"Until this day, you've lived here, sheltered from outside dangers." "Father Scarpa forgave with his benefaction all your guilty thinking and weakness." "Mother Giulietta led your study and recreation with all her kindness." "You were like a chick in his shell, like a lamb in the belly of her mother." "The unique decision you had to make yourself, alone with your conscience, in the deepest part of your heart, and, I hope, in the lucidity of your intelligence, was to dedicate your life to Jesus." "I have a hunch that some of you didn't size up the seriousness of that decision... and chose to renounce the world to escape from it, to hide from it." "It's to begin God's battle that you will pronounce your vows." "Vows you can never retract." "Do not mix up fear of God and fear of Life." "That will be the subject of our meetings during the spiritual retirement that I will lead." "I'll try my best so that you understand the seriousness... the importance of the commitment you will make." "What humbleness means." "What chastity is." "What poverty is." "I will not hesitate to put confusion in your souls." "Jesus said:" ""Do you think I came among you to bring peace in the Earth?" "No, I tell you:" "discord." "From now on, a family of 5 persons will be divided: 3 against 2, 2 against 3." "Father against son." "Son against father." "Mother against daughter." "Daughter against mother. "" "My child," "Don Paolo wants to ask you some personal questions." "In your interest and ours." " I've been told you've expressed doubts about your religious vocation." "Me?" "I've also been told you're being forced to become a nun." "Who told you that lie?" "Your promise doesn't bind you." "Nobody will hold you here, you're free." "I don't understand." "I know nobody's holding me here." "You can quit whenever you want to." "Immediately if you wish." "That's what Mother Giulietta told me the day I decided to wear the veil." "But I never thought of that eventuality." "Sister, please leave me alone with the novice." "You can quit whenever you want to." "Immediately, I repeat." "You have to be sincere, right now." "There is no witness to influence your decision." "I want to wear the veil." "That's the only thing I want." "I'm sure." "I've received an anonymous letter." "It says that your decision to pronounce the vows is determined by factors out of your volition." "How can you believe such an awful thing?" "Do you think somebody is trying to slander you?" "I don't know." "I don't care." "I'm lonely." "And I've myself decided to dedicate my life to God." "I don't know." "Mother." "Hello Mother." "I saw you the other day." "You were going a bit too fast." "You're right." "Besides, I got a fine." "Mother, I can't see Margarita Passi." "Where is she?" "Her mother didn't come." "A day like today..." "I thought the view of all her joyful comrades would sadden our Rita." "Thus I've allowed her to go to the garden." "When we choose the veil, it's sweet to know somebody loves you beyond those walls." "I experienced that." "The Church know that." "That's why we're having such a ceremony." "Mother, Juliana's family wants to see you." "Excuse me." " Hello Mother." " Hello." "My regards." " That's for you." " Thank you." "Our Juliana will be called Sister Therese." "Very good." "Father, I need your help." "I don't doubt anymore:" "a religious life would be like death to me." "I don't want to pronounce my vows." "I can't." "I can't." "Please stand up." "Why did you lie the other day?" "Yes, I lied." "But I couldn't bear your look." "I was dying not to be to the one you thought I was." "The one I would like to be." "Why have you been lying for years, to everyone?" "Don Scarpa, my confessor, could tell you how hard I try not to lie even to myself." "Since you admit you're not able to follow the vocation you chose," "I deliver you from all your commitment toward the Church." "And I beg God to forgive your sin." "Thank you father." "Shut up." "I forbid you to thank me." "Can't you see what you've done, Margarita Passi?" "Your previous statement have been reported to his Eminence himself." "He is convinced of your sincerity and your ardor." "He signed the Nihil Obstat... and threw away the letter that you wrote." "It wasn't me!" "Who are you trying to convince?" "Don't you think it's time to say the truth?" "You're asking me for a terrible thing." "I didn't talk because I wanted to protect my relatives." "This is so painful." "I'd like to explain." "How to tell you?" "It all began with the death of my father when I was 12." "My mother took care of the estate." "She put me in this convent where she was raised herself." "Every year she would come to solemnly pick me for the holidays." "Here is our home." "Your home." "Why do you say that?" "It's ridiculous." "You cut down the poplars?" "Didn't I say it in the letter?" "I had one year of taxes to pay." "We can't afford to be sentimental anymore." "Gino!" "Where is Giuseppe?" "In the barn, Madam the Countess." "Are you afraid to get cold?" "I've been waiting for your visit." "You force me to come again." "But I told you I needed the money of the corn." "I've spent the money." "Who pays the employees?" "I have expenses, Madam the Countess, the harvest is already mortgaged." "Everybody knows it." "That's why nobody give us credit for the fertilizer." "I'm the only one you can trust." "Don't think you're a hero." "Grape harvest will be amazing this year." "Farming newspapers talk only about that." "You forgot that you need employees for the grape harvest." "I have a proposal for you." "I will pay for everything and we will do the math later." "I was surprised that you were dramatizing." "After the grape harvest, you'll have nothing to pay back." "Too good to be truth." "We'll just change our contract." "The 75 percent will be mine... and the 25 will be yours." "It would pay you back twice." "Listen, the contract is ready." "I'll bring it, I just need your signature." "That's the only thing you want:" "my signature." "That's what you're all looking for." "That's the only thing you can't steal." "I won't sign and you're fired." "Can you hear me?" "You're fired!" "Yeah, and I know the one who will replace me." "You'll get your discharge notification." "That's my signature for you." "What did he mean?" "When your father was still alive," "Giuseppe used to come and ask for credit." "But now..." "You were right to fire him." "It's not that easy." "The syndicate with defend him and I'm wrong." "Their lawyer will say I can't provide what the land needs for a good productivity." "And it's the truth." "I can't stand it, the estate is too big." "We would need to sell a part of it to emphasize the rest." "What are you going to do?" "As long as you're not 18, we can't sell." "I know." "There's no need to read, you know the contract." "Hello, Madam the Countess." "Hello." "Hello Clara." "Come sweety, come." "Hello." "You don't kiss your old Clara?" "You've grown up." "People will start hanging around you." "I loved the poplars." "Your mother sold them." "She needed the money." "At your age I was already married." "I was beautiful." "The cows in the pasture aren't ours." "Your mother rent the pasture." "We don't even have enough hay for our cows." "Yes, but we have less cows than last year." "I was very attached to this estate." "It was the happy years of my life, before the death of my father." "Did you love your father much?" "A lot." "He dedicated all his life, all his aid to our land... which we're now loosing." "My father loved the fresco painted by Tiepolo." "How beautiful you are, Mom." "Do you think I could be loved again?" "You've never been so beautiful." "If I were a man, I would prefer her to her." "You must be wooed a lot." "Why don't you get married?" "No man..." "I mean, none of those interesting, would be willing to be buried in this damned estate." "That's the problem." "Believe me, later you'll understand how complicated it is." "Only a man could set everything in order." "Land is a matter of men." "Even if such a man exists, you'll be 18 in two years." "Allowed to dispose of your heritage." "You will expel him." "And me too." "I will thank both of you for taking care of my father's estate." "Then you'll get married." "And you'll bring your husband in your father's house." "That's natural." "If the estate were yours, what would you do?" "Sell it immediately." "There are still people who believe that land is profitable." "They want to be landowners." "You don't want to go back to the convent, do you?" "I don't." "We would have a little house on the Riviera." "You would take private lessons for your studies." "We would be happy together." "Already going?" "You're so sensible." "Like me." "I have to go shopping to Padua, I'll be back for diner." "I don't know why, I was convinced my mother was meeting a man." "The following day, I went to visit my neighbours: count and countess Verdi." "Ours estates were side by side, and each holidays they were the first I'd visit." "Giuliano was the eldest." "The previous year he graduated with a law degree at the University of Padua... and lived with his parents since that day." "Will you take me along for a drink?" "A drink?" "And what else?" "Is that what you learn at the convent?" "Get me a Scotch." "Get it yourself, I prefer a Grappa." "That is why I live like a peasant." "I was jealous and shameful." "I hated them for being so happy." "Rita!" "We got a great idea for Mom's charity." "An American parade." "A very modern one." "Very sexy." "A version of "Orlando furioso"." "I will be a prostitute." "We don't say "prostitute" anymore but "call girl"." "I know, but "prostitute" is better." "We thought of you in a Cuban ballet." "You will have to seduce Orlando." "You will have to woo him." "I don't like dancing." "Here is Giuliano!" "What's up?" "He will be Orlando." "No, I won't act." "Calm down, it's a walk-on part." "You will only have to watch." "Who is that charity for?" "The poor from the parish." "I don't like the poor." "How annoying they are!" "We will do without you." "You don't go with them?" "Those childish games don't interest me anymore." "I see: you play more serious games." "Looking for a husband for example." "I'm looking for a husband for my mother." "What happened to you?" "You became funny." "What about we really go looking for a husband for my mother?" "You're funnier that you think." "Why?" "I'll explain when you're older." "And you, what are you doing?" "I'm being bored." "You don't work with your father?" "Working is even more boring than doing nothing." "Don't you want to do something?" "Anything, anywhere." "But not here." "Why?" "I'm suffocating." "Aren't you suffocating too?" "Me?" "While I'm out of the convent..." "Just wait a bit and you'll be either as dumb as my sisters... or suffocating like me." "The charity should be for me." "I'm a doctor of law." "Can you see where it brought me?" "Verdi's budget is counted to the nearest penny." "And they are holding a charity fete." "I wish you could do what you want." "How much is it?" "11.000, Miss." "What's happening?" "They are testing a shotgun." "Heavy, isn't it?" "Perfect." "What is your last price?" "250 for you, but keep it secret." "It's import, I can't do less." "200.000 with a credit." "First payment after the grape harvest." "220." "And I'd still lose money." "Well, too expensive for me." "I can't afford it." "So, Miss?" "No, thanks." "Too expensive." "No problem." "Children of the century!" "I'm offering you an ice cream." "This is something I can afford." "Two vanilla ice creams please." "Have you ever had a boyfriend?" "Why?" "Don't you have a girlfriend in the neighbourhood?" "It's necessary for the health." "I prefer tennis." "The sad thing is that you'll begin with some berks." "Like those who are wooing my sisters." "What about we love each other?" "Do I know your girlfriend?" "I don't think so." "Does she live in Padua?" "She's a friend of my mother's." "You know, when we don't have money, we can't date." "We have to settle for what we find." "Does she love you?" "They all love me." "Women love." "That's how they are." "You're so displeased!" "What disgusts me is that they want to be loved." "They "give" themselves, like they say, but we have to love them in return." "It's a deal." "But when you say "I love you", you're owned." "If you want to go hunting when she wants to go to bed, you're like a traitor." "What are you thinking about?" "I'm calculating." "With what Mom gave me, if I buy the racket I will have to give up something else." "Aren't you ashamed of what I just said about love?" "I don't care about old women's feelings." "She's not old." "If you were together, men would be more interested by her than you." "So why are you complaining?" "Let's go." "It that yours?" "Well, for a children of the century..." "I was just lucky." "A business I worked out well." "Now I have to pay for the gas." "Will you bring me back?" "And what about your Lambretta?" "We can put it between the seat and the boot." "No, I don't want to scratch the bodywork." "Were you sad when Dad died?" "Of course." "What a question!" "Were you in love?" "No." "Yes?" "Sure, I'm ready." "I knew it." "Don't look for an excuse, I know what your word is worth." "I don't care, have a good time." "Are you hurt?" "You can't understand, you're too young." "I wish I were a man." "If I were a man, I would've liked to be loved by a woman like you." "But you would have scared me." "I would have really loved you." "Men are wild, more prudish than women." "That's how I imagine them." "I would have hated that you forced me to say "I love you" all the time." "I would think it's a deal." "I love you, you love me." "Stop it." "You haven't experienced anything but you already know everything about life." "You're my daughter for sure." "I was like you." "I'm not single anymore you know." "You're right, I'm asking too much of him." "We have to let men think they can choose, they decide." "If I had a boyfriend," "I wouldn't ask for anything." "I would be so generous." "Do I know him?" "Certainly not." "A neighbour?" "No, an engineer." "How old is he?" "Same as me, I guess." "Nearly." "You don't know his age?" "Same as me I told you." "Sleep with me tonight." "If I have nightmares, wake me up." "My mother was turning on her love story, imposing on me the torment of her confidence." "He called in the morning." "He agreed to spent his afternoon with my mother." "Right after the call, she went shopping to Padua." "Sweety!" "Hello sweety." "Come here." "Leave it to me, Silvio." "Do you want me to answer?" "If it's him, I'll say you already left." "No no no, I'll take it." "It was only the syndicate." "What did they want?" "Something impossible." "You don't know how to spend your time, do you?" "Some alcohol maybe, for your health." "I would follow your mother if I were you." "She went to her rendezvous with Giuliano Verdi." "Yes, she told me." "Not only you steal her Rimmel but also her secrets." "She is not happy." "How do you know?" "She was crying this night." "This morning she was laughing." "That's how love is." "When he will ditch her, only tears will remain." "Why would he ditch her?" "She's 12 years older." "That's her strength." "It's a good age to be a mistress." "The only thing that matters for men are feelings." "That's the only way to keep them." "When I was 35..." "She only keeps him with gifts." "The car?" "So what?" "I know your mother very well." "She want to be more generous than Count Verdi." "There has always been a rivalry between these families." "But it's my money." "You don't have to worry when you're so beautiful." "You'll always find a man willing to give you a hundred times what your mother spends on her lover." "We're losing the estate." "But you are the owner." "You know your mother can't sell it." "So let her live." "She suffered enough with your father." "I forbid you to talk about my father." "Why?" "I knew him better than you." "Do you know how many little brothers he bred in the neighbourhood?" "You're a dirty woman." "Stupid, I know more than I should." "She didn't tell me she was meeting Giuliano." "Yes, I am stupid." "I shouldn't look after you." "If you betray me, I'll tell you forced me to tell the truth." "And never forget that I will be the boss someday." "That's what you think." "Rita, come in." "What a pleasure to see you." "You look like your father." "Really?" "Yes." "Same look, same appearance." "I came because it's not going well at home." "A single woman cannot manage an estate as big as ours." "I'd like to know how to sell before I'm 18." "Under certain circumstances a judge can pronounce your emancipation." "It's only a matter of age." "Is there another way?" "Marriage." "Marriage automatically leads to your emancipation." "So if I were married I could sell?" "Yes." "But if you could prove that the estate is less and less profitable and that a new investment would be beneficial," "I'm convinced you could get an authorization to sell." "How much is the estate worth?" "Somebody has to estimate it." "I would say at least 200 millions." "200 millions?" "How much does it make to spend each year?" "If you fund your money with a minimum rate of 5%, 10 million a year." "Ok, I'll think about it." "Rita." "My daughter, my sister." "Do you remember what you told me the other night?" "I didn't reproach him for yesterday." "And I didn't ask for anything for tomorrow." "He has been very good." "We met at the hunting pavilion near the swamp." "He has been wonderful." "He didn't want to leave me." "We went to Venice for diner." "He has been so sweet, thanks to you." "I didn't hate my mother," "I wished her to be happy." "The problem was that I started to take interest in Giuliano." "I got an opportunity to know him better." "We met every day at the rehearsals." "Finally he agreed to participate." "I'm so lazy." "A monster of idleness." "I would spit on myself if I had the strength." "I agreed to play just to avoid the effort of saying no." "Orlando furioso is really my type, don't you think?" "I'm in the shit and I don't move." "I don't even want to stand up." "I have muscles, they are here." "But I have nobody to hit." "I think somebody should be brave enough to kill me." "What about somebody kindly bringing me a tube of sleeping pills?" "I guess there would be a lot a reason for that." "People have thinking." "But willing is what's missing." "You know what you want, don't you?" "But it's not very original." "Marylin!" "Where are they?" "Let's go there." "They were talking just 5 minutes ago." "Marylin!" "Marylin!" "You girls don't need much to amuse yourself." "Finally, you're restful." "Sweetie, tell me." "Did you have fun?" "Some girls are debauched." "Really?" "At the time of the rehearsal, Marylin disappeared." "We went looking for her." "Finally she came out of the labyrinth disheveled, with grass all over her." "Do you know who was with her?" "Giuliano Verdi." "He had lipstick all over his face." "Who is that Marylin?" "A beautiful blond with stunning eyes." "The daughter of Princess Arlettine." "All the girls are falling in love with Giuliano." ""Falling"?" "What a word..." "It's true, Mom." "Even Countess Verdi's friends are after him." "Ms Tomasi for example." "You should see how she holds his hand." "But he doesn't care about her." "She's more than 30." "I mean, age doesn't matter but she has bags under her eyes." "Like you when your lover makes you cry all night long." "See you tonight." "I needed to make her suffer." "It was like a vertigo." "No need for that, I won't marry you." "You're sweet, you have all the qualities." "You only lack money." "Only an American could look after this museum." "What should I do?" "Be beautiful and shut up." "You're grotesque." "How about now?" "Rita, the finale!" "Give me a cigarette." "Thank you." "Finally." "Tonight I look like all these easy girls." "Is that what you're trying to tell me?" "You've been wonderful." "Leave me some smoke." "Would you like to have diner somewhere quiet?" "Just the two of us." "I gassed up this afternoon." "Will you let me drive?" "Have you ever driven a car before?" "One or two times." "If you want to..." "Aren't you afraid?" "I like taking risks." "I want to walk." "Aren't you afraid?" "I like taking risks." "This is the third flock of birds I see." "Hunting tomorrow will be great." "I'll carry out a real massacre." "With the shotgun Mom gave you?" "It's a great shotgun." "Are my kisses as good as Mom's ones?" "Average technique but good reflexes." "You kiss like you drive." "Aren't you surprised?" "It was agreeable." "Thank you." "You're welcome." "You could seem to be surprised in return." "About what?" "I know you are my mother's lover." "And I didn't tell anything." "Women never surprise me." "I'll surprise you." "You're funny." "You're an idiot." "Enough for today." "Bring me to a restaurant." "Where you go when Mom doesn't bother you." "I deserve it, I didn't ask you to tell me "I love you"." "I love you, it's my business." "I want to make you happy." "Maitre Rinaldi found a buyer for the estate." "220 millions." "so 10 millions of unearned income." "I have to give a half to Mom." "It will make 500.000 a month for me." "It's not much, but enough to get out of here... and bring you with me." "You're very imaginative." "It's not a dream, it's a deal." "You come with me, but you'll have to bear with me." "I'll try not to be too meddlesome." "It's a dream." "You can only sell in a year." "Not if I get married." "Marry me." "OK." "To our engagement." "You're unbelievable." "Here." "How will you proceed with "operation break-up"?" "Operation?" "Do you think I'm a general?" "Or a surgeon?" "I mean, how will you break up with Mom?" "Do you want me to send a letter?" "Nobody does it anymore." "Somebody has to let her know." "She'll know what's going on sooner or later." "Do you want me to talk to her?" "What a bitch you are." "Don't you like it?" "It's fascinating." "Mother is going hunting with you tomorrow, isn't she?" "You mean in a few hours." "You have to shoot ducks at dawn." "And a good hunter must take place in silence, before the sunrise." "The time of executions." "It will be a great moment to announce our engagement to my mother." "Popping the question isn't my style." "What should I say?" "They must have taught you in the convent." "I thought you were more inventive." "Let's see." "We are in the hunting house, it's night time." "I'm preparing my shotguns." "Elisa is at my side, she's bothering me." "Yes, she is." "Hunting is a lonely hobby." "I mean, a man's hobby." "Elisa does something foolish." "What does she do?" "She has to do something to bother me." "I got it:" "she strikes down a shotgun." "Then I become angry," "I don't want the ducks to fly away." "So I shout: "Leave me alone!"" "Don't you think you're focusing on details?" "Elisa doesn't understand." "Women never understand." "Get down to brass tacks." "Elisa doesn't understand." "She asks: "What did I do?"" "Ask me "What did I do?"." "What did I do?" "You did that it's over between us." "O" " V-E-R." "Understood?" "By the way, it's been over for a long time." "I'm going to marry a rich girl." "She'll let me get out of this country." "I can't event hunt without being bothered." "You haven't told who you're going to marry yet." "Don't you think you're going too far?" "I love you." "All the sames." "All the sames!" "We don't sleep at your age?" "Neither at yours I would say." "But not for the same reasons." "Your mother is so tired that she can't recognize the sound of a motor." "Not even a Flaminia." "Go to bed now." "Have a good night." "Is that an hour to come back?" "Is that an hour to wake up?" "Thank you, you can go." "If I come after dawn, I'll say I made the ducks fly away." "You could do everything for a hunting party." "You didn't answer." "Why do you come back so late?" "You know, while you're not 20," "I want you to come back before midnight." "After the rehearsal we went to the Lido to dance." "I couldn't leave the group, could I?" "Did you have fun?" "Actually, not really." "I wish you could enjoy activities of your age." "I'm too young for the activities of my age." "How beautiful you are, Mom." "Careful!" "You idiot!" "You're a brute." "How can you be so gauche?" "Did you cash up this month?" "We have a debit of 200.000." "I thought it would be more." "Go to bed now." "I feel like it's still our first date." "You're the only one to make me happy." "Are you comparing?" "It's in your favor." "I can't stand it!" "I can't." "God." "What are you waiting for?" "Bring her to her room and give her some sedative." "Don't abandon me." "You're in God's hands." "Talk to him and pray." "I'm in your hands, Don Paolo." "You're the Saint." "You're the Saint." "We'll continue this meeting another day." "You will confess when you calm down." "I think Margarita Passi needs some rest." "Each word, each action of your pupil... contradicts with your affirmations about her." "I don't doubt you, Giulietta, but I regret that a nun as experienced as you... may yield to a sentimental impulse." "Your mission is to train handmaid for God's house." "Not to offer asylum to young neurosis." "When Rita came here, her sensibility was almost morbid." "I can assure you that during all the Novicia period she gave numerous evidences of authentic vocation." "Don Scarpa can confirm it." "She has been raised here." "I may have been blinded by a maternal instinct, but Don Scarpa..." "I'm not blaming you." "I'm investigating." "I'm discovering a frame-up... in which you're both an accomplice and a victim, involuntarily." "You're not the only one." "Others are concerned." "I will pay a visit to Countess Passi." "Countess Passi?" "If you want to talk about Rita, you didn't have to come." "It's been a long time since I've known everything about my daughter." "Do you know that her religious vocation has never existed?" "She has always been mythomaniac." "If you're her spiritual leader, you should know." "I'd like you to explain... under which pretext you used your authority to obligate your daughter to take a decision against her will." "I have to oppose it." "Is that what she wants?" "I'll oppose with all my strength that a young consciousness is restrained." "Do you think Rita is so impressionable?" "Believe me, she took the best decision." "Do you mean the best decision for you?" "Your bitterness against your daughter may be legitimate, but you can't sacrifice a young consciousness for your own peace of mind." "Do I look like a peaceful woman?" "I don't care about your state of mind." "Rita belongs to this world." "It's here, in this world, that she has to find peace." "She must return to her environment." "This air, this estate she loves so much." "You, her mother, have to teach her how to manage it." "Then she'll choose her husband." "You're telling a story." "This is the result of her half-truth." "You're playing devil's advocate." "You're pleading for a culprit." "Your language doesn't surprise me." "I've already noticed this influence on Rita." "How could you corrupt the heart of this child?" "How could you actuate her with your sick confidence?" "I'm not this woman anymore." "I'm not a woman anymore." "You have to rebuild what you've destroyed." "I've sent to his Eminence the report he asked for." "Your daughter cannot pronounce her vows." "She must quit the convent and come back here." "With the Benediction of his Eminence." "I just have to kiss his hands while expiating my faults." "Look at me." "Maybe my soul is not appealing to you." "But it's not a reason to condemn me." "Look at me." "You came here like a judge pronouncing his judgment." "Are you sure you know all the facts?" "I came to meet you." "I'd be pleased to hear you." "I'll have to go back... to the events I tried so hard to forget." "I guess you already know that after a few years of solitude," "I became the lover of Giuliano Verdi, the son of our neighbours." "We were planning to get married." "This night, I met him at the hunting pavilion at the top of our domain near the lake." "Is it allowed to ask what you're thinking about?" "America." "That far?" "In America, the two of us could have a sweet life." "I'm serious you know." "I'll believe you the day the whole America is not between us anymore." "You're the only one to make me happy." "Are you comparing?" "It's in your favor." "You cheated me." "A bitch tried to buy me." "Now you're a fortune-hunter." "I'm not following her trick." "Who is it?" "A friend of your sisters?" "Marylin?" "No matter her name." "She was playing a weird game." "I'll tell you, a heartless girl." "She's dead to me." "Is this true?" "Have a good massacre." "This girl, you didn't think it could be..." "First I thought it was Marylin." "Yes, the daughter of a rich owner in the neighbourhood." "But some days later," "Clara told me that Giuliano drove back Rita that night." "I didn't have much to investigate to discover that they had spent the night together in Venice." "But that morning I knew nothing." "I was happy, happy like never before." "Where was Rita this morning?" "Rita, Rita..." "Do you really think I cared about Rita this morning?" "I asked you a question." "Please answer." "Your work is to sound souls, Don Paolo." "You should know when you've reached the bottom." "I didn't conceal anything about myself." "I have nothing more to say." "I hope you're convinced that my daughter doesn't belong in this house anymore." "You are her mother." "You shall not abandon her." "I've found a shelter for her." "Rita is hot-tempered." "She proved it." "With tenacity and your help, she can make a perfect nun." "It's only a matter of discipline." "That's what you have to make her understand." "Can't you see what you're doing?" "You're trying to make God an accomplice of your sins." "She tricked you, and how!" "She's good at it." "What did she promise?" "You're not the first one to be tricked, Don Paolo." "Clara." "Go back, Don Paolo." "You say that your daughter is a nuisance, and you're living with this creature..." "I didn't mean to be rude, Don Paolo." "I didn't mean to offend you." "You're just a man after all, with your weaknesses." "I didn't mean to accuse you." "Take care of Rita if you want." "But don't involve us." "We tried our best here." "Don't you think?" "Now I'll tell you something you don't know." "I've been taking care of everything here for two years." "I can say my opinion and here it is." "If Rita quits the convent, it's only for her inheritance." "No need to protest." "I know her better that you can." "I say what I think, I fear no one and I only say the truth." "We don't want to mess with you, Don Paolo." "Do we, dear Elisa?" "Countess Passi doesn't receive guests anymore." "She's exhausted." "She needs rest." "Please leave her alone, Don Paolo." "And if I can give you an advice:" "say it to Rita too." "I was in the boat in a few metres from the pavilion." "Giuliano was telling my mother he loved me." "That's a lie." "Giuliano couldn't say that." "He was saying he wanted to marry me." "Mom was crying." "She wasn't crying." "On the contrary, she was happy." "She thought she was happy." "You talked to them." "You made a deal." "You want to bury me alive." "Kneel down." "I order you to respect this place." "They were kissing in front of me." "Hugging like beasts." "And I came there full of love." "I didn't want to see anything so I ran away." "You're lying!" "You stayed." "I stayed, yes." "So that I could ask Giuliano why he made fun of me." "I was his lover too, I had rights." "But he didn't have the courage to answer." "He pretended to be busy... reloading his shotgun." "He was nervous." "And I don't know what happened." "He made an awkward move and the shotgun fired." "You're lying again." "You're lying." "There has been two shots." "Refrain me from lying." "Help me." "Help me to tell the whole truth." "Here is the truth." "Rita." "Rita." "Rita." "Rita." "I wanted to surprise you." "I wanted you so much to hug me." "You could at least give me your hand." "What are you doing?" "A beautiful massacre." "I wandered the countryside the whole day." "In the evening I came back home." "Mom... already knew everything." "That's how I started to learn passivity." "I wouldn't have been so kind if I were your mother." "Here you'll have time to regret." "And don't forget that this is the last place for you." "I can't believe you anymore." "I've never been so sincere." "God knows I'm going toward him with love." "You are not able to love your neighbour." "You can only use him." "And you want to do the same with God." "You only came to the convent so as not to end up in jail." "A Passi can never be tried as a criminal." "God must agree... because he has assisted my mother's plans." "He imposed on me the most refined torment:" "two years at the doorstep of Heaven with only Hell in mind." "Everything was reminding me of my indignity." "I always had to be careful because a move, a look, a word could betray me." "I've been the most zealous novice of the convent." "Giulietta can tell you:" "I was offering a faultless appearance." "And you kept this appearance in front of your confessor." "Don Scarpa is a narrow-minded priest." "He would discourage the most common confession." "You'd better say that his ingeniousness favored your cheek." "Don Scarpa is a man full of candor, without sin." "He used to see a chosen soul in you." "And this excited your pride." "He required too much from me to provide this fever you know very well." "Hearing all the time the same reproaches, undergoing through the same reprimands, my soul ended up drowsy." "I used to live in a state of torpor that Giulietta confused with contemplation." "I was resigned... but your voice interfered." "You woke me up." "What will you do, Don Paolo?" "You'd better say" ""How can I use this priest?"" "What do you expect from me, Rita Passi?" "Understanding." "I only want to be understood." "I came from the bottom of my desperation." "You are the representative of God on Earth." "Will you refuse my prayer?" "What are you asking of God?" "Love." "Love my soul, Don Paolo." "Love me." "Stand up!" "You're profaning this place." "The condition to receive absolution is contrition." "But there's not a hint of repentance in you." "I have to refuse your absolution." "Does your soul fear mine so much that you're running away?" "What kind of priest are you?" "You're deserting your mission." "My mission is to pray for sinners, Margarita Passi." "God may light your way." "If somebody can bring me back to light, Don Paolo, it's you." "Only you." "I'm lost without you." "I'll pray for you." "Like I've never prayed." "God will not abandon you." "God doesn't have your cowardice." "Where will you go?" "Where do you want me to go?" "Tell me." "Go back to your room... and wait." "I'll decide in the afternoon." "Go away." "Go away." "Will you come?" "Sister, from now on I'm not the spiritual guide of this office anymore." "Rita," "Don Paolo Conti has made his decisions." "I've understood that we would be guilty to keep you here." "Which decision?" "What did he say?" "You'll quit the convent very soon." "Rita," "I've prayed a lot for your salvation." "I've prayed a lot." "What did he say?" "Father." "We all know the difficulties that are waiting for you beyond those walls." "I think we must avoid a scandal above all." "I'm convinced that time will heal every sin." "For the first days, we've found you a friendly home." "I'll bring you to my sister tomorrow." "What about Don Paolo?" "We'll leave early in the morning." "Everything in this trial is just words." "The only witness of the crime, if it was a crime, is Elisa Passi, the mother of the accused." "But the materials relating to the case show that Elisa Passi had the same reasons as her daughter to kill Giuliano Verdi." "He, we've heard, was her lover but left for her daughter." "On the contrary," "Elissa Passi says that Giuliano left his daughter to come back to her." "Who should we believe?" "Clara Riciatti?" "She waited for 2 years to talk." "She only cared about justice when the accused threatened her domination over Passi's estate and all her material advantages." "Her silence was complicity." "If it was a crime, Clara Riciatti should be there, in the prisoner's dock." "I respect the parents of the victim, Giuliano Verdi." "But letting their son live in idleness, without worrying about their expenses surpassing their income, didn't they make themselves guilty?" "Were Verdi and Passi worthy of their inheritance?" "If it was a crime, their morality is the cause." "That's why we don't understand why Rita Passi is alone in prisoner's dock." "What is of no benefit to Rita Passi is her attitude during this trial." "Her arrogance, her lack of morality." "Rita Passi is not ready to live in our society." "Before she's freed, she'll have to be re-educated." "I should say educated." "If the court decides that she's guilty," "I wish she could still receive this education." "I think that only one testimony could have helped us." "The one of the priest who led the spiritual retirement of the Novice in the convent where Rita Passi was going to pronounce her vows." "We heard a lot about Don Paolo during this trial." "It seems that this priest full of faith and ardor succeeded in unfreezing the heart of the accused and make her confess the truth." "But he's bound by the confidentiality of confession, so he didn't answer to our call." "The day after Rita Passi's confession," "Don Paolo asked for his admission in a religious order where rules are particularly strict." "What horrible secret is hiding behind the closed face of the accused so that the soul of a priest can be shattered?" "The defense may now speak." "Please, Maitre." "We are referring to what we said in our pleading." "Does the accused has something to add?" "I am not guilty."