"TRAGEDY OF A RIDICULOUS MAN" "It was my birthday." "I had blown out all the candles." "Quite a few." "We ate the cake and boozed it up." "No one felt like working." "I was dreaming." "Dreaming of..." "I don't remember anymore." "The employees' gift." "Not bad." "Two silver picture frames." "Me, at 25." "Me, today." "I hardly recognize myself." ""Dear Dad, the idea of you buying a yacht..."" ""...is grotesque."" ""You've become the perfect absurd businessman."" ""But it's your birthday, so I forgive you."" ""Your loving son."" "Nice." "It even fits!" "No!" "I can't go around like this." "What a stupid face." ""Let out the mainsail!"" "I know I'm ridiculous." "I always have been." "But with style." "The Captain takes his place on the foremast." "The ship is my cheese factory." "And the sea is the plain." "Happy Birthday, Signor Primo." "You don't miss a thing with these binoculars." "I sail and sail...silently, invisibly..." "And land...in a field of tomatoes." "Tight ass!" "I felt it was smiling at me, so I smiled back." "Heh, Ermanno!" "I like Giovanni's gift." "I could see his red Mini and another car, racing along." "Stop...stop!" "What's going on?" "Excuse me, we're towing the car away checking for fingerprints." "Yes, but they got him outside the car." "Where are you going?" "Giovanni was looking at me while they pushed him in the car." "I'm sure he saw me." "No, no, impossible." "Too far away." "And these palpitations." "Rapid heart beats!" "May I?" "Yes." "Rapid heart beats." "With systolic contractions." "If it keeps up, go see a doctor tomorrow." "Let's move out!" "They located the other car in a field." "I'll go take a look." "It was gray." "That I remember." "If they call, get in touch immediately." "And relax." "Give us a chance." "I moved into the cornfield, as if I had to pee." "Barbara, wait a minute." "Actually, I wanted to be alone." "Primo...?" "Who are you?" "Laura, Giovanni's girl." "I found his shoe." "Give me your hand." "Do we have enough money?" "Now I'm slipping." "We have the money?" "Money, they want money." "We've got to find it." " Stop it, Barbara." " We've got to." "Right away." "We were crazy." "We shouldn't have told the police." "We should have stayed by the phone." "Maybe the kidnappers called, and found no one." "What's all this stuff worth?" "I don't know." "A cauldron was worth 2 million liras." "Suddenly, she began taking inventory, calculating our wealth." "You through?" "Barbara, this is ridiculous." "Let me see for myself." "But there's time." "Wait till they contact us." "I want to be ready." "Why was I so passive?" "And all these molds, what are they worth?" "Right now, nothing." "It takes a year for them to mature." "The pigs!" "How many pigs do we have?" "I don't know." "Want to count them?" "I want to know how many pigs." "You've got to tell me!" "How many pigs?" "How many pigs?" "How many pigs do we have?" "No, don't do that, please." "I can't bear to see you like this." "6000, maybe." "How much does one cost?" "A pig has to grow up first." "It takes months." "It takes time." "Barbara, why did you marry me?" "You know why..." "Nobody did anything in my house." "Instead you were such a hard worker." "You were attached to things." "And you made me laugh." "I haven't made her laugh in so long." "Come." "I'll show you my Fort Knox." "My gold bars." "What should I write?" "13, times... 15, times 2 = 39." "That's 78 million here alone." "A billion liras...and then some." "Signor Primo..." "It's 7 o'clock, Signor Primo." "Call everybody." "Workers and office personnel." "My wife and I spent the night in the factory." "In fact, we spent the night among the Parmesan cheese." "We covered the factory, foot by foot." "No need to tell you why." "Things aren't going well." "You know that." "Sales are slow." "And since we produced more milk than necessary, we're overstocked." "Why did I call you?" "Who knows..." "I know why." "For solidarity." "Don't think I'm campaigning here." "This is a campaign!" "We lie when we shouldn't, and vice versa." "You want the truth?" "We've decided to sell everything!" "To have our son back." "Why she said that, I wanted to die..." "My son's just like yours." "He eats!" "We can always occupy!" "Like poppies!" "Yeah, poppies." "What about the poppies?" "What time do poppies bloom every year?" "In June!" "When election time crops up!" "Elections?" "They fit in, too, and how!" "Because if this private company were a cooperative I wouldn't be an owner whose son was kidnapped." "Let me tell you about Laura's visit." "She mustn't know I'm watching." "Why does she move like a stranger?" "It's her boyfriend's house." "Something foreign about her." "Almost swarthy." "An Arab, maybe?" "Good morning, Signora." "How can you not remember me?" "I often came here, to study with Giovanni." "I don't remember." "You don't..." "Once, you were giving me a ride home in your car, when you got a flat." "We waited an hour, and you started singing French songs." "Laura from Pilastro!" "How you've grown." "Where've you been all this time?" "Working in your factory, 5 years." "Stopped studying?" "No." "I'm enrolled in Agriculture." "Sit down." "No." "I came to ask if there was any news of Giovanni." "Why did Giovanni keep you away?" "You know him." "In fact, it's strange." "He never spoke about you." "Never mentioned you." "I know." "We decided it was better." "It's mainly because of his father." "Oh, fathers and sons." "It's not just that." "He's ashamed of his father." "Could it be that Giovanni..." "is ashamed of you?" "The girl was right, and I felt hurt." "Why was Giovanni ashamed of me?" "Good morning." "I quit school when I was 9." "I had to go work in the fields." "At 12, I got tired of tilling soil." "I preferred milking cows." "It was nice." "I pulled on their udders, 3 whole years." "Then I got tired of milking." "It was much more fun riding the truck to the cheese factory." "Standing up, surrounded by milk cans like a hero of Socialism." "At 19, I took to the hills." "The 47th Garibaldi Brigade." "That was my school!" "In 1960, I set up Spaggiari Cheese Products, Inc." "12 workers, 10 molds a day." "That's when I met a certain French girl." "She was studying art at Parma:" "Barbara." "We were married and Giovanni was born." "To have him back, I'd have to sell the factory that was born with him." "Why tell her about my life?" "I can see Giovanni..." "He's blindfolded..." "And his kidnappers play hide and seek with him." "Goodbye." "She's putting me on." "Or else trying to say something." "But what?" "Why'd you unhook it?" "Me?" "What are you saying?" "If they call, it'll ring busy." "Then put it back!" "You did it on purpose!" "Or did you?" " Liar!" " Me, huh?" "Spaggiari Residence..." "What?" "Yes, who's speaking?" "The Parma Gazzette." "Hello, Corrado." "No, not yet." "No, no interviews." "A letter from Giovanni." "Open it..." "You read it." ""Dear Mama..." "Tell papa to get 2 billion liras if you want to see me alive." "Have the money ready." "Instructions will follow." "Giovanni." "Read it again." "Two billion!" "No, I can't do it." "I can't just sell the factory." "It'd be like suicide." "Look, there's no stamp." "Someone brought it." "Laura..." "Who brought this letter?" "I don't know." "First time I've seen it." "It's Giovanni's handwriting." "The bank's good for 2 billion." "I'll ask for 4.." "What?" "That's all for my factory?" " Hold on..." " No, I heard you." "300 million liras?" "It's robbery!" "Armed robbery is what it is!" "Only 300 million for Spaggiari Cheese Products, Inc?" "Then those people are right." " What people?" " Never mind who!" "You haven't understood." "For 300 million you'd only put up your unsold stocks." "Got it straight now?" "Only the cheese stocks?" "Only for the unsold stocks." "Do I have to repeat it?" "Not for my factory." "Signor Primo...wait, don't run." "Wait, don't be afraid." "Laura sent me." "I'm Adelfo." "I work in the factory." "Don't you recognize me?" "Did you have to use those things?" "Sorry, the car belongs to the union leader." "Ah, in that case..." "Hop in." "I can't talk while driving." "I already drive poorly." "Imagine if I talked, too." "I didn't know where we were going, nor what to expect." "Now my story didn't concern only me." "It included others as well." "And this gave me hope." "You're hiding something." "Speak up." "No names." "Don't ask me for names." "Just general information." "How he eats, how he sleeps..." "How they treat him." "If he laughs now and then." "Gossip!" "But you know them?" "They're God's children, too." "God's children, huh?" "Priest talk." "I study theology." "One year to go." "A few exams left." "Almost a priest." "No, I'm a priest through and through." " A priest-worker?" " A worker-priest." "Listen, when will you let me know something?" "Soon." "Give me some time off, and then we can meet." "At 8:00." "At my place." "My appetite's come back." "Where's your place?" "At Moletolo by the supply house." "Can't miss it." "There's a little door there." "Here." "This is the key." "I've got another key." "I don't want to know your business,but I can't figure it out..." "How does somebody like you get caught up in this?" "Giovanni is my friend." "And so is Laura." "My son was kidnapped but life went on as it does in wartime." "She was teaching me to rock." "Don't stop..." "Dance!" "Dance while you're still young." "I'm ashamed." "You ninny!" "Dance!" "Moletolo." "Where the priest-worker lived." "Time never passed." "I felt so useless and ridiculous." ""I'm happy about dying..."" ""...but what a shame."" ""It's a shame to die..."" ""...but I'm happy."" "I watched Autumn arrive." "I could tell you the time." "4:30 in the afternoon." "I hadn't told Barbara about my meeting with Adelfo." "It was the first time I'd kept anything from her." "It was difficult to face her now." "You're here..." "I didn't have the courage to open it." "Who brought it?" "Signora Romola found it in her mailbox." "Who is she?" "The numerologist." "You've heard me talk about her?" "The fortune-teller?" "Who said to use her for this?" "Giovanni..." ""Dear Mama..."" ""As a girl in Cherbourg, your nickname was..."" ""..." "Impatience."" ""Now I beg you to be patient."" ""They don't treat me badly..."" ""But in the dark..."" ""..." "I feel my head swirling..."" ""...and I wet myself, like when I was little."" ""They say a billion liras will do."" ""My next letter will have instructions for delivering the money."" ""Please follow them word for word."" ""A big hug, my dear Impatience..."" ""And a hug for Papa, too." "Giovanni."" "He didn't write that." "I added it." "What are you doing?" "Just looking." "What's wrong?" "I'm afraid..." "He'll come back." "Really?" "Then you know something." "You see it?" "It's flying low." "Very low." "Wonder why?" "It's almost following us." "Or leading the way." "Here we are... ..the Keepers of the Cheese." "It's our house." "We may have to mortgage that, too." "Look, they're still at it." "The Maresciallo, please." "I'll hang on." "I'll wait." " He's here!" " What do you mean he's here?" "Here I am!" "No, I misunderstood." "Sorry." "With helicopters now, eh?" "I saw it, but it's not ours." "What you need is rest, not our helicopters." "Wait outside." "Regarding the..." "Anything new?" "Nothing, no calls." "I know." "I seldom come this way." "Even our friends seem to have disappeared." "I know." "Instead, we should talk more often." "What for?" "You open our mail, check our phone calls." "What's there to know?" "Everything." "Everything?" "There's the "free" variable..." "The unpredictablenes." "And there's you." "The black hole." "What does that mean? "Black hole?"" "The black hole..." "The solid void." "That is, the mutation of the stellar object." "A phony Pisarro, my wife bought it." "A Ligabue!" "That's authentic." "They did a TV series on him." "Nice show!" " I slipped." " Did you hurt yourself, Maresciallo?" "Yes..." "You receive many airmail letters." "Yes." "We do some export business." "Ask me:" "What's so disturbing about an airmail letter?" "I ask you that?" "What's disturbing about an airmail letter?" "What's disturbing is that you received...an airmail letter...by hand." " I'd like to see it." " Impossible." "I ate it." "That's even more disturbing." "A substitute prosecutor just arrived in town." "There's no telling." "He might even block all your holdings." "Block what holdings?" "A bankrupt cheese factory?" "At least he made Barbara laugh." "We're so alone." "As if we've been punished." "My factory differs from the other factories in this area." "They use inanimate materials, while mine are alive." "The cycle for processing milk is like the family tie." "The liquid that becomes a solid." "Incredible." "After so many years, I'm still fascinated by the miracle of milk into cheese." "Off to Moletolo." "How does a priest-worker live?" "There's always a place for farmers." "I can't picture my son in here, talking to Adelfo about God about life, about death." "Then it's true, they are friends." "Even pissing helps pass the time." "Adelfo...?" ""I'll kiss you till the morrow..."" ""..." "You've such a pretty face..."" ""..." "Don't say no, don't let me go..."" ""..." "Until the morrow."" ""You're Laura from Pilastro."" "Will Adelfo have news?" "You know him well?" "A migrant worker." "Yes, from Rome." "Like my father." "How does he fit in?" "Why isn't he here?" "He's always punctual." "I'm scared." "Come, don't do that." "Don't cry." "No, don't move" "It's nice." "You're pretty courageous." "I'm never afraid beforehand." "Morals don't exist." "What matters is one's sincerity." "Morals come later." "Giovanni and I seldom make love." "Problems?" "No." "It's not the most important thing." "Like in your days." "Little action, lots of talk." "We've lots of other things." "Nonsense." "You're probably all wet." "Giovanni is jealous of you." "It's Adelfo." "Yesterday, when they brought his food he jumped a guard, pulled off his hood." "He said he recognized him." "It's impossible." "He was a foreigner." "A Yugoslav or something." "He's hurt?" "Maybe dead." "Dead?" "Dead or not?" "Is he dead?" "Is he dead or not?" "You were lucky." "Giovanni often thought of kidnapping you." "Kidnapping me?" "To finance certain comrades who aren't really comrades." "When I said I'd leave him, he gave up the idea." "Why haven't I the courage to inquire further?" "My suffering went beyond what can be explained by words..." "The numb desire for vengeance." "No headway on the Spaggiari kidnapping..." "The only son of...a well-known cheese manufacturer." "As seen from a helicopter, the Spaggirai family villa." "Just beyond is the Castle of Torrechiara a splendid 13th century fortress after which the Spaggiari villa is "playfully" styled." "Checking the phone and the mail has led to nothing." "So far, there has been no request for ransom." "Nor, apparently, any contact with the kidnappers." "I don't believe a word you said." "Loosen his collar." "He drank too much." "He could die." "We need a priest." " What about you?" " I'm a sinner." "You who know him well this Adelfo fellow." "Who is he?" "Hello how's it going?" "How'll he ever get home?" "He will...he will." "Yes, but how'll you go now?" "By myself." "By yourself?" "Why all these cars?" "I can make it..." "We'll be going then..." "Wait." "No, don't go away." "Not yet." "All these coats!" "Laura..." ""Then Peter turned to him, and said..."" ""Lord, how many times must I forgive those who sin against me?" "7 times?"" ""Jesus answered: 'Not 7 times, but 70 times 7!" "'"" "Come Laura, let's go." "Don 't leave me alone." "No." "Don't go." "I have to tell Barbara..." "I can't do it alone." "Come with me." "The Pisarro you saw upstairs was valued at 200-300 million." "Those coats...of course..." "They're usurers." "Usurers are always cold." "For the villa?" "Quote me a price." "Be courageous." "I wouldn't know...700 million." "For me, 400 million." "Maximum, 450." "It cost me a billion, asshole!" "I have to talk to Barbara." "Wait here." "Why bother, if Giovanni is dead?" "It's going well." "We're getting there." "Don't make that face." "You drank?" "Nadia..." "I'm dying of thirst." "30%?" "The others have agreed to 25%." "For you, only 22%." "Better than your bank." "I knew you were a gentleman." "Did you hear, Baron?" "I knew I could count on you. 20%?" "Thank you." "Mr. Manicioni..." "Would you be running from me?" "Only 50 million." "I can't." "I can't tell her." "Poor thing." "She's scraping up everything to to save him." "She's so determined." "When will you tell her?" "Don't you tell her either." "She'll find out..." "Who were these two?" "They both knew more than they were letting on." "A blackout!" "Like in New York." "Hands off!" "It's time to go to bed!" "I've decided." "I must tell Barbara that Giovanni's dead." "It'll be terrible, but I must." "Tell me..." "Did Giovanni often receive friends here?" "Very often." "Lots." " Strange ones?" " The strangest!" " Ugly?" " Very ugly!" "Can I have the obituary page?" "Huh?" "Oh, sure." "Telling Barbara will make it more real for me, too." "We'll become poor." "Don't exaggerate." "A billion liras." "What's that?" "Only a thousand millions." "We'll adjust." "Haven't we already?" "Giovanni, too." "I'll tell her now." "Often families end up paying..." " ...for nothing." " What do you mean, for nothing?" "They keep calling up asking for more money." "And so on." "A whole year can pass." "So pessimistic!" "I've got to tell her." "I'vegottotellher I'vegottotellher I'vegottotellher..." "Attention!" "This is the Carabinieri!" "Don't go under the windows!" "This is the Carabinieri!" "Open the doors immediately." "They probably want me." "You run up a few drinks, and in they come." "You have a warrant, I hope." "For a search." "Where's the Maresciallo?" "Did you forget him?" "This search goes beyond the kidnapping." "It's a more comprehensive operation." "We're from Milan." "What an honor." "You're from..." "Operations Squad." "Any other questions?" "Get a couple of bottles." "Your son's room?" "Follow me..." ""Spaggiari, Giovanni..."" "The General would call him "the ideal sympathizer."" "Wealthy, extremist, adored by his family..." "A working-class girlfriend, a militant in local leftist groups." "Altruistic, courageous, loyal to the cause." "All the requisites." "Strange sympathizer, though." "All of a sudden, complete stop." "No trace." "No contact." "In Sardinia..." "No...he went abroad." "We don't know where." "Have you talked to his girl?" "We questioned her." "What news is there of my son's kidnapping?" "Don't worry, Signora." "This is a routine check up." "Barbara, this is Colonel Macchi." "My wife, Barbara." "Signora, about your son..." "Pleased to meet you, Colonel." "Tell me the truth, Signora." "What's wrong?" "The truth is a tall order." "Call a doctor?" "I don't think so." "Will you be much longer?" "Almost through." "Let's take her back to her room." "Follow me..." "They're asking 2 billion!" "No, 5 billion!" "In the end, we're the ones who always end up paying." "Those who do things like that should be hung." "All of them!" "I was seized by a mad idea." "Something unmentionable." "First, I had to be sure of those kids." "Signor Primo wants you." "Sergio!" "Take over for a minute." "Let's go see Adelfo." "Let's go." "Yeah, but where does he work?" "Don't you know?" "Come with me." "I need these two to carry out my plan." "I wondered what that odor was when we met." "I don't know my own workers anymore." "Even forgot how much pigs stink." "Stink?" "What stink?" "I don't smell any stink." "Giovanni is dead." "As if he were alive." "I don't understand." "We know he's dead." "Listen." "You'd think we slaughter them." "Instead, we feed them." "They should be happy." "Why won't you come in?" "Come, step in." " A hoax?" " A hoax." "A hoax against whom?" "Against you?" "Her?" "Those of you who work here?" "Who lend me money?" "Money that has to be paid in 3 months or less?" "A hoax?" "I officially declare that the billion ransom will go to Spaggiari, Inc." "You don't know shit." "That's not all." "We'll manage to get another letter with instructions for delivery." "We three can discuss it first." "Laura will write it." "Weren't you and Giovanni school mates?" "Same bench." "Giovanni's dead." "Giovanni is dead!" "I coldly explained my plan:" "Collect ransom money as if Giovanni were alive and reinvest it in the factory." "They agreed." "That in itself was proof of Giovanni's death." "He was giving me strength." "It would go to save the factory." "I was a peasant again, like my father, my grandfather." "My son's death was my compost." "You're like Giovanni." "He didn't understand either." "He didn't know." "Hoax!" "Almost laughable." "We're at war here." "I know." "I fought with the partisans!" "You're so smug." "You think you know everything about terrorism and terrorists but you know nothing about partisans." "Hara-kiri" "What?" "What nice kids." "Sons of bitches." " General..." " Baron..." " Superintendent?" " Ex." "Marquis, how are you?" "Like a Marquis." "The Baron had me meet him at the old club." "All the important people were there." "Mr. Notary..." "Dear Director..." "Why the hell did you drag me here?" "When dealing with sizable amounts, I prefer to have them present." "It's a vice like any other." "Their pitying looks didn't offend me." "It was I who was screwing them." "Even my signature had changed." "The hand refuses to sign all these IOU notes." "Or had I changed?" "It's an item not everyone takes to..." "Very tasteful for the medium distance, solitary cyclist." "Let's fill it." "I wouldn't mind buying a new bicycle." "Made to order: "The Clubman."" "The Concorde of bicycles." "It flies." "Beautiful." "A beauty of a bike." "I felt a certain satisfaction." "I was avenging Giovanni." "I sensed his presence as a little boy riding on the handlebars." "Ridiculous, huh?" "A bike with sacks, plastic bags, a shoe box..." "Even a shopping bag..." "Filled with a billion in cash." "They think I don't see them..." "Yet I picture their encounters as if I were there." "He's not here yet." "Does he still have the key?" "Big Brother is always late like the paychecks." "He needs a fanfare before entering." "200,000 for my mother." "150,000 to Dalla Giacoma's wife..." "No." "Her husband was busted?" "Then he did hide arms!" "Didn't you know?" "A week ago." "Rotten newspapers!" "They don't give out names anymore." "A real bad month!" "I'm hungry." "No, that's garbage." "For Maria Luigia." "The sow." "You've little money left." "I'm fine." "That's not the problem." "I want to know why we're helping Spaggiari steal a billion." "Because the boss has a plan which I approve." "And I have a secret plan the boss doesn't know." "Can't I know?" "I'd rather not." "Maybe...we're the real terrorists." "If not, what are we?" "Proletarians holding their breath, in a liquid history." "Shithead!" "Get off it!" "Big Brother." ""I'm alive and well."" ""Now my life is worth a billion."" ""Notify no one."" ""Sunday at dawn, you must take the big car..."" ""...and come up the road that leads..."" ""...towards Corniglio."" "If what you said isn't true this can be very dangerous for my son." "He's right." "Tell the truth." "It's useless." "You wouldn't believe me anyway." "Come on, how did you find out?" "During Confession." "I'll give you the chance to invent another story." "I knew you wouldn't believe me." "Where's your confessional?" "The pigs!" "Excuse me." "If they don't eat they get nervous." "I'm late." "There's no going back." "Laura will forge Giovanni's handwriting." ""...a suitcase..."" ""...exactly alike..."" ""...containing..."" ""...a billion liras..."" "How's it coming?" ""in the back..."" ""...seat"" ""Next to Barbara"" "Why Barbara?" "She's his mother." "I'm running the biggest risk." "Besides, why am I doing it?" "You embarrass me." "It's not like with Giovanni." "You make me feel uneasy and pissed off!" "God, what tits!" "More at ease now?" ""Stop the car at the railroad crossing..."" ""Blink your lights..."" ""The brights..."" "Slow down." "Don't be nervous..." "You'll make a mess." "You'll see, there's probably another letter from Giovanni." "Do I really have to see your fortune-teller, too?" "Romola is not a fortune teller." "She's a numerologist." "Fine, I'll wait out here." "Oh, come on." "It's for you." "It was in my letter box." "I didn't want to tell you over the phone." "From Giovanni." "Instructions for delivering the money." "It's your son's handwriting, right?" "If not, it's a good imitation." "Don't you think I'd know my own son's handwriting?" "For you, it's false." "For you, Giovanni's dead." "He's alive." "Prophetic 9...is transformation." "...Renewal, following delirium." "But the letter could still be false." "It makes no sense." "This is Giovanni's handwriting." "I'm sure." "Certainly...it's his." "At first, I had a strong sensation." "What sensation?" "As if..." "As if the hand was unsteady fearful." "Somehow, a different Giovanni." "The letter is false you were right." "So that means Giovanni's dead." "But I'll say it's real I'll swear to it." "You mind leaving us?" "It is Giovanni's handwriting but it's not Giovanni." "Giovanni is still alive." "Sit down." "I can't take it." "I've got to tell you." "I don't want to hear it." "Quiet." "We'll obey the letter." "It's not possible." "Word for word." "And Giovanni will return." "(Barbara getting out of hand...) (At Forte del Marmi...sand...)" "I don't know whether you're crazy or just ridiculous." "Then you tell me whether I'm crazy or ridiculous going around with a billion, followed by them." "Don't worry about them, they've agreed." "They'll hold off long enough for us to pay." "The Maresciallo was very understanding." "But in exchange he wants the serial number of each bill." "The Maresciallo, please." "Spaggiari." "I'm Barbara Spaggiari." "It's time." "According to instructions, an empty suitcase was placed on the rack to help spot the car." "The money was in an identical suitcase, on the backseat." "The hiding place was a house for drying chestnuts." "Later, Laura and Adelfo would pick up the money." "A plastic bag full of dry leaves." "An absurd idea." "As good as any." ""Occultate the bag."" "What pretentious language." "It's technical!" "Follow the trail downhill." "There..." "Go on, hide the bag." "Let's go." "Hide it?" "I'll throw it!" "You sending me down alone, or what?" "Oh no!" "I switched suitcases?" "All right, the suitcase with the money." "You're kidding." "Think so?" "It's my gun." "It can go off." "Put it on the rack." "Barbara, I know what you're thinking." "You switched the suitcases." "It's possible, they're identical." "Keep going." "I used to come here for mushrooms, or to make love." "But now in Italy, one goes through carrying a billion in cash." ""The last drying-house before the road shrine."" "Through there." "I managed to get our old box at the opera." "Remember, Number 16?" "It was 18." "Keep walking." "You know what opera they're opening with?" "Stop it." "You've become old and pathetic." "Do you realize what you've done?" "It's terrifying!" "Can't you live without all this?" "You've disappointed me horribly." "I've lost my husband." "A caved-in drum." "I'm sorry." "I heard a noise and got scared." "It's not unusual to feel spied on in the woods." "We're almost there." "Come, let's go." "If you like we can keep you company." "No thanks." "It will be a long wait." "Come, we'll keep watch at the gate." "Today's children are monsters." "Paler than we ever were with lifeless eyes." "They treat their fathers with too much respect or too much contempt." "They don't laugh, they jeer." "Or else they're sullen." "Mostly, they just don't talk." "We don't know if their silence is a plea for help or a gunshot." "They're criminals." " All of them?" " No, not all of them but they could be." "Giovanni isn't pale." "And he has beautiful eyes." "He speaks better than we do." "He's no criminal." "He's innocent." "If I could talk to him, I'd repeat what I just said." "Do it." "It's important." "Too late." "Giovanni is no more." "He's no more?" "What about this letter?" "I wrote it." "It's Giovanni's handwriting." "You could never imitate it." "What's behind all this?" "A cheese factory about to fall apart and a billion to save it." "It has to save Giovanni." "Who's the monster?" "You'd have Giovanni dead." "And I'd have your factory sink below the earth!" "The kids are out there." "Go open the door." "The suitcase?" "It's safe." "Safe how?" "Go on, ask him." "Who guarantees that the billion goes to the factory?" "Meaning?" "Just what I said." "Be a little clearer." "Will the money end up in your Swiss bank account?" "That's pretty clear." "Your only guarantee is my word." "A cooperative..." "President for life..." "There's something fishy there." "The suitcase?" "Pray, Reverend." "I'm right here, waiting to see the suitcase." "Hey, the door!" "What are you doing?" "Why did you drag me here?" "Did I drag you?" "Or did you follow me?" "It's really him." "Not a ghost." "Now I see it all clearly." "They paid his ransom." "Giovanni is here and alive." "Whom did they pay it to?" "Let's go home." "No. let me be with people." "I was shut up so long." "I'll go get the champagne." "We've got to celebrate." "Make him dance." "Have some fun." "Don't ask." "All that matters is that he's alive and well." "And solving the enigma of a son who dies and is reborn I'll leave it to you." "I prefer not knowing."