, she knows no woman will come up here." "Tell my son to study hard at school, because in one month I'm coming back down and I'll see his marks." "If he's been slacking off, his old man's going to give him a real lesson." "Tell my wife to buy him the boots." "He's been asking me for a month, to have her buy them." " Okay." " Watch your step so you don't fall in." "Don't worry, I know how to swim." "You swim in wine, but you'd drown in water." "Tell Pedrazzini to hurry up, or else the food will get cold." "Meet at 10:00." "Message for housewives." "And now, ladies..." "Good evening." "I'm here to replace Pedrazzini." "My name is Roberto Seveso." "I just got here." "I spotted the hut thanks to the smoke." "Why isn't Pedrazzini here?" "You're not up to date?" "His wife gave birth." "This morning, she... it was so sudden, no one expected it, he was two months early." "And yet, there he was." "Pedrazzini was just about to leave when they called him." "It's a boy." "Thus, the surveyor called up the other guy... but Valentini had been chosen for the Olympic games and he has to train." "So, I told the surveyor that I could come." "I'm from the warehouse but I don't get a lot of work." "They don't have much use for me in the winter." "I put my luggage in the cable car." "Perhaps it's arrived." "You'd have to go check." "Where do I have to go?" " Come on, I'll go with you." " Thanks." "The red one, it's my suitcase!" "That one's mine, that one as well, that one no, that one yes." "It's slippery!" "Where can I put my things?" "On the other side." "Thank you." "Is this the dormitory for the construction site?" "Yes." " Is that one my bed?" " Yes." "There's a sock." "Oh, yes..." "It belongs to Salvetti, the one who left." "Can I put it here?" "Yes, I'll tidy up later." "Excuse me, would you happen to have a hammer?" "It's there, in the drawer." "Thank you." "Ready-to-wear deluxe" "My sister made it for me." " Can I sit here?" " Yes." " Bon appetit." " Thanks, same to you." "It burns!" "No, thank you." "I don't drink alcohol." "Does it have bacon in it?" " Yes." " It's good." "It's the same soup as at home." "Do you know why I wanted to go up?" "Because up here, I can do a little studying." "I have time at home as well, but there are too many temptations." "Right now, for example, because there are tourists, we go out dancing every night." "Or we watch television." "And since I have an economics exam in February," "I said to myself as I came up here," "I have practically one month to study and pass the exam." "I have to make sacrifices, but it's worth it." "But then again... if I really put myself into this, in ten, twelve years," "I can really go far." "If Pedrazzini's wife gets sick, or their son," "I could return after the holidays." "Well, I'm going to bed." "I'm tired." "I'm not used to walking so much." "Can I turn off the radio?" "Goodnight." "The bathroom?" "At the base of the dormitory." " It's closed." " That's normal." "The water froze." "So, what?" "So..." "you have to go outside." "Hello, this is Venerocolo." "Hello, Marcello." "What?" "Pedrazzini?" "Yes, I know." "He must be happy to have a boy." "And his wife also." "I imagine so." "Who?" "He's still sleeping." "I have no idea, he must be sick." "He doesn't drink alcohol." "I know it's not an illness, but someone who doesn't drink, is just not right." "Anyway, tell Mr. Surveyor to send up less wine and more goat's milk." "Well then... minus twenty-four, plus six." "Yes, it's cold." "No precipitation." "The weather is serene and life is beautiful." "CONCENTRATED MILK" "DANGER OF DEATH" "Did you hear the avalanche?" "Yes." " Is there any risk?" " Of course not!" " Can I help you?" " No." "I know how to cook." "I think it's cooked." "Yes, it's been on for half an hour." " Shall we start eating?" " Yes, start in." "Bon appetit." "Thank you." "Are there are ever avalanches here?" "Of course not!" "They're always in the same places." "That's it." "They're making a dam here." "They would have chosen a different place." "Of course." "Want to play checkers?" "Why not." "Last year, in the residence hall," "I shared a room with someone obsessed with checkers." "We played every night." "He was too good." "White or black?" "It's all the same to me." "I'll keep the whites." "They always bring me success." "Are you good?" "I manage." "I go first." "No, you've got to eat." "One and two." "No, you really have to eat." "Two pieces." "Too late." "I've lost." "You play pretty good." "Shall we play another game?" "It's almost 1:00, we can play tonight." "I have to go out to the dam." "Can I come?" "If that doesn't bother you." "The only way down is on skis." "On skis?" "Yes, we're going to the dam to check on the main bearing." "It's all empty on the inside!" " All the way to the end?" " Yes." "Is there a leak?" "No, it's just that we're underneath the level of the lake." " Can we go through there, as well?" " Yes." " To go check on it?" " Yes." " Do we have to check?" " If you want to." "Shall we?" "Let's go." "On the inside, it seems so big." "Some echo!" "And the water from the lake, where does it go out?" "Upstream, it's a forced canal." "I can't see that." "It's in a tunnel in the rocks." "Why is it so big?" "Because it's the peak of the dam." " You've worked here?" " Yes." " As what?" " Cable car attendant." " Where are we going?" " To the main bearing." "Is it far?" " I'm not very good on skis." " It's at the edge." "Put your body forward!" "Bend down!" "Forward!" "You have to put your weight forward." " What's that?" " A jack-rabbit." "A jack-rabbit?" "We need a gun." "No, a bootlace is enough, a bit of wire, a bucket, and some carrots." "He comes to eat and pop!" "There's one that hangs around the cafeteria shack." "Go, go, he's coming towards you!" "Go, he's on your side, trap him!" "You're nearly there!" "The bulb is blown." " Marcello?" " It doesn't work." "Our electricity's out." "Where's that?" "Damn!" "I heard that they came down today." "When are they coming?" "Tomorrow morning?" "Okay." "Don't worry about us, we'll manage for tonight." " What happened?" " Nothing." "It's because of the avalanche." "Tomorrow, it'll be fixed." " Damn it, the pump!" " What?" " It's windy!" " Yep." "As soon as the sun goes down, it gets cold." "You light the stove, I'll cut some wood." "They put the lights on at Pantano." "Yes, they've got electricity." " Why is that?" " Their line is done." "But we still rely on the temporary line to the construction site." "It's not working." "That's normal." "The wind is going the other way." "It's useless." "The wind is blowing in the pipeline." "You have to be patient." "When it boils, put the cube in." "We'll have to make do with a broth." "I'm going to the warehouse to see if I can find a safety lamp." "Hello?" "Yes, who is it?" "You're from Pantano?" "I'm listening." "Pedrazzini?" "No, this is Seveso, I'm new." "He couldn't come because his wife just gave birth." "Who?" "Noël?" "Oh, the other guy!" "He went looking for a lamp." "Yes, an avalanche cut the power." "What did you want to tell him?" "No problem, thanks." "Thank you, goodbye." "The guys from Pantano called you." "They didn't know about Pedrazzini." "Is it a safety lamp?" "It makes a lot of light." "How is the soup?" "I put in the cube..." "Your name is "Noël"?" "The guys from Pantano told me." "Christmas is your day then." "Yes, all the better." "I get all the best from the other holidays." "It'll be better to bring the beds in here." "It's warmer in the kitchen." "It's going to be cold tonight." "Better add some wood." "Yes, indeed." "It's beautiful." "The "Heart"." " It's a beautiful book." " Very beautiful." "I've read it." "It's very moving." "Yes, that's it." "It's full of beautiful things... that could never happen these days." "It's another world." "My dad always says that too." "But in the end, the world is always the same." "That's not true." "People's feelings have changed." "In the past, a man was a man." "He would have done anything to save his honor." "Today, we'd kill our parents for the price of a stamp." "Not everyone is like that." "I'm not saying that." "But in general, the world has changed." "I've got the proof: my own house." "I've got three children, two boys and one girl." "You can't imagine how smart they are." "At 12 years old," "I still believed that Jesus brought us presents." "I wasn't the only one." "Everyone my age believed it too." "When I discovered that it wasn't Jesus, believe me, it hurt me." "Today... before I came here, my oldest son asked me to buy him some boots." "He's fond of skiing and he has talent." "I answered that if he behaved himself, on Christmas day, the infant Jesus would bring him that present." "Here's his answer:" ""What child?" ""If you don't have any money, the child won't give you anything"." "He's only 7." "No one can trick him." "We have to be careful what we say around the house." "Parents always hide things from their children." "He's there, he doesn't seem to be listening, but he hears everything." "He knows what we're going to say before we even say it." "When I was 20, I didn't know what the world was." "I first saw my wife, three months before I left for the army, but I didn't speak to her." "I spoke to her for the first time when I came back from the army." "While today, it's better not to speak of it." "I can see it very clearly, the summer, when there's tourists, the women are half-naked." "It's fashion." "What a fashion!" "You know what my poor grandfather used to tell me?" "That the meat displayed in the window... is never the highest quality." "The old do not make mistakes." "Damn!" "The stove went out." "It's very cold." "That's normal." "It is a builder's hut, air comes in from everywhere" "Better stay under the quilt!" "Goodnight." "Goodnight." "I can't fall asleep." "You have to get used to this place." "What's that?" "What is it?" "We'd better go down to the church." "The air is coming in from all over and the fire went out." "Are we in danger?" "No, but at the church there's less wind." "Damn!" "I lost my pillow." "Where I fell, I think." "Give me a hand." "It's not bad, here." "When will they finish the caretaker's house?" "It should have been finished last summer." "They began work, but when winter came, there was too much snow and they had to stop work." "This year, winter came one month early." "And this church?" "It was constructed during the war." "The World War?" "You see these chandeliers?" "They are made out of the bullets from a '91." "The rifle of the Alpines." "Why is it shut off?" "So it doesn't lose power." "We can hear less wind." "What happens if someone falls ill up here?" "If someone gets sick." "He returns to his house." "And if he's too sick to leave?" "In that case, the doctor comes up." "But with the storm, the cable car is closed." "I'm a little cold, now." "Noël?" "Light the lamp, please." "I must have a fever." "That's just from the cold." "No, it's from the fever." "I know what it is." "Last year, I had the same symptoms." "I brought you a tablet and a big glass of milk." "Drink it while it's hot." "I want to go home." "Drink this milk, now." "It burns." "All the better, it will burn your stomach." "Tomorrow I'll call the surveyor Cattaneo and I'll tell him that I'm going home." "Will the cable car be working?" "The wind has to let up." " It already has." " Yes, a bit." "It's strong." "Drink, drink, that will make you well." "Very good." "All that's left is to get under the quilt and perspire." "Is it hot enough?" "Why did you turn it off?" "It wasn't me, it ran out of power." "How's your fever?" "It's all gone." "You were afraid!" "Do you feel like going up?" "I'll come back for the covers." " Climb up on my back!" " No, that's okay." "Come on, go up, the snow is cold!" "Was there brandy in the milk?" "I smelled brandy." "That must have been the tablet." "Have you called Cattaneo?" "When you call him, don't say anything about me." "That I was sick." "We have light!" "All the better." "Sous-titres:" "Simona Torelli" "Sous-titrage:" "C.M.C." " Paris"