"Giulio is a disobedient little boy." "He will stay in here until tonight." "St. Michael had a rooster" "White, red, green and yellow" "And to tame it he gave it milk and honey" "St. Michael had a rooster" "White, red, green and yellow" "And to tame it he gave it milk and honey" "St. Michael had a rooster" "ST." "MICHAEL HAD A ROOSTER" "Adapted from the short story" ""The Divine and the Human" by LEV TOLSTOY" "Groups of so-called Internationalists... are plotting actions in different localities." "Their tactic, propaganda of the fact, involves... sparking unrest in rural areas... taking advantage of discontent over flour taxes." "Demonstrative actions in small towns... and temporary subversion of local authorities... in the name of the Universal Brotherhood." "Arming of bands of peasants... and the redistribution of land." "We are able to crush the sorties of the various groups before they develop." "Only the group known as Pisacane at present escapes our surveillance." "Its leader is one Giulio Manieri... member of a respected landowning family." "Formerly a mathematics undergraduate, now an ice-cream vendor." "It's no use waiting, they're nowhere in sight." "They should have come by 8:00." " It's 10:00." " 10:30." " It's already 10:30." " Something must have happened." " But if the other groups haven't moved..." " We're on our own." "Of course." "Look!" "The comrades from the village are coming!" "Don't mention the others." "They'd be discouraged." "We'll do it anyway." "In fact, we'll do it now... or we might as well have stayed at home!" " At 11:00..." " First of all, good morning, comrade." "Good morning." " Good morning to you." " Good morning." " At 11:00, Mr. Manieri, the Mass will begin." " In just a short time." "Everyone will be in church." "We'll have an hour." "It's all we need." " Good morning." " Good morning." "There's just you?" "Yes." "Shall we go?" "Better wait until the bell rings for Mass." "We'll run into fewer people on the road." "We'll wait." " Is he really Manieri, the ice-cream vendor?" " It's really him." " Is it always this cold up here?" " I beg your pardon?" "So cold in March?" "No, why?" "Get up." "Are you sure it wouldn't be better to put it off?" "I suggest keeping them under your coats." " I beg your pardon?" " Your guns under your coats... until we're in the town square." "Come on, under your coats." "Come on, hurry up." "Your bells sound good!" "We'd better not be seen together yet." "Renzo, we'll wait for them in the square." "Yes." "Excuse me." "Come on, quickly." "If they stay in step for another 10 meters... everything will go all right." "What's he doing?" "Breaking step?" "If they now..." "They're wasting time!" " Did you know Perugino came from here?" " Who would have told him that we..." "They're almost there." "I wish it were tomorrow, we'd know how it went!" "Here, they've gone in." "Let's go." "Do we go in a group or single file?" "Bring your guns inside." "Excuse me." "Where'd they go?" "Where are you?" "In the town hall." "Giulio, the army is coming." "Listen!" "I said the army is coming." "The army is coming." "There must be more than 1,000 men." "1,000." "An hour away." "An hour away." "I knew something had happened." "Something did happen." "What do we do with the mayor and the guard?" "Excuse me!" "You two, stay here, in sight." "You go back in and throw out all the files." "Quick, before the soldiers come." " We'll look for the granary." " Where is it?" "There's no point now." "I know where the granary is." "Good morning." "Let me go." "Even if you're hiding, I know you're there, behind your windows and in church." "You can hear me, right?" "You are right to be wary of us." "We're the Internationalists." "We want to tell you who we are and what we want." " Some of you already know." " Let me by." "But we want to show you with facts, not words." "Help us!" "You can see for yourselves." "We want to make a clean sweep of all the authorities... their documents, their legal papers... their land registers, as false as Judas." "We want to give you back your wheat and flour!" "Are you going to open this door or not?" " The wheat and the land belong to you." " Where shall we put the sacks?" "Here, in the middle." "Look out!" "Look out!" "Pile them up." "Up to here." "Let me by, the soldiers are coming!" "Wait, we still have an hour." "The soldiers won't be here for an hour." "Wait!" "We foresaw this possibility." "Wait!" "There were still some doubts." "5,000 soldiers!" "The comrade says there are more than 5,000 soldiers." "Wait!" "A whole battalion against 12 of us." "That's the best proof of our strength." "No one's stopping." "They're coming to prevent you from meeting us." "But we have met." "Stop them!" "There are others like us." "At least listen to this." "There are others like us in Italy, in Europe." "And here in San Lapo itself." "How many armies will the State need... when we rise up in 100 places?" "No, don't be afraid." "We'll go away." "We won't involve you in any shooting." "This time it went like this." "Next time it'll go better." "Can I go, too?" "Well, goodbye." "It came off only so-so, but it did come off!" " We'd better go now." " Let's split up." "You three take to the orchards, we'll try the olives." "You others, come with me." "Listen." "Well, goodbye." " The bags?" " Leave them." "We've got to move fast." "I want my jacket, though." "Shoot!" "Where are you going?" "Give me that rifle!" "Guelfi's dead!" "Give it to me!" "Give it to me." "He's got him." "Stop." "He said if you move he'll shoot me." "Get that chair." "We won't move." "Giulio, what are you doing?" "Forget about me." "Relax." "Do me a favor..." "Anyway, where could we go now?" " He says to go into the granary." " Tell him to stay calm." "We'll stay calm, as well." "And we'll stay here." "Sit down." "Relax, fellas, relax." " Shall we sing?" " This isn't the time." "Can I sit next to him?" "Do you feel that bad?" "You'd better work out what to say." "The trial will be another chance to make ourselves known." "Think up your statement." "Giulio Manieri, ice-cream vendor lnternationalist, solely responsible..." "Is this town in the hills or the mountains?" "Mr. Minister, I'm sorry to come... and disturb you at this hour." "But the sentence agreed upon will be passed tomorrow." "Death for Manieri, leniency for the others." "Your opinion is sought at court." "An immediate execution would quell any unrest." "But a pardon would enhance the State..." " and the Crown." " Of the two solutions, which do you..." "What are you doing?" "Come back to the table." "I apologize." "Read Manieri's statement at the hearing." "Mama, if I were Daddy..." "If I were your father I'd look for a compromise." "I'd have him shot in one or two years, when things have quietened down." "I just wish Giovanni were rid of this responsibility." ""I, Giulio Manieri, former landowner and undergraduate, currently ice-cream vendor..." ""and Internationalist have only this to say:" ""Thank you for this trial which enables us to state openly who we are and what we want." ""Thanks for the satisfaction I derive from your faces and eyes." ""You don't know where to look." ""Now that you are looking at me, tell me, what did you expect of me?" ""Did you really think I'd choose this activity... and not be prepared for the worst?" ""I foresaw it." ""I can shock and scare you." "You can't do this."" "Here is what I would do." "While the soldiers are putting that man... against the wall to shoot him..." "I'd send a man from the palace... a royal messenger on horseback... bearing the King's pardon." "While the officer orders:" ""Platoon, attention"... the messenger gallops into the fortress." "While the officer shouts, "Platoon, load up"... the messenger gets off his horse." "While the officer shouts, "Take aim"... the messenger hands him the pardon." "Then the officer shouts, "Platoon, halt."" "But the platoon... expecting the word, "Fire," shoots." " Eat up." " Did you understand, Grandma?" ""Notice is given to the condemned, Giulio Manieri..." ""that he will be executed on the 19th instant..." ""at 7:00 a.m. By firing squad."" ""The site will be communicated in due time."" "It's the abbey near my town." "You will shoot me at its feet." "I can make it on foot." "Where are you taking me?" "You're taking me into town." "You're going to shoot me in the square." "I'd like some water." "You have to give me something to drink." "I know it's against the rules, but no one can see us." "I must drink." "There's a peasant there." "I know him." "It's Scardigli." "Ask if he has any water." "Hello, Scardigli." "Listen." "Remember this trip, because in 10 years you'll do it again." "Even less than 10 years, even less." "I'll be with you because my comrades will have disinterred me." "My coffin will be covered with our flags." "You can't imagine what a cortege it will be!" "I want the same route again, remember." "Now we're in Via Arduino, then we'll take Via Dante." "I leave it to you as a testament." "I want this cart, driven by you." "You'll be famous for having been the last to talk to me." "Where are you going?" "Hi, Costantino." " You came back?" " Yes, seven months ago." " You still work at the town hall?" " No, at the customhouse." " Costantino, shut the window." " My wife." " What's that noise?" " Some iron tubing." " It fell off a cart." " What did you say?" "Where was I?" "Oh, yes!" "The same route." "Notify the comrades 10 days in advance." "No, 15 is better." "They must all be here, friends and comrades." "It'll take time to notify them all because they're scattered everywhere." "Many are peasants scattered around the countryside." "You'll have to tell Franco, Gito, Tullio, Mario..." "I can't recall them all just now." "Gaetano, Guido, Delio, Augusto..." "Bernardo, Ermanno, Giuliano." "I'm crying because I'm moved, not scared." "Tell them that!" "Gianni, Valentino, Roberto." "My house is on this street!" "You're passing under my brother's windows!" "Aren't you going to look out?" "You're ashamed, eh?" "Too late, Gianfranco." "Hey!" "No bells." "No bells at my funeral." "Music, yes, but not this." "I know which." "We're close now." "I know the road." "I want festive music, but only when I enter the square." "Don't you pity me?" "By Sovereign will, the condemned has been pardoned." "Aren't you killing me any more?" "The death sentence is commuted to life imprisonment." " Really?" " The prisoner will be escorted back to jail." "Here I am." "Long live the King!" "I'll make you pay for dribbling, too." "You're quite right to keep quiet." "You talked too much yesterday with your testament." "The comrades with the flags, the world topsy-turvy." "Me on the same cart." "What was I going to be?" "Famous!" "Open your mouth." "Yesterday you had a voice to make one think of miracles." "The driver ignored you, but you took me in." "I won't forgive you for that." "It's still hot." "If miracles existed, I'd ask only two things." "The first..." "It was the voice of fear, wasn't it?" "Luckily they didn't shoot you or heaven knows what I'd have said about you." "Don't you hear them or is your brain softening?" "Listen to that." ""Hello from the third cell."" ""If the guard comes in, knock three times."" "I'll answer for you." ""The guard is coming in."" "They won't bother you now." "Isn't that what you want?" "Bring the bottle on my table." "Shame on you!" " What more tricks are you curing me for?" " Calm down." "Don't ask for trouble." "People like you will be swept away." "It can't be otherwise!" "It may take years but you'll all be swept away!" "Quit it, boy!" "We know how to deal with bad manners." "A matter of years and then watch out for people like me." "When I get out I'll be younger than now." "Be careful, or I'll tear it off." "Give me the medicine first." "And take care of me." "I'll look after myself like a newborn baby." " How many spoonfuls?" " One." "Two!" " You're still here." "Get out." " We have our methods, too." " I'll strangle you." " Behave." "Forbidden in solitary confinement:" "Visitors, contact with other prisoners... outdoor exercise, books, paper and pen." "First, talk out loud." "First, talk out loud." "Get used to not being afraid of your own voice." "Look for the right tone." "Talk slowly, emphatically..." "Out loud." "Mustn't forget." "It isn't enough." "If I stop thinking out loud, what can I do?" "What can I do?" "St. Michael had a rooster" "White, red, green, and yellow" "And to tame it he gave it milk and honey" "I'm not crazy, I decided to speak out loud." "I'm not crazy, but I feel ridiculous." "Mind you don't talk nonsense." "No, I'll even talk nonsense." "Better ridiculous than resigned." "If I want to make a face, I will." "I've never been so free!" "Second, divide the day in an orderly way." "Exercise every two hours." "At 11:00 a.m., meeting with comrades." "Lunch." "Geometry lesson." "History." "English." "Depending on what day it is." "Dinner." "Free period." "Sleep at least 11 hours." "Yes, 11 hours." "Well, then, let's begin." "Let's begin." "I go out." "I have to remember what I found on leaving my house." "The streets, the stores, the people." "I go out with my ice-cream cart." "I open the door." "And, away!" "Forward!" "I turn left." "What's on the left?" "The avenue leading to the center of town." "Yes, the avenue." "It goes on." "Straight ahead." "To the King's School in the seafront square." "Come, children, come!" "If your mothers and nannies knew... who your ice-cream man really is!" "Come, come!" "Ice cream!" "Ice cream!" "What's going on?" " A lemon." " No lemons or ice cream." "Shouting is forbidden." "If I shout, what worse can you do to me?" " I don't know, but it's forbidden." " So I'll shout!" "It's 11:00 and all's well!" "It's 11:00 and I'm exercising." "11:00, meeting with the Pisacane group, with the comrades." "Hello." "Negrini, you go over there." "Mannoni, on the stool." "And you, Battilana, there." "Friends, comrades, let the meeting begin." "Report, Battilana." "Negrini was away." "This time they almost screwed us." "You think so, right, Giulio?" "The expedition to San Lapo has failed." "The south must become our new objective." "Southern peasants are still..." "Italy's powder keg." "Choose the area:" "Matese or Puglia." "I am organizing enlistment of volunteers... financing, arms." "Thief!" "The watchwords are the same." "Land to the peasants." "Thief." "Self government at the municipal level." "Who's a thief?" "The government?" "He is." "Giulio." "Shut up!" "Do you realize?" "No, let him speak." "Giulio, you have to do the talking." "What money are you using to organize?" "Yours." "And we thank you." "You can't thank me for something I haven't given you!" "We cashed in the notes you signed." "I didn't sign them, he did!" "Giulio signed them in my name!" "You were the only one with any property left." "Or am I wrong?" "No." "We turned over what we had years ago." "Especially Giulio." "And did he have property!" "It wasn't only my money, it was my brother's, too." "I don't care about myself, but he's got kids." "That's why I signed for you!" "You'd never have done it by yourself." "No, Giulio, no!" "You are..." "You are a..." "I know what I am." "A true politician is a criminal or a madman..." "Negrini." "Negrini." "Hear that!" "He calls us by our surnames." "He keeps his distance." "Have you ever confided in anyone, Giulio?" "Or let anyone into your life?" "You always talk of others, but you're very conceited." "You always work for yourself when you work for others." "I want a free world so each man can be himself." "Battilana, you speak, too!" "I have trouble following you, you always overdo it." "But I'm on your side." "Don't drag me into it." "You, Giulio, cultivate others' devotion to use it." "You disposed of my family ties without a second thought." "If you had children you'd understand." "It won't happen to me." "Starting a family, having a wife, children." "That's normality, habit, appeasement." "Balance begets monsters." "What do you know of families, of women?" "I surprised him once with one of those." "But she wasn't normal in size." "She was enormous, a freak." "Right, Giulio?" "He's joking." "Our daughters are the prostitutes" "Who die of consumption in the hospitals" "The poor girls have sold themselves" "For a meal or a cotton dress" "Chicken in aspic... defatted... jelled, quivering and iced." "Side dish of mixed vegetables." "Raw mushrooms, tiny onions." "Mix with bits of diced tongue." "Flavor with pepper, oil, salt, parsley... and lemon." "And white Rhine wine." "Today cornmeal with game birds." "Joint the birds." "Singe the pin feathers." "Leave the innards." "A sage leaf." "Wrap them in bacon." "Slip them on the spit and coat with oil." "When browned... serve on a hot plate with the cornmeal." "Wash it down with wine from Puglia." "I must brace myself." "It'll soon be 6:00 p.m." "A terrible hour for me." "I mustn't be caught unprepared." "Already?" "Now I'll get up." "St. Michael, take this hour away from me... this evil hour, this endless hour." "St. Michael, don't let me be frightened." "Help me to begin my hour of geometry." "Today at 6:00, geometry lesson." "Rolle's third theorem." "Alpha, beta, root, radius." "Given alpha is less than beta in the equation f(x)=0..." "It's a terrible hour." "I'm fooling myself." "I'm afraid to go the whole way... to find out what I really want to do." "I'm afraid to say I only want to cry." "I'll just have to cry, then." "It's the only solution." "It's the only solution!" "Yes, friends." "I'm coming now." "It's time to walk with you." "I'm coming." "I feel better now I got it out of my system." "My nerves are okay again." "I haven't felt so great for days." "I'll go back to my program." "I'm glad to go back to it." "Where are you taking me?" "Where are we going?" "Tonight I need bright lights, beautiful people and colors." "We have a right to it, I think." "We need to distract ourselves." "A stroll down the main street?" "No, it's been too tiring a day." "Not even a row on the river." "To the opera!" "But not in the gallery tonight, please." "Nothing so uncomfortable." "In the orchestra!" "All of us together." "You too, Battilana." "And you are coming with us, Negrini." "I'll pay for everybody." "Tomorrow I'll sell twice as many ice creams." "I'm paying, I'm paying." "Come on, it's started." "Sit next to me." "Like that." "Quiet, now." "Quiet." "And now good night, friends, and thank you." "St. Michael, let me have last night's dream again." "The expeditions succeeded." "The peasants are with us." "They've freed me." "We're marching together." "The provinces are rising up." "In all of Italy, in all of Europe, in Japan." "The new age is here." "They want to make me president." "A beautiful woman... two, four beautiful women... kill themselves because they can't have me." "The young men acclaim me president, but I refuse." "There must be no bosses." "I withdraw, disappear." "But disguised, unrecognizable..." "I wander among the people..." "I make them talk to me." "I hear what they say about me." "See you tomorrow, friends." "I'm disgracefully happy." "Good morning." "Your 10 years in solitary are over." "You're being transferred to another jail." "On Sant'Alvise Island, in the Venice Lagoon." "You should leave in an hour." "But you feel up to it?" "What are you doing?" "I see, I see." "Very good!" " Are you sick?" " I think so." " Who are they?" " Prisoners." "They're coming, too." " Common criminals?" " No." "Like you." " Politicals?" " Subversives." "And who's that?" "The girl's father." "Since they arrested her, he's followed her everywhere." "He quit his job." "He's a judge." "Virginia." "Goodbye." " Catch up with them." " I've only two arms." "Can I help him?" "It's all the same to me." " All right." " Thanks." "I'm Giulio Manieri." "They didn't understand." "Good morning." "You..." "We..." "I..." "How's things?" " Fine." "And you, sir?" " Don't be so formal, we're comrades." " Do you need anything?" " Maybe you didn't understand who I am." "You 're Giulio Manieri." " Why did you stop?" " The current's too strong." "We're overloaded." "Want to give us a hand?" " What about the handcuffs?" " We'll take them off." "You don't have to help." "Let them tire themselves out taking you to jail!" " You can report them." " Do you really think that's a good idea?" "Don't row." "You have a right to refuse." "You can trust me." "We know." "But the exercise will warm us up." " You were rowing, too." "Why?" " Only to catch up with you." " What expedition were you on?" " Expedition?" "Can you take off my cuffs, too?" " It's not them." " Who?" "Those aren't the subversives you talked about." " Are they?" " Call them whatever you like." "But the trial proved the one with the scarf is linked to the organization in central Italy." "The girl's fluent in three languages." "She was the courier between England and Switzerland." "I think the other two workers circulated the newspaper." "They're a bad lot, all right!" "Good for you!" "You're wise to be cautious." " Come on, faster!" " I'll cuff you again." "You see?" "You can't do it." "Let me get up!" "Let me row!" "Quick, load up!" "Come on!" " What about Manieri?" " He's fainted, it seems he can't breathe." " Give me a hand." " Let me help." "I'm a medical student." "It's nothing, he just needs rest." "We'll see to him." "Give me those bricks." "We'll put them under the blanket." "I thought he was older." "We could have waited for him." " Lf he wakes up..." " Okay, but no arguments." "They'd be useless." " We've seen them useless." " Yes, those people can no longer..." "I can hear you." " Please, excuse her." " Sure." "She's a woman." " Do you know..." " Give him a drink." " I'll drink and I won't argue." " Virginia, your father's still there." "It's not a question of arguments." "But even if she took part in an unsuccessful expedition... even if she worked out how to give the peasants land, if she..." " Calm down, wait." " Hey, what's going on?" "Nothing, Manieri needs rest." "I'm helping him." "Okay, but the woman goes back to her place." "Go away, Pa, go away!" "Cover me while I talk to him." "Virginia, I didn't mean to offend you." "You're out of touch after 10 years... so I'll explain." "Quickly, before they separate us." "You've no idea." "You keep talking of groups, armed expeditions." "None of us have ever been on any expeditions." "In town or in the countryside." " Mannoni tried to organize the last one." " Elvio?" "Yes." "He was in your group." "He tried when he came out of jail." "But he was alone even before he started." "Nothing happened to him." "I think he's a railroad engineer now." "Move the boat!" "You can't count on the countryside anymore." " Quick!" "The carabiniere's coming!" " All right." "It's the land that makes the people reactionary or subject." "But when the peasants are forced into the factories..." "Yes, industrialization is changing the world." "My hands are freezing." "We've got dozens of worker leagues." "Separatist circles." "What about Battilana?" "He did his best to follow our lead." "Then we lost touch, but maybe he's still in the movement." "He was chubby, right?" "You can't land here or approach the prisoners." "Listen, move back." "No going it alone, no rash actions." "Go away, Pa!" "We're preparing for the time of general subversion to sweep everything away." "Go." "You can go." " Have you finished loading?" " This is the last one!" "The rest of you, back in the boat." "We're being separated." "We've no news of the others after they were jailed." " Are we ready, too?" " I'm coming." "Let's go." "Come on!" "Check how Manieri is." "Where are we?" "Even assuming the people all turn into proletariats... what makes you think... they'll be organized as you say?" " The fact that..." " Louder!" "The fact that the whole thing has a scientific basis." "But man's tendency..." "We're into science and economics, not philosophy." "Did you ever consider statistics?" "Did you ever consider an analysis of class?" "We burned up our life while you're enjoying it!" "I wouldn't say we're enjoying life!" "I didn't mean that." "Wait." "Not that you enjoy it." "But I am enjoying it today." "The lagoon's lovely!" "Let me finish!" "To get things moving, we even..." "You delayed the birth of the workers' movement by 15 years." "And he's the understanding one?" "The kind soul of the group?" "Thanks to you, we've kindly torn him apart." " That's not true!" " Oh, yeah?" "I feel bad about it now." "I swear I didn't do it on purpose." "Come on, guys." "Don't overdo it!" "I don't think he..." "I shouldn't have done it." "I'll feel bad about it for 3 days." "I can't bear it." "I just told him that..." "We told him and he understood." "Look how pleased he is." "Talking of Manieri makes me want to throw him overboard." "I can't help it." "Maybe we shouldn't have argued." "He'll never understand." "It would take a month." "He's been in jail too long." "Is that the jail?" "I wish it was!" "There's no roof even!" "His kind want people to change before their eyes." "They want an instant reward." "But we know it won't be us." "Others will have the reward one day... for us, too." " That's what we're working for." " Sure." "Great!" "What a great outlook!" "Just great!" "What?" "What's great?" " Us?" " Yes, us." " I don't feel great." " It shows." " So, who feels great?" " He feels great." "Are you laughing at me?" "I know you're laughing at me." "I'll take the helm." "You didn't eat before." "Here." "Did it have to happen to me?" "What time is it?" "It's 6:00." "Is it 6:00?" "The sun's high and it's 6:00 already?" "A bad hour for me." " What can I do now?" " It's 3:00, sir." "3:00." "Of course." "A meeting." "Quick, we have to verify." "Negrini on my left, Mannoni on my right." "And you, Battilana, stand..." "You, Battilana..." "I said a meeting!" "First, start all over again." "First, drink." "I can't do it in the open, fellas." "When we're back in the cell." "In the cell." "First, start all over again." "Second..." "I can't do it." "I can't start all over again, fellas." " Are you still laughing at me?" " That's enough." " But they..." " That's enough." " But they, they're..." " What about them?" " The freckled one." " What about him?" "I wasn't talking to you." "Not to you." "I am talking to Battilana." "Can I sit with them, then?" "Okay, but don't let my buddy in the other boat see you." "Listen." "Move over, get it?" "Move!" "Move over." "Help us hide Virginia and Enrico." "Move!" "THE END"