"Yes, Salvatore." "Salvatore Di Vita." "What do you mean you don't know him?" "Yes, that's right." "This is his mother." "I'm calling from Sicily." "I've been trying all day." "I see." "He's not there." "Then can you tell me, please... 656-220-56." "Thank you." "Good-bye." "Mama, it's no use calling." "He's a busy man." "He could be anywhere." "He won't remember anymore." "Come on, let it go." "He hasn't been here in 30 years." "You know how he is." "He'll remember." "I'm sure he'll remember." "I know him better than you." "If he finds out later we didn't tell him, he'll be upset." "I'd like to talk to Mr. Salvatore Di Vita." "This is his mother." "What the hell are you looking at?" "Salvatore... what time is it?" "It's very late." "I'm sorry." "There was no way to let you know." "Go back to sleep." "Your mother called." "She took me for someone else." "What did you tell her?" "I played along." "I didn't want to disappoint her." "We had a long talk." "She said you haven't visited her in 30 years." "When she wants to see you, she comes to Rome." "She called just to say that?" "No." "She said someone died..." "someone named Alfredo." "The funeral is tomorrow." "Who is he, a relative?" "No." "Go to sleep." "This boy will be the death of me." "Toto!" "Better late than never." "How often must I say it?" "Without the bell, I lose my place." "You're always sleeping." "What do you do at night, eat?" "Father, at my house we don't even eat at noon." "The veterinarian says so." "That's why I'm tired." "I know why you're tired." "Don't think I don't." "Now run along home." "I've something to do." " Can I come?" " No, you cannot." " Yes, yes!" " Toto, out!" "I want to!" "I want to!" "Alfredo." "You can start." "Here we go again." "Fix the picture!" "Pepe, one day we'll have it all." "We'll go away together... live the easy life... where no one knows us." "Forget it." "You don't love me anymore." "It would be nice... if you could spare a few kind words." "I can't." "Oh, well." "Thanks anyway." "One pair, two pair!" "One hundred lire!" "Real nylon!" "You mustn't come here." "Can't you get it through your thick skull?" "If the film catches fire... little as you are, you'll go up... voom!" ""And turn into a lump of coal."" "Like to wag your tongue, eh?" "One day I'll cut it off." "Like that." "Can I have it?" "Come on, can I have it?" "Well, can I?" "What, are you deaf?" "I have to splice it back in before I return the film." "You're such a pest!" "Why didn't you splice these in when you gave the films back?" "Sometimes I can't find the right place, so they stay here." "Anyway, they kiss too much." "Then I can have them." "No." "Now look, come here." "Before I kick your behind, let's make a deal." "All those are yours..." "a present." "Thanks." "But one, you keep out of here, and two, they stay with me." "Got it?" "All right." "Right." "Then we agree." "Now scram." "What kind of a deal is that?" "If they're mine, how come you keep them?" "Don't come back, or I'll split your head open!" ""Shoot first, think later."" ""This is no job for cowards, you backstabbing dog!"" ""Hey, you!" "Hands off the gold, you rotten bastard!"" ""You dirty swine, stay away from me... or I'll smash your face in."" "Mama, if the war's over, why doesn't Papa come back?" "He'll come back, you'll see." "One of these days." "I don't remember him." "Where's Russia?" "It takes years to get there... and years to come back." "Go to bed." "It's late." "You can fool your mother, but not me!" "Get your diploma and join the police!" "Lazybones!" "Good-for-nothing!" "Get a move on!" "Well?" "What is 5 times 5?" "Thirty." "Silence!" "The fives times table, dimwit." "One times 5 is 5... 2 times 5 is 10... 3 times 5 is 15... 4 times 5 is 20." "5 times 5?" "Forty." "Silence!" "Boccia... twenty-five." "Learn your times tables, or you'll never get a job." "For the last time... what is 5 times 5?" "Christmas!" "I paid to get in." "I'm seeing the movie." "Get down from there, you rascal." "Go back to your seat." "Worse than rabbits." "They're all over the place." "Little monsters." "I'm off to Oregon." "Wait for me at my ranch." "Wait for a dead man?" "A star-studded cast... featuring John Wayne..." "Claire Trevor..." "Hello, everyone!" " Can't I say hello?" " It's a double feature today." "So?" "I'm here to sleep." " Got some smokes?" " American." "Cut the news, Alfredo!" "Shut up!" "This stuff is important!" "The men and women who fought in secret... our brave partisans, are reunited in Rome... for the first Resistance Rally... organized by the CVL." "Parri is the acting president." "Sandro Pertini..." "Good evening, everyone!" "Will you show the movie already?" "Sit down and be quiet!" " What does it say?" " I'm illiterate." "You too?" "Twelve hours of blood and sweat... and what they bring home barely keeps them from starving." "Yet when they pulled in their nets... they were full." "They wanted 750 lire." "It's always the same." "But they don't pay us enough." "That's how it's always been." "And it's never going to change." "I knew it!" "In 20 years I've never seen a kiss on the screen!" "As if they'd let us!" "Kiss my ass!" " Don Vincenzo." " You and you, to work." "What about me?" "Go ask Stalin for a job." "His day will come." "You watch." "I always get left out." "Good movie." "The kid really acted well." "Too bad he was so unlucky." "What a jackass to buy that boat." "Idiot, you didn't get it at all." "Right, boys, you work from dawn to dusk." "And don't ask how much it pays." "I've been looking for you all day." "Did you get the milk?" "Where's the money?" "It got stolen." "You spent it at the movies?" "Movies, always movies!" "Signora Maria, stop." "Leave him alone." "Take it easy." "And you, why do you tell lies?" "You know you got in for free." "Tell your mother." "Maybe he lost the money inside." " How much did you have?" " Fifty lire." "What did you find under the seats tonight?" "A comb." "Two shoe lifts." " A can of tobacco..." " And... fifty lire." "See?" "Thank you, Alfredo." "I knew where you were going." "The square is mine!" "It's mine!" "It's midnight." "Midnight!" "Out!" "Shoo!" "I have to close the square." "Hard on the feet, eh, Father?" "On the way there, it's all downhill and all the saints help out." "But coming back, the saints just watch." "If that's God's will." "See you tonight." "What's wrong?" "Your foot this time." "It's always something with you." "What can I do?" "Alfredo, did you know my father?" "What a question." "Of course I knew him." "Tall, thin, friendly guy with a big moustache like mine." "Always smiling." "He looked a lot like Clark Gable." "Now that I'll be in fifth grade..." "I don't say I should come in the booth... but can't we at least be friends?" ""I choose my friends for looks, my enemies for intelligence."" "You're too sly to be my friend." "I always tell my children..." ""Be careful how you choose your friends."" "You haven't got any children." "When I do, I'll tell them." "Don't cry, don't cry." "It's all right." "The fire's out." "It's over." "Mama's here." "What happened?" "Monster!" "Your little sister could have burned to death!" "It's all your fault!" "I told you not to keep your film under the bed by the fire pan." "Even the photographs burned!" "He could have set the house on fire!" "You and your stupid movies!" "Aren't you ashamed to play with a little boy at your age?" "What did I do?" "Who gave him the film?" "Don't do it again." "He's crazy." "Crazy, I tell you!" "All I hear about is movies and Alfredo." "Alfredo and movies!" "Swear you won't let him in again." "Swear it!" "You have my word." "May God grant me one wish." "May he send your father home to whip you!" "Papa won't come back, and I know why." "He's dead." "That's not true." "I'll show you." "He'll come back." ""Thus man's good and evil deeds do pass... while time flows on like a river."" "They smoke like chimneys!" "No." "Go buy a ticket." "What was that?" "I'll make mincemeat out of you!" "You'll have to reckon with me!" "Signora Anna!" "Don't blame me." "Your wife told me to bring your lunch." "I told my mother you didn't give me the film." "It wasn't your fault." "I thought it was a joke about film catching fire." "I just wanted to tell you." "Now I'll go." "Toto, come here." "Come on and sit down." "Now listen." "I got into this business at age ten." "Back then, we didn't have fancy machines." "Movies were silent." "You turned the projector by hand... with a crank." "All the livelong day!" "And that damn crank was so hard." "If you got tired and slowed down a bit... like a shot... voom!" "..." "everything went up in flames." "So why not teach me?" "Now that there's no crank and it's easier." "Because I don't want to." "This is no job for you." "You're like a slave... and always by yourself." "You see a film 100 times." "You've nothing else to do." "You talk to Greta Garbo and Tyrone Power like an idiot." "You work like a dog." "Even holidays..." "Easter, Christmas." "You only get Good Friday off." "And if they hadn't stuck Christ on a cross... we'd even work then." "So why don't you change jobs?" "Because I'm a nitwit." "Who else around here could run a projector?" "Nobody." "It takes an imbecile like me." "I never had any luck." "When I was little, there was a war." "When I grew up, there was another war." "So, you want to be a stick-in-the-mud like me?" "How about it?" "Attaboy, Toto." "I'm telling you for your own good." "In here, you suffocate in summer and freeze to death in winter." "You breathe all these fumes." "And you earn chicken feed." "Don't you like anything about it?" "Oh, you get used to it." "Sometimes you can hear... that the house is full of people... laughing and having fun." "Then you're happy too." "It makes you feel good to hear them." "Like you're the one who made them laugh... who made them forget their troubles." "That part I like." "I might as well be speaking Greek!" "What're you up to?" "You pretend to listen, then you trick me!" "Your mother's right!" "You're crazy!" "How'd the rascal do it?" "He learned by watching." "I'm telling the cashier not to let you in!" "And I'll see Father Adelfio!" "No more altar boy!" "Finished!" "Up yours!" "I got it!" "I won!" "I won the football lottery!" "The Neapolitan won the lottery!" "Hey, Ciccio from Naples won the lottery!" "It's always the northerners who get lucky." "The square is mine!" "All mine!" "Hold still!" "Got ants in your pants?" "You got a lice factory up here." "Beat it." "What're you after?" "Get out of here." "A merchant owns two stores." "In one, he sells fruit." "Be seated." "Professor... the night-school students are here for the grade-school diploma exam." "Silence!" "Rotten little stinker!" " Toto, help me." " Silence!" "I can't do this damn thing!" "Francesco Messana... you're under arrest." "Good riddance!" "Kiss my ass!" "Pencil pusher!" "Right here is where it can catch fire." "If it does, cut here and here, or the whole reel will burn." "Got it?" "Never!" "We'll never have that here." "Which side is the gelatin on?" "It tastes good." "The shipping invoice for the film." "Always keep these." "I will, Alfredo." "Don't ever forget them." "This is for you." "Today you load the reels yourself." " It's so high!" " Now you can run it alone." "Hold it." " What a build!" " My turn!" "Say good-bye to Peppino." "He's leaving for Germany." "Why won't you say good-bye?" "My father says he's a communist." "God keep you, Mama." "Will he really find work in Germany?" "Who knows?" "It's an adventure." "All you can do is hope." "Screw this country!" "Go work in Germany, you and your Stalin." "Good-bye, Mama." "Good-bye, Peppino!" "Come back soon!" "We'll see you." "Lucky thing Germany is closer than Russia." "After six years, the return of spring fashion." "Fresh and breezy... unlike the stodgy wartime styles." "I'll make mincemeat out of you!" ""You'll have to reckon with me!"" "Another sad chapter... in the tragedy of our men in Russia." "The Defense Ministry... has released a new list of Italian soldiers killed in battle... until now considered missing." "The names will be posted by local military authorities... who will directly notify the families involved." "However, we don't know where he's buried." "Here's the form for the pension." "Sign it, please." "Get out!" "Go home!" "We can't have another show!" "It's late." "Be reasonable." "We can't show it again!" "Some people sat through it twice!" "We've been waiting for an hour!" "Tomorrow we'll have another movie." "A western." "Word of honor!" "Go home to bed." "They'll wreck the Paradiso!" "All hell will break loose!" "Alfredo, let us in!" "What can I do?" ""A mob doesn't think." "They don't know what they're doing."" "Spencer Tracy said that in Fury." "Well, what do you say?" "Shall we let the poor devils see their film?" "Sure." "But how?" ""If you have no faith in me, have faith in what you see."" "Now get your butt off that stool." "Get ready." "Abracadabra." "Look the other direction." "Go look out the window." "Alfredo, it's beautiful." "Over there!" "It's the movie!" "Bravo, Alfredo!" "Thank you, Alfredo!" "What's going on?" "It's a movie!" "To hell with you all!" "There's no sound!" "Shall we make them happy?" "Want to go down?" "Go on." " Look." " Good Lord!" "And Nunzio, half price." "You have to buy tickets, folks." "Reduced rates." "Up yours!" "The square belongs to everyone!" "Oh, no!" "The square is mine!" "Don't joke about that or you'll piss me off!" "Someone, help me!" " Nunzio, what's wrong with you?" " I can't breathe!" "Alfredo!" "Alfredo!" "Help!" "Help!" "Help!" "Poor Alfredo." "What a shame." "All burned!" "It all burned down!" "What do we do now?" "We have no more entertainment." "Nothing." "Where will we get the money to rebuild?" "Take a look at Ciccio." "So spiffy, you'd hardly know him." "Who has that kind of money?" "The new Cinema Paradiso!" "Come in, come in!" "This theater is for you!" "He's just a boy." "What about labor laws?" "I got the license through connections." "Don't ask me how their minds work." "Officially, I'm the projectionist, but the money goes to Toto." "Stay on your toes, Toto." "No sleeping." "We've had enough disasters." "Do what poor Alfredo taught you." "And God bless you." "Thank you, Father." "What is this, a funeral?" "Life goes on!" "Gaiety!" "Music!" "Get a load of that!" "Our Father!" "By God, they're kissing!" "I won't watch pornography." "Three cheers for Ciccio!" "Any room for me in this new paradise?" "Bring him home after you close." "I'm going, Alfredo." "I'm glad you're here." "How're things at school?" "Fine, but now that I'm working... maybe I won't go anymore." "No." "No, Toto." "Don't do that." "You'll end up with egg on your face." "Why?" "What does that mean?" "It means... that this isn't your real work." "Right now the Paradiso needs you... and you need the Paradiso... but it's a stopgap." "One day you'll go on... to other things." "Things... that are more important." "Definitely more important." "I know." "Now that I've lost my sight, I see better." "Things I never saw before." "All thanks to you, who saved my life." "I won't forget it." "And don't look like that." "I'm not senile yet." "Want proof?" "Well, let's see." "For example... right now, the film's out of focus." "Go check." "You're right!" "It's out of focus." "How'd you know?" "Too hard to explain." "Only two days?" "What do I care if you've rented all the prints?" "I've only had it two days." "They'll rip my head off here!" "I wouldn't make it even if I opened at 8:00 a." "M!" "This is a big town, and you know it!" "If you screw me over, I'll go straight to Rome!" "You'll pay for this!" "Don't mess with me, 'cause I'll split your skull open!" "Don Ciccio, I have an idea." "Do you remember that old abandoned movie theater?" "What about it?" "The projector's rusted, but I could fix it in a couple of days." "You have the place cleaned up... hire a projectionist from the city, and we'll have two theaters!" "Bullshit!" "Don't start, Toto." "Titanus will only let me have one print." "If I ask for another one, they'll cut my head off... and play ball with it." "Who says we need two copies?" "Well, don't we?" "We see the crib." "The child's asleep." "Help her!" ""The lawyer told me." "Now I know."" "The lawyer told me." "Now I know." ""And everyone must know." "Yes, everyone must know."" "Everyone must know." ""You believe me?"" ""Yes, I believe you."" ""Our own home." "How I've dreamed of it!"" ""Tonino!"" ""Mama."" ""The End."" "I don't like it!" "I don't like it!" "I cut the end credits to go faster." "Hurry back with part one." "I'll show a newsreel." "I'll call the police." "Take him." "Just a minute." "Just a minute!" "What do you want?" "Give me part two." "Here's part one." "Hurry, the house is packed." "What are you doing?" "Hurry up!" "Light the coal, come on!" " The audience is protesting!" " Get her rolling!" "Bunch of animals!" "Quiet!" "To hell with it!" "Toto, what's going on?" "What the hell is he doing?" "Come on, Toto." "They're gonna explode!" "It's been a half hour!" "What can I do?" "Where is that son of a jackass?" "I'll be ruined!" "Calm down, calm down." "I'll have you know, just to see this movie..." "I left my wife home sick in bed... and I haven't seen a thing." "If it's not here in ten minutes, give us back our money... me and everyone else here... or I'll wreck the place with this cane!" "Calm down!" "Calm down and let me talk." "Tell you what." "I'll show part one over again." "Quiet, quiet!" "I've seen the whole movie." "I'll tell you the plot." "Boccia, what happened?" " What are you doing?" " I'm in heaven." "Get out of here!" "Scram!" "It feels so good!" "What's the idea?" "Watch the screen, you perverts!" "Don't touch." "I told you:" "It doesn't catch fire." "Progress always comes too late." "Workers..." "That's right." "Now you've got it." "Come on, take it easy." "Don't be afraid." "Do I really have to squeeze a lemon on it if it bleeds?" "Lemon?" "Whoever told you such bullshit?" "That's right, keep going." "That's right." "See?" "It's not dangerous, see?" "That's right, keep going." "Now you're really a man." "What am I saying?" "You're not a man, you're a bull!" "She's new." "Not bad." "She looks nice." "Her father's the bank manager." "Pride, pomp and circumstance." "Jerks off with his shirt to keep his hands clean." "Go, man, go!" "Excuse me." "You dropped this." "Oh, thanks." "I didn't even notice." "My name's Salvatore." "What's yours?" "Elena." "My name's Elena." "I wanted to tell you, well, the other day at the station..." "It's Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times, right, Toto?" "Yes, that's right." "I know that film by heart." "While I was showing it for the first time in 1940, my first wife died." "They kept it from me all day, to keep the theater open." "I found out after the last show." "I lost my mind." "It's the kind of thing you never forget." "The small projector?" "Your footage?" "What do you see?" "Slaughterhouse workers butchering a calf." "Blood all over the floor, like a lake." "Another calf passes over the lake... on his way to being slaughtered." "Why'd you stop?" "What do we see?" "Nothing." "We don't see anything." "It's all fuzzy." "A woman." "It's a woman." "Yes, a girl I saw at the station." "What's she like?" "She's very nice." "My age, slim, long brown hair." "Big blue eyes, honest and direct." "A little beauty mark on her lip." "Very small." "You only see it up close." "When she smiles, you feel like..." "I don't know." "Love." "Love." "I know how it is." "The blue-eyed ones are the worst." "No matter what you do, they'll never be your friends." "There's nothing you can do." "The bigger the man, the deeper the footprint." "And if he loves, he suffers, knowing it's a dead-end street." "That's nice, what you just said." "But sad." "I didn't say it." "It was John Wayne in The Shepherd of the Hills." "You old pirate!" "Hello, Elena." "Why are you running?" "Because..." "I wanted to tell you..." "You remember when we..." "Nice day, isn't it?" "Yes, really nice." "Excuse me, I have to go." "Bye." "What a jerk." "What a jerk!" ""Nice day, isn't it?"" "What an idiot!" "You may not believe me... but I'll play the leading male role in the story of your life." "Sure, I'm no Marlon Brando, but take a good look at me." "Am I really so ugly?" "So should I give it another try?" "Maybe this time I'll succeed." "What do you think?" "Hello, I'd like to speak to Elena, please." " This is she." " Elena, is that you?" " Yes." " I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you." "This is Salvatore." "Do you remember me?" "Listen, I know I make a fool of myself every time we meet... but I swear, it's just that you make me shy." "But the truth is I do nothing but think of you." "Yes, Elena, you're my last thought before I fall asleep... and the first when I wake up." "I dream of you every night." "It doesn't sound romantic over the phone, but I care about you..." "If you don't stop calling, I'll call the police." "Who's this?" "I'm Elena's mother, you idiot!" "I'm sorry, ma'am." "Please believe me, I didn't know..." "Oh, shit!" "I told you so." "You thought I was joking." "But take it from me:" "The blue-eyed ones are the worst." "But why?" "There must be a way to make her understand." "Don't even try." "With feelings, there's nothing to understand... and no way to explain." "You talk like you made the world!" "Toto, calm down." "Don't take it out on me." "That's all I need." " Where'd you go?" " Get out of the way!" "Toto!" "Come back here!" "I can't walk on my own." "You better watch your mouth!" "With all due respect to the Lord... who made the world in two or three days..." "I'd have taken a bit longer... but in all modesty, I would've done it better." "Like I said:" "You always have an answer." "Just for you, Toto, I'll tell you a story." "Let's sit down a minute." "These old bones of mine..." "Once upon a time... a king gave a feast... for the loveliest princesses in the realm." "Now, a soldier who was standing guard... saw the king's daughter go by." "She was the most beautiful of all... and he instantly fell in love." "But what is a simple soldier... next to the daughter of a king?" "Well, at last he succeeded in meeting her... and told her he could no longer live without her." "The princess was so taken by the depth of his feeling... that she said to the soldier..." ""If you can wait... for 100 days and 100 nights under my balcony... at the end I shall be yours."" "With that, the soldier went and waited one day... two days, then ten, then twenty." "Each evening the princess looked out... and he never moved!" "In rain, in wind, in snow, he was always there." "Birds shit on his head, bees stung him... but he didn't budge." "At the end... of 90 nights... he had become... all dry, all white." "Tears streamed from his eyes." "He couldn't hold them back." "He didn't even have the strength to sleep." "All that time, the princess watched him." "At long last it was the 99th night... and the soldier stood up... took his chair... and left." "What?" "After all that?" "After all that." "And don't ask what it means." "I don't know." "If you understand it, you tell me." "Alfredo, what is it?" "I can't." "It's time for Mass." "Father, I need you urgently... because I have doubts... terrible doubts tormenting my soul." "Your soul!" "Father, I've sinned." " We can discuss that later." " But who..." "Stay there." "Don't move." "Just act normal." "It's Salvatore." "How'd you get in there?" "Alfredo, that's a terrible thing to say." "I know." "But take the miracle of the loaves and fishes." "What about it?" "I always wonder:" "How is it possible?" "All hell broke loose." "My mother told my father." "How could you mistake her for me?" "Forgive me, Elena." "I was a real fool." "I had to talk to you." "You're so beautiful, Elena." "That's what I wanted to tell you." "When we meet, I can't say anything right... because you make me tremble." "I don't know what others do in a case like this." "It's my first time." "But I'm in love with you." "Father, I have sinned." "I absolve you in the name of the Father... the Son and the Holy Ghost." "Go in peace." "When you smile, you're even prettier." "Salvatore, you're very sweet, and I like you very much... but I don't love you." "I don't care." "I'll wait." "What?" "Until you fall in love with me." "Now listen." "Every night after work, I'll come stand outside your house." "And I'll wait." "Every night." "When you change your mind, open your window." "That's all." "I'll understand." "You understand now?" "Yes, I finally see the light." "Next time, don't talk heresy." "You survived the fire in the theater... but no one can save you from eternal fire!" "What's keeping Toto?" "The theater's closed by now." "Fifteen seconds to the New Year!" "14, 13, 12..." "I wouldn't worry." "He must be with his friends." " Let's have a toast." " Happy New Year!" "Happy New Year!" " To Toto as well." " To Toto!" "The movie's over!" "Turn the lights on!" "This is just the test drive." "How'll we get home?" "Oh, God, it's my father!" "Good evening, Mr. Mendola." "Ladies and gentlemen, good evening." "The "Teatro della Fiera" in Milan presents Double Your Money... hosted by Mike Bongiorno." "What do you know?" "I forgot my lines." "You're kidding me, right?" "How can you see this "television" without any film?" " That's the way it works." " With no film?" "And if you buy a television set, you can watch it at home." "That may be, but I don't like it." "There's something fishy about it." " Massa...?" " Macinaia." "Massa Macinaia." "It must be close to Massa Carrara." "No." "It's near Lucca." "Isn't this a marvelous invention?" "But how was I supposed to buy the equipment without a mortgage?" "In this day and age, one has to keep up with the times." "It's a new machine called a teleprojector." "What are you going to perform this evening?" "The Divine Comedy." "Maybe your father looks down on my job." "Or the fact my family is poor." "Is that it?" "As soon as school is out, we're going to Tuscany." "If you come up there, we can meet secretly." "I have to work all summer." "What am I going to do without you?" "Don't worry." "I'll write you every day." "I love you." "The summer will end, and I'll come back." ""Summer Screenings Will Be Held at the Arena Imperia"" "Standing room only!" "Get in for free, but pay to get out!" "Come on in." "The show just started." "Have your tickets ready." "Salvatore, my love... the days here drag on forever." "I see your name everywhere:" "In a book, a crossword puzzle... a newspaper." "You're always before my eyes." "Today, alas, I have bad news." "In October we're moving to Palermo, where I'll go to the university." "So we won't see each other every day." "But don't worry." "Whenever I can get away..." "I'll come to you at the Paradiso." "I caught an octopus!" "There's a letter for you!" "One a day." "Here you go." " You making fun of me?" " Of course!" "I'm blind!" "By God's might, by man's actions!" "Rise up!" "When will this rotten summer end?" "In a film, it'd already be over." "Fade-out, cut to storm." "Wouldn't that be great?" "Tell them I am Ulysses!" "Elena!" "But when..." "I got back today." "You can't imagine the excuses I made up to come here." "You still can't beat Sophia Loren... with those long legs and ample breasts." " Kind of like Lana Turner?" " Don Ciccio?" "This is for Toto." " You give it to him." " What is it?" "Oh, my God!" "What am I going to do now?" "What did they say?" "As a war orphan, I don't fall under the mandatory draft." "But there's nothing to be done." "They've made a clerical error." "I leave for Rome on Friday." "They said they'd discharge me after ten days." " Come." " No, Salvatore." "You'd better go." "My father's here." "Good." "Finally we can talk." "This time I'll make him see reason." "I'm afraid not, Salvatore." "He has other plans for me." "Who?" "The son of one of his business partners." "Don't look so sad." "We'll talk about it later." "Wait for me Thursday at the Paradiso." "I'll be on the 5:00 bus." "I love you." ""Thursday"" ""Today"" "This film is too highbrow for us." "One day is more than enough." "Load the reels for tomorrow, ready for the new guy." "All right." "Hey, cheer up!" "I'll wait for you." "Don't worry." "The job'll still be here." "I'll wait, you hear?" "Don't look so gloomy." "Come on, now!" "You weren't expecting me, were you?" "No, Alfredo." "I was coming to help you." "No, you were expecting her." "It's no fun to wait alone." "It's easier if you have company, right?" "Would you rather I left?" "No, don't go." "Listen, I need your help." "How did he talk me into this?" "Open up!" "Open the door!" "I don't like it!" " I'm back." " What took you so long?" " I'm here now." " Where did you go?" "Calm down." "It's all right." "Sit down." "Did she come?" "No, no one came." "Radioman Di Vita, 3rd Battalion, 9th Company, sir!" "Colonel, I'd like to know when I'll be discharged." "As yet we have received no such order." "You may go." "They transferred her father?" "It can't be!" "And no one knows where?" "Screw you if you won't tell me!" "Asshole son of a bitch!" "Colonel, I was only supposed to be here for ten days." "It's been almost a year and I haven't been home once." "I demand to be sent home on leave!" "Di Vita, get ready." "Your discharge came through." "You're thinner." "I can tell you've been unhappy." "They tell me you never go out... and you never talk to anybody." "Why?" "You know how it is." "Sooner or later a time comes... when it's all the same whether you talk or not." "So you might as well shut up." "It's hot in here." "Take me to the sea." "At a party, a lieutenant pinches this girl's ass." "She turns around." "It's the colonel's daughter." "Terrified, the lieutenant says..." ""If your heart is as hard as what I just felt, I'm a dead man."" "You haven't seen her?" "And no one knows where she is." "That's probably how it was meant to be." "Each of us has his own destiny." "What do you plan to do now?" "I've got another one." "The captain says to the sergeant..." ""Do you remember... when there was a windmill there?"" ""Yes, Captain, I remember it well."" "The windmill is gone now... but the wind is still there."" "Do you remember the story about the soldier and the princess?" "Now I know why the soldier left after all that time." "One more night and the princess would be his." "But she might have broken her promise... and that would have been terrible." "It would have killed him." "This way, at least, for 99 nights... he had lived with the illusion that she was waiting for him." "Do as the soldier did, Toto." "Get out of here." "This land is cursed." "Living here day after day... you think it's the center of the world." "You believe nothing will ever change." "Then you leave for a year or two." "When you come back, everything's changed." "The thread's broken." "What you came to find isn't there." "What was yours is gone." "You have to go away for a long time... many years... before you can come back and find your people." "The land where you were born." "But not now." "It's not possible." "Right now, you're more blind than I am." "Who said that?" "Gary Cooper?" "James Stewart?" "Henry Fonda?" "No, Toto." "Nobody said it." "This time it's all me." "Life isn't like in the movies." "Life... is much harder." "Get out of here!" "Go back to Rome." "You're young, and the world is yours." "And I'm old." "I don't want to hear you talk anymore." "I want to hear others talking about you." "Don't come back." "Don't think about us." "Don't look back." "Don't write." "Don't give in to nostalgia." "Forget us all." "If you do and you come back, don't come see me." "I won't let you in my house." "Understand?" "Thank you." "For everything you've done for me." "Whatever you end up doing, love it." "The way you loved the projection booth... when you were a little squirt." "He's gone." "Toto!" "Good-bye!" "I got here too late." "What a shame!" "It's Toto." "I knew it." " Toto." " How are you?" "Your sister will be so glad to see you." "And the children..." "You won't recognize them, they've grown so much." "They always write to say they want to come and visit." "See how nice the house is?" "We had the whole thing redone, all thanks to you." "I have a surprise for you." "Come." "Are you tired?" "You have time to rest before the funeral." "No, Mama, it's only an hour by plane." "You shouldn't have said that after all these years." "Come." "I put all your things in here." "He must be glad you came, Toto." "He always talked about you." "Always." "Right up to the end." "He really loved you." "He left something for you." "Before you leave... come see me." "When did you close it down?" "Six years ago in May." "Nobody came anymore." "You know better than I, Mr. Di Vita..." "the economy, TV, videos." "The old movie business is just a memory." "The city bought the site for a parking lot." "They're demolishing it Saturday." "It's too bad." "What's this "Mr. Di Vita"?" "You used to order me around." "Now that you're a big shot, it's a little different." "But if you insist, Toto." "Excuse me." "Who would've believed it?" "Little Toto." "Uncle, next time Grandma goes to Rome, I want to go too." "I want to see what you do when you work." "Fine, but I have to tell you, there's not much to see." "I sell a lot of smoke and very little substance." "Watch out, Salvatore." "Don't let them take advantage of you." "These two will eat you alive." "Uncle, are you leaving tomorrow?" "I don't know." "I don't know, Filippo." "I really don't know." "It must be for you." "They've been calling all afternoon." "They want to know whether you're leaving tonight... or tomorrow." "Go on in." "A double whiskey, please." "Do you think that's him?" "Excuse me, are you Dr. Lenera?" "I'm a big fan." "Thank you." " Miss?" " Yes?" "I'm sorry." "I mistook you for someone else." "I always have to call you." "Why right now?" "You were supposed to pick me up at noon." "Forget it." "I'm not coming." "You know what?" "I'll go by myself." "What are you thinking?" "I was thinking that you and I have never spoken, Mama." "When I was little, I saw you... as an old woman already." "Maybe it's the same for all children." "Who knows?" "Only now do I realize... that you were young... and beautiful." "You had your whole life ahead of you." "How have you managed to live alone all this time... with no one to think of you?" "You could have remarried." "Why not?" "It's possible that back then I wouldn't have understood." "But eventually I would have." "I never had anyone, if that's what you're thinking." "It was my choice not to." "I remained faithful first to your father... and later to you and Lia." "That's the way I am." "I can't help it." "And you're a lot like me." "You're far too attached to your things." "I don't know if it's a good thing." "Loyalty is hard." "If you're loyal, you're forever alone." "I shouldn't have called you." "It's not your fault, Mama." "It's just that I've always been afraid to come back." "And now, after all these years, I thought I was stronger... that I'd forgotten a lot of things." "But in fact..." "I find I'm right back where I was... as if I'd never been away." "And yet I look at Lia and feel that I don't even know her." "And you, Mama..." "I deserted you." "Ran out on you like a bandit... without any explanation." "I never asked for any." "You don't have to explain anything to me." "I always thought you did what was right." "Why dwell on it?" "Only one thing caused me pain." "When I used to bolt the door at night... before going to bed..." "You never used to do that." "When you worked nights at the theater..." "I couldn't fall asleep until you came home." "When you finally came in..." "I'd pretend to be asleep." "But I'd hear you moving around the house." "Then, when you'd fall asleep..." "I'd get up and bolt the door." "After you left... every time I did it... it felt as if I were leaving someone outside the door." "Far away." "You were right to leave." "You did what you wanted to do." "Every time I call you, a different woman answers." "I pretend to recognize them... to save them the embarrassment of an introduction." "I'm sure they must think I'm a crazy old woman." "But I never heard in any of their voices... that they really loved you." "I would've known." "All the same, I'd have liked... to see you settled down... in love with someone." "But your life is there." "Here there are only ghosts." "Let go, Toto." "Boccia!" "Hello." "Hello." "Who is it?" "I'd like to speak to Elena, please." "Speaking." "Who is it?" "Salvatore." "Salvatore... who?" "Di Vita." "This is Salvatore Di Vita." "Do you remember?" "I'm across the street from your house." "Right here, Elena." "Of course I remember." "I'd like to see you, Elena." "Let's meet." "It was so long ago." "Why should we meet?" "What good would it do?" "Please, don't say no." "I'm old, Salvatore, and so are you." "It's better not to see each other." "Good-bye." "How did you know I'd be here?" "I don't know how long it's been, but there are things I remember." "There weren't many places to choose from." "I looked for you." "You're still beautiful." "What are you talking about?" "I'm old." "Please don't look at me that way." "Why did you come back?" "Alfredo died." "Do you remember him?" "Of course I remember him." "I'm sorry." "You loved him very much." "I saw your daughter." "She's very beautiful." "I bet there are many Salvatores running after her." "A few." "But there aren't many like you." "I also have a son." "He's older." " And you?" " No children." "I'm not married." "Are you happy?" "All things considered, yes." "Although it wasn't what I dreamt of at the time." "You know my husband, don't you?" "Sure I do." "Boccia." "I remember him well." "What does he do in life?" "He's in politics." "He's a regional delegate." "We met up again at the University of Pisa." "Why didn't you marry the man your father had chosen?" "I didn't want to." "And in the end, I won." "Back then I was waiting for you." "But I never forgot you." "Ever." "Neither did I." "Even though you disappeared." "But why talk about it now?" "We'll just end up looking pathetic and ridiculous." "Do you still live in Rome?" "What are you talking about?" "The last time we spoke, we made a date to meet at the Paradiso." "You never showed up!" "You disappeared without a trace!" "How many years have gone by?" "More than 30!" "I did show up for that date." "But I was late." "I had had a long fight with my parents." "I had tried to convince them that they couldn't separate us." "But it was no use." "They had decided... to leave Sicily once and for all." "And we did." "I didn't know what else to do, what else to say." "So I said yes." "I would do as they wished." "In exchange, my father agreed... to let me see you one last time to say good-bye." "I was hoping... that we would use that time to come up with a plan." "I thought we would... run away together." "My father drove me to the theater." "But Alfredo was in the booth, not you." "I couldn't wait for you to get back." "Hurry up, Elena." "So I explained the situation to Alfredo." "I told him I was leaving that very night." "I begged him to tell you everything." "He was very nice to me." "He listened... very carefully." "Calm down." "Don't cry." "Now you listen to me." "If you want me to tell Toto all that you told me..." "I will." "But if you want my advice... forget about him." "It would be better for both of you not to see each other." "My child... fire always turns to ashes." "Even the greatest love comes to an end... and many other loves come to take its place." "But Toto has only one future." "He can't see it now." "I tell him, but he doesn't believe me." "He might even kill me." "But you can understand it." "You must understand it." "Do it for him." "It's a secret I would rather not even have told you." "Damn Alfredo!" "He fooled even you." "I told him I would take his advice." "But before I left, I wrote you that note." "I was going down the stairs... and I figured that Alfredo couldn't see me." "So I went back." "He sat there motionless at the projector." "I took one of those slips of paper off the wall... and wrote down the address where you could find me... and that I would wait for you." "But you disappeared anyway." "How I looked for you, Elena!" "You have no idea." "I wrote, I called." "Nothing." "No one ever answered." "That's why I ran away." "And why I never came back here." "But I dreamt of you for years." "Even though years passed... in every woman I met..." "I sought only you." "I've been very lucky in my career, it's true." "But something was always missing." "I never would have dreamt that... everything would end... because of the man who was a father to me." "That madman." "He wasn't crazy." "In the beginning I think I hated him too." "But in time..." "I understood his words... and also your silence." "I never found that note." "I covered it up with my own two hands." "I didn't see it." "It's the only absurd explanation." "What does it matter now whether we find the reason?" "What's done is done." "But Alfredo didn't betray you." "He was the only one who truly understood you." "Salvatore... if you had chosen to stay with me, you wouldn't have made your movies... and that would have been a shame." "They're wonderful." "I've seen them all." "But you never should have changed your name." "You should have kept your name." "Salvatore Di Vita." "These are the things he left for you." "When they showed your films on television... he was happy." "He'd sit in front of it and forget all his troubles." "He knew all the words by heart... and I would tell him what I saw." "And when the papers talked about you..." "I'd have to read them to him two or three times." " He never asked to see me?" " No, never." "Once your mother said to him... that you'd surely come if you wanted him to." "He was furious and said..." ""No, Toto must never come back to Giancaldo!"" "He didn't say it to be mean." "He was a good man." "Who knows what was going through his head?" "Towards the end, he started saying strange things." "A moment before he closed his eyes... he told your mother she mustn't let you know." "1977, '78..." "Moby Dick." "Dreams in a Drawer." "The Challenge." "The Searchers." "Magnificent Obsession." "The Cry." ""Salvatore... forgive me." "When I see you, I'll explain what happened." "It was terrible not to find you here." "I'm afraid I'll be leaving tonight for Tuscany with my mother." "We're moving there." "But I love only you." "I'll never be with another man." "I swear it." "I'm leaving you the address of a friend where you can write me." "Don't give up on me." "Sealed with a kiss..." "Your Elena."" "When are you leaving?" "This afternoon." "Elena, perhaps in the future we could..." "No, Salvatore, there is no future." "There is only the past." "Even last night's encounter was just a dream." "A wonderful dream." "When we were young, we never did it." "Do you remember?" "Now that it has happened, I can't imagine a better ending." "I'll never agree with you." "Never." "It's my square." "The square is mine." "Check the leader." "Roll when you're ready." " I liked your film." "It was terrific." " Thanks." "The distributor is moving up the release date." "The press conference is this afternoon." "The actors will be there, as well as the producer." "We just got official confirmation of the award... but we've already received loads of telegrams." "Aren't you happy?" "Sure, fine." "We can discuss it later."