"THE VOICE OF THE MOON" "Ivo Salvini." "Did you hear it too?" "Someone's calling me!" "Let's see pussy!" "Cha-cha pussy!" "Cha-cha pussy..." "long live pussy!" "Cha-cha pussy..." "long live pussy!" "Did all of you pay?" "You didn't." "You owe me for the other night, too." "Mine is so hard, I could smash a wall with it!" "Is he coming along?" "Let's go!" "Yes!" "Where are we going?" "Quiet." "Open it wider." "No, she might see us." "There she is." "What are you doing?" "Why doesn't my wife have boobs like that?" "Give me the money!" "Give it to me!" "Or you won't see my aunt's nipples." "I've got scissors!" "I'll cut you up like a turkey!" "The other night too, you didn't pay!" "If I catch you here again, I'll break your legs!" "I don't have any money." "Juno, the wife of Jupiter, had gigantic tits just like this lady here." "Once she fell asleep under a tree with her breasts exposed." "The infant Hercules came by, when he saw those giant tits he started sucking them." "Let me go!" "Think you're clever?" "You have to pay for this!" "As I was saying," "Juno woke up... and the milk spurted into the sky." "That's how the Milky Way was formed." "Now she's not undressing anymore." "You were good at school?" "Well, I was promising." "Drunks!" "Bums!" "Let us sleep!" "You're lucky Ottavio isn't here!" "I am here, Auntie!" "How fortunate to have a nephew like you!" "Good night, now." " Are you walking?" " Yes, thanks." "Everything's fine, Ersilia." "This is my friend Salvini." "I'll come with you." "Let's go." "Yes, Mr. Pigafetta." "Good night." "My aunt wasn't like that, she was very thin." "She was always after me." "All she cared about was me passing stool." "Stool!" "What are you doing here at this hour?" "Have you started again?" "No, I swear." "I'm trying to resist." "I'd plug my ears but still I'd hear." "They've never called me from that well." "Then last night, 'We have something important to tell you.'" "Don't listen to voices from wells, they're treacherous." "They'll make you dream their dreams." "At night you must shut them out." "But if I shut..." "Stay away from the well." "But I don't want him to see you!" "I have to talk to him." "Attention!" "There are holes here." "Give me your hand." "Madame Gertrude, how can I be of service?" "It's you, Pigafetta!" "I'm late tonight." "I cooked stuffed zucchini for him!" "It turned out well, but they take time." "You go ahead, and I'll drop in later, as if by chance." "Sure." "I'll go in now, before it gets cold." "Quick, he likes his zucchini." "What's new?" "We're going for a stroll." "A lot of people come here." "Nobody ever leaves, they like it here." "Mr. Pigafetta, I informed the mayor's office about this matter, you have no right." "You're just a gravedigger!" "I'm proud of it." "The professor is a friend, he asked me for a favour." "Anyone against him sleeping here?" "With real estate prices what they are!" "It makes sense!" "I didn't bring him with me, he followed me." "Who's the other one?" "He's with me." "Everything's all right." "You're not saying anything?" "Can you hear me?" "Me, I sleep at night!" "I have a small favour to ask." "Give me a break with my boss!" "That's not a small favour." "He says I'm crazy!" "The Grand Prize of the Conservatory, a Conservatory professor." "My father always told me, 'Don't get married.'" "Even at the church he motioned me to leave, but I was entranced by the music." "Oh, yes." "Same old baloney." "There should be a law against music!" "It's violent!" "How is the aggressiveness of an instrument manifested?" "Tell him." "He says an oboe can move furniture." "There are certain notes a triplet of eighth-notes, sol-la-do-mi... in the Middle Ages, that combination was called 'Diabolus'." "It's like a lizard running down your spine!" "That night at the house... remember, Gertrude?" "We had a concert at City Hall." "I was practicing my part when the four notes turned up." "What is it?" "It moved!" "There!" "Am I a lunatic?" "A visionary?" "Yes!" "And the other time, in the kitchen?" "Tell me!" "What happened in the kitchen?" "One evening, I was rehearsing..." "What are you doing here?" "Who are you?" "I'm the 'Big Eater'." "I eat everything." "He ate everything!" "Finally, one night at my house..." "Gentlemen!" "It's an honour!" "Thank you!" "I was studying my part." "But that infernal harmony again!" "Certain chords ought to be banned!" "Which ones?" "You say you don't know?" "There are pauses, intervals, where phantoms enter." "Darkness, ice!" "And the music does what it wants to you." "How can you fight something that promises so much but never keeps its word?" "What did it promise you?" "The same thing it promises everyone, joy, serenity, oblivion, that we'll all be happy and accepted, even me." "But that's not how it is!" "So much for that!" "But on certain nights of the full moon, even here, at the bottom of the world, it keeps playing." "I still hear it!" "He won't come, it's too late, too damp." "My grandpa is here." "He's up there." "It's always the same question." "Is it impossible to know anything of you?" "Nothing, about anybody!" "You're all dead, I say." "You were very brave." "That wasn't easy." "I can't even imagine how to do that." "And we shall not meet again, ever." "So where are you?" "There must be a place in this world with a hole that leads to the other side." " Here I am, my beauty." " Ravens don't sing." "Where are you, vagabond?" "I broke my tail." "Tomorrow night I'll bring some puree." "Good night." "It's raining!" "This is how I imagined it, the good Lord riding in a carriage when lightning strikes." "How marvelous, a storm!" "Even as a child, it filled me with joy." "My grandma would call me," ""Pinocchio"." "Pinocchio, come home." "Cover up!" "You'll burn your shoes like that, you'll be even more Pinocchio!" "Pinocchio didn't have a real father, did he?" "Me either." "Is it necessary to have one?" "You poor thing, you had a father." "I had one." "I didn't see him in the good Lord's carriage," "Momma either." "But he has to take others for rides, too." "There are so many!" "Ah, yes." "Have you finished that milk?" "Come on, to bed!" "Will the moon come out later?" "Grandma, this morning I turned into a poplar." "Bravo!" "What a feat!" "It isn't difficult to become a poplar, it's very natural." "I sat down and asked it, poplar, how are you?" "It answered me at once," "'My feet penetrate the earth, my fingers grow long, like roots, everywhere.'" "I had four, ten, a hundred hands, fresh flowers in my hair," "I breathed through all my leaves, it wasn't hair anymore, it was millions of leaves." "I was very tall." "The farm looked small to me." "You too, you were small, too." "I called you, Grandma, Grandma!" "Come down, even poplars need sleep." "Did you hear me?" "Come on, Pinocchio." "I have to look." "There's nothing under the bed." "Come out of there!" "It's so nice here, there are lots of things." "Look at the fire!" "Where do sparks go?" "Where does fire go when it dies, like music, where does it go when it finishes?" "Lots of ideas come to me, but they disappear like sparks." "How do you stop them, Grandma?" "How?" "Grandma!" "I love to remember!" "More than to live!" "And besides, what's the difference?" "I remember how, that night, during the storm," "I paid a visit." "Is that you?" "It's dark!" "The fuses are out!" "I have a letter." "It's not from me, it'll make her happy." "I'm coming up." "Just a moment." "I'll come down." "Come in!" "Do you want to get us in trouble with Mamma and Papa?" "Steady!" "Take it easy." "You're wet." "Just a little." "Take that off." "Hold this!" "A candle." "Let me dry off." "Let's go up, you said I'm wet." "Just for a moment." "Let me go!" "Give me thirty seconds." "There's no danger!" "Go ahead of me." "Mind the steps!" "Sometimes, in my dreams," "I climb stairs all night." "Don't let me fall!" "And now, thanks to you, I'm really climbing them." "But don't you like me a little bit, at least?" "I like you a lot." "I feel more than sympathy, I'm attracted to you." "I'll be right back." "I see a door." "Where are you going?" "I won't go in, I'll look from here." "Let me peek." "Just a glance." "I'll scream!" "Why are you doing that?" "Keep quiet." "Lift the candle a bit." "If you love Aldina at all, leave." "Let me look at her." "Be quiet." "She's like the Moon." "It's her, the Moon." "Speak, Moon, what do you do in the sky?" "Silent Moon." "My life is full of pain." "You are unchangeable, o Moon, my love." "Help!" "Suzy, a thief!" "Help!" "No, there's nobody here." "It was raining, a storm." "Who was that?" "You have my word of honour," "I'm not spying on you." "I just want you to come with me, it's late." "You've taken sick." "We'll help you get better." "Why are you bothering people?" "I'm here on business!" "Business!" "I don't doubt it." "What are you looking for at this hour?" "There's nobody here." "Just once, listen to me." "Go to bed and take your medicine drops." "You're nobody!" "I don't even think you're a doctor." "No need to come with me." "I know the way." "Let's see, Mr. Gonnella!" "Mr. Mayor!" "I'm telling you!" "I'm at home here!" "Let me tell you all about it!" "I fell into bad company, looking for a more decent place." "Turn off your lights and go to hell!" "Of course, good night." "At your service." "Are you wet?" "Yes, you are wet." "Come to our place..." "A little drink with friends, it would be a great honour." "No, I'm tired." "He's a very pleasant neighbour." "Should I tell him?" "Doctor Gonnella, come!" "Do you know who's here?" "Do you remember?" "He really wants to meet you." "Come!" "We'll bake a cake for you." "Come on, it's warm and quiet." "With His Excellency." "Wait here, I'll go and see." "Doctor Gonnella, sleep peacefully." "We're here, just go to sleep." "We'll take care of everything." "Need anything?" "Chamomile tea?" "Now I can't have peace in my own room, you force yourselves in, trying to infect me with your foul breath!" "Look out!" "I know martial arts!" "These sordid maggots want to contaminate me with their disease, old age!" "But I fight back, I know how to defend myself." "They won't succeed." "Ladies!" "Everything's here!" "Come up, you'll be well served." "Red, you idiot, it's you!" "My friend used to be in an asylum." "He was a nurse, supposedly, but I don't believe it." "He was mad, and gave his madness to me." "What's that there?" "Don't move!" "I'll return it right away." "Did you see those discs?" "The very same colour as old coins, through my head without a sound." "No, it didn't get them." "But sooner or later we'll photograph what we can't see." "You, the Japanese, you're avant-garde, you could help us." "I remember it bigger." "Let's take it into the church." " Sunday, right?" " I promise, Don Antonio." "It's the most beautiful." "I'll come admire it." "Is your name Detroit?" "We're all here, even the president." "It's a coincidence, but it's symbolic of the fact that Madonnas are a unique race!" "My thesis will enrage Don Antonio." "Why does a serious lawyer like you think it's funny to talk such nonsense?" "It's not a blasphemous theory, really." "I didn't say 'people', I said 'race'." "Holy Virgin, please have mercy on my nephew." "Enough, I'm telling you!" "They live alone, hiding in forests where they haunt travellers, preferably shepherds and shepherdesses." "Don't you have anything else to do this morning?" "But why is it always the ignorant, never educated people, who ask the most serious and logical questions?" "Wait!" "You don't know where to put that!" "You met him sometime?" "You never saw him!" "Perhaps I'm mistaken." "Excuse me." "Heads up, ladies!" "Here's that idiot redhead!" "I was a male nurse." "The redhead is here!" "I work for you." "Everything's good, I'm happy." "He says he's doing well." "You take three and pay for one." "I exercise, take vitamins." "I recognized you and came to say hello." "It's a good day for reunions." "Spring already." "I've been talking nonsense, haven't I?" "You bet." "What pleasure to hear you talk that way." "Bravo!" "We have to get things sorted out." "Let's sit here and talk a while." "That tap let the bad thoughts out." "It's like a memory from another life." "Even the iron curtains don't fall like they did before." "I was very still, and they dropped." "I made you angry." "I said, are they opening?" "And you answered, no, they're closing." "And I said," "What good is an open iron curtain?" "Better to close it." "Luckily, there was someone who could." "You have friends." "You're clever." "But now, I have to go." "Sorry, are you having it repaired?" "Is that Cinderella's slipper?" "Your words bring me so much joy." "Thank you." "I really have to go." "I can't bear this uncertainty any more." "As if I'm on a threshold, waiting, endlessly waiting." "I should have known," "I should have understood, not only for myself, but also for her, for you, for everyone." "Of course!" "You understand it's more urgent than ever?" "There's no time left." "Thanks, doctor, good luck." "He said he'll spit in that informer's face." "Today, my brother's a bit nervous." "But he's brave." "He likes you, he wants to talk to you." "Can I take a look?" "I don't understand a word." "It's our invention." "So the boss can't understand us." "We've always been tied up." "Me too." "In a fortress, later a convent?" "That's it!" "He said the spy's giving out punishments, and that she'll send him to hell to fix it, it breaks from time to time." "Hell is like a pipe all through the city." "It's so narrow in places you have to crawl." "I want to go down, I know my way around." "Stop!" "What about the fire, the torture, the devils?" "He said he never saw any." "Nothing but worms in the pipe." "They run through faucets, bathrooms, kitchens." "They say that's them, the devils." "And that's the informer's fault," "He can even see them during the day." "He's asking you to look." "Yes?" "The moon is always spying on us." "What can you do?" "Get rid of her." "According to him, she's useless." "Good work." "Someone's moving out." "Marisa got her divorce." "She's moving her furniture." "Gentler, please, it's precious." "They were given to my daughter Marisa, she can do what she likes with them." "Here is the judge's decree." "Are you convinced?" "I'm sure you are, like hell!" "I saw it coming, but no-one would listen to me!" "A girl like that!" "My friend, how's your head?" "OK?" "I'm well." "Why are you crying like that, Miss Marisa?" "I regret it, I didn't want it." "An agreement could have been reached." "I'm reasonable." "Come on, it's a misfortune." "We reasonable people are never understood." "But I love him." " I was attached to him." " Don't be childish." "You know very well he was no man for you!" "My pony, you're like my motorbike, pure dynamite!" "And I'm your bombardier, made to measure, we'll make an atomic couple!" "Some way to address a woman, 'pony, dynamite, motorcycle'!" "I can't imagine it." "Who pulled this pickle out?" "Who took my glasses?" "Me, I did, here..." "He's a show-off, but he's brave." "Come on." "Now say bye-bye to beautiful Marisona!" "Good day!" "And bye-bye pickle, too." "Always at your service, Marisa." "He doesn't know it's bad to make you annoyed." "Lucky for him, uh?" "Come!" "I can't let you arrest him!" "Don't waste time on that filth!" "I don't care about the paper!" "I gave you one for Christmas!" "Nestore!" "You haven't changed at all." " Neither have you." " People should change." "Come in." "I'm sure I know her." "Can you hear this echo?" "Has everything been taken away?" "No, this was left here." "This, too." "Listen to the mysterious sound that turns a washing machine into a dryer." "A sound like a voice, like a siren singing just for me." "I call her the beautiful washerwoman." "Marisa treated them without care or patience." "She was so sweet before, an ideal woman." "I could watch her for hours." "Do you remember?" "Marisa?" "And how!" "She was so beautiful, with her mouth!" "I made eight hundred million from it!" "Be smart with that." "Is it true, what people say?" "That I am in love with you?" "That you're going to start a TV channel!" "Here, in our city?" "I don't know yet." "There are too many people involved." "What'll become of this place?" "Pick it up!" "Hello, Pino." "Always an honour to be of service." "Marisa!" "Please sit down." "Manicure?" "Yes, please." "I'm coming right away!" "He's in paradise already." "Finally!" "I haven't seen you in a while." "Where've you been?" "You've let your beard grow." "A little, for you." "A magazine?" "No, thanks." "They need to be cared for." "You have the hands of a pianist." "A long time ago, I played the mandolin." "You have slender hands." " Don't bother me!" " Born to dance." "Did I hurt you?" "No, never." "What a long lifeline you have!" "Did you have your palm read before?" "Once." "This is the Mount of Venus, sensuality." "You must be a little rogue." " A real little rooster." " If you say so!" "My aunt could see everything in a palm." "It didn't work with me. 'You will marry soon.'" "But I'm still an old maid." "You aren't married?" "Nobody wanted me." "I'd marry you right now, right now I'd marry you." "Thank you very much." "Nestorino, you married me like you said." "I didn't believe it, but we're here." "How sweet we are!" "Long live us!" "Out of my kitchen!" "Come here!" "I give you the treasure of my house!" "A kiss for Momma!" "Nestor, you're my best friend!" "A brother!" "Time for medication!" "I'd like to marry you myself, but I withdraw in favor of Marisa." "I want a photo with Gullit." "Is this good?" "Move over a bit." "Long live the bride and groom!" "Medication!" "Thanks for deranging to be here, professor." "And you too, doctor." "Thanks very much." "I'm delighted, good choice." "My colleague is right, congratulations." "I was right, wasn't I?" "'Fascination'..." "Do you remember it?" "Hold me tight." "Such music, I want to cry." "How is your leg?" "Let's show them how to dance!" "Madam!" "The tribunal sided with Marisa." "And now she'll go live with the butcher." "She adores him, he has a vocation, he slaughters horses." "You don't have a vocation?" "Yes, walking on the moon, since I was a child." "What is more beautiful than walking on the moon, happy not to be anything!" "So many wells!" "Nestore, wells are scattered all over the earth." "At night, I always dream I'm flying." "Listen, I cared a lot for Marisa." "Completely." "At first, I didn't understand." "She looked at me with her shining eyes just like a cat." "Her voice took away all my strength." "Nestorino, be good, come." "Don't make me wait." "I'm always ready, your little wife." "Our lovely bed!" "What are you doing, sleeping?" "Don't leave me alone." "Nestorino, let's talk a bit." "You're not going to hug your kitty cat?" "I gave you a little kiss." "I want a hundred, a million!" "You know I don't like to be late." "You know what I'm thinking of?" "I don't know." "That corner!" "We haven't made love there." "Ah yes!" "Why not there?" "Come on, let's go." "Careful with the glass!" "Tomorrow, Marisa, I swear." "I have to telephone." "Come on, take all that off." "Look at that moon!" "Yes, Marisa, here I am!" "I love you so much." "Me too." "Hold me." "Hold me tight." "Where are you going?" "Where is this smoke coming from?" "It doesn't stop!" "Madness!" "Love!" "I'm dying!" "This is paradise!" "Wasn't there a stop?" "Couldn't you get out?" "No, I was just an insignificant little cog." "And then, finally, a miracle." "Eternal thanks to Marisa" "And her way of making love." "I felt I was flying over the power lines, over the treetops." "I was flying!" "My vocation is to live in the air." "Now I know how to do it." "It all depends on this, the flower must bloom" "in the solar plexus." "It's all silver, whose is it?" "I have to do something." "Wait for me here." "I'll be back right away." "Let me get adjusted." " Come on!" " Up there, there's a cat!" "On the roof!" "It's not a cat, it's a man!" "There's someone on the roof!" "Such a crowd!" "I never wanted to stand out." "Everything is all right!" "That must be the one." "Aldina!" "What are you doing up there?" "Taking a sunbath?" "Terzio will come for you." "Stay calm." "Don't worry." "My brother Terzio is coming up!" "How many brothers do you have?" "I had four others, but they were never born." "Better that way, isn't it?" "Me, I say it's good to be on Earth, I like it." "Don't move, I'm coming." "We'll see about that!" "The party's over, let's come down." "Give me a hand." "Hold tight." "I'll make you my assistant!" "Bravo!" "It can't be, YOU!" "What a waste to come and save you, eh?" "A hippogriff." "There's a machine that goes even higher." "This'll freeze your ears." "Taste this sausage." "I want to make my crazy brother happy." "He's sure the Moon's in love with him, as if she has the time." "With a small modification to that other machine, a steel hook, if the factory heeds me, it's a snap," "When she's in tree branches, or sitting on the rooftops." "As Leopardi said," "'The Moon, above the roofs and fields.'" "Nothing's impossible!" "There's a moment for everything." "Even the Moon, when she's ripe, could drop into your arms." "Moon, will you tell me why there's so much pain down here?" "Moon, would we be better off without you?" "You're such a sweetheart, Salvini." "I have to come down." "You look like my Isolina." "My friend." "He's going to help me get the moon." "Agreed." "He gets the applauded." "I didn't do anything." "Donald Duck in a frac goes quack-quack-quack." "Donald Duck in a frac goes quack-quack-quack." "That's not him, it's a penguin!" "A penguin?" "You cretin!" "Aldina..." "Suzy, you tell her." "I'll try." "I want to give her back her shoe." "Wait!" "He has something to give you." "I said no!" "He wants to return the shoe you threw at him!" "I'll have him arrested!" "She says she'll have you arrested." "She says that for a joke." "You know how she is." "Don't do that." "Go away!" "She wants to have me arrested!" "Excuse me." "Now they send guys that look soft, inoffensive, innocent." "But you know it'll never work." "Everything's tilting down, leaning, like a hill." "You mean everything's out of whack?" "Not metaphorically, physically." "Don't you feel like you're falling?" "Frankly, no." "Sit down." "She said she'd have me arrested." "I don't want to meddle, but she might be right." "I am Prefect Gonnella." "Pleased to meet you." "You haven't had a chance to meet me, until three months ago everything came through my office." "I could have personally guaranteed that nothing would happen to you." "But these clowns couldn't handle anyone, you know what I mean, 'anyone'?" "One!" "One!" "One!" "There!" "Dad, I stopped by your place, but you weren't there." "I met the doctor in a bar and now we're going for a walk." "Will you come to my place for breakfast?" "I have a meeting with a real gentleman who's a victim of injustice and vile schemes." "How about tonight?" "He'll be glad to come, right?" "Come with me, I'll introduce you." "My compliments, Mr. Gonnella." "I see you're in great shape." "You heard them, didn't you?" "No doubt?" "They'd convince anyone." "But I can see in your eyes they didn't fool you." "My compliments!" "I like you." " Do we know each other?" " I don't think so." "Let's be friends," "Take a look." "I bet they're hiding back there." "You want me to look?" "If you would." "There, around the corner." "Glasses, sir?" "I don't need them." "There are a lot of people in the square." "I shouldn't wonder." "This is classic, they're marvelous." "I'll sit here." "They dressed to fit their roles." "Did you notice the doctor's get-up?" "A typical doctor's get-up." "It couldn't be better." "In reality, all false!" "But... your son is.." "A masterpiece!" "We're witnessing high art." "An archetype of a son, a Platonic idea." "Pay attention, look at that one on the bicycle, his glasses, his plastic bag, looks like a distinguished gentleman, doesn't he?" "And that one?" "Who could say he isn't a passerby?" "And those two there?" "Look how they're arguing!" "It seems they have a big disagreement." "And that one on the phone?" "Such warmth, such conviction!" "All so busy." "But nothing like it!" "None of these gentlemen has a thing to do." "It's nothing but a fiction." "It's all false!" "And that's not all." "Do you promise not to be frightened?" "Come on... follow me." "'The Dumpling Festival' began a century ago in 1862, exactly 127 years ago." "It started as a protest of millers against taxes." "I turn you over to my colleague." "A worthy competitor." " Why were you eliminated?" " Politics." " I'll help you win." " You're annoying me." "That isn't Miss Farina?" "Here is our mayor." "Any word of the 'Dumpling Festival'?" "This is the first year that we, the town council, are running the festival." "Let's skip the usual squabbles with conservatives opposed to progress." "Headmaster?" "The changes we've made respect the spirit of tradition." "The 'Dumpling and Fried Dumpling Festival' has become a test for preserving cultural models that must coexist with other initiatives due to certain constraints." "Mrs. Donatella told me that it's only right to choose Mrs. Bonfanti, she's the biggest dumpling of all, she weighs 87 kilos." "And you, your Majesty, how much do you weigh?" "I'm not saying!" "They're coming!" "Here are the contestants!" "This glorious barge bears our girls, the most beautiful and ravishing girls from every village in the region." "And among these wonderful girls, the jury will choose the most beautiful for the title," "Miss Farina 1989." "Let's cut the ribbon!" "May the most beautiful win!" "Long live Miss Farina 1989!" "All contestants on the bus!" "I'll call you!" "Is Aldina here?" "No, I don't see her." "I lost her." "Rossella!" "Shush, don't say anything!" "Don't close it, he's under there!" "He's trapped inside." "Look what happened." "Here's someone who'll make this evening historic!" "Our little village is going to have its own TV channel, just like the big European capitals." "We're asking the founder," "What will the name be?" "CIP." "C for Carmela, my wife." "I for Irene, my elder daughter." "P for Patrizia, my younger one." "I love CIP." "Are you proud of your husband?" "No, with that money he could have bought a zoo." "Looking at the universe unfinished," "He scratched his head at it all." "Another idea was needed, so He wished the 'Dumpling Festival'!" "Long live the 'Dumpling Festival'!" "And for this shit I'm honouring these bastards with my presence?" "!" "It's been two years since we went out together." "Move away!" "We shouldn't be seen together." "We're surrounded by spies." "They're trying to get me for immorality, adultery." "Such a sweet song!" "I used to play it on the violin." "Three years in a concentration camp, now he eats for all who died of hunger." "And here we are at the pinnacle of the evening," "the selection of Miss Farina 89!" "King and Queen Dumpling will help the jury and the president in a harder-than-ever choice among twelve astounding contestants." "Here they are, coming onto the platform." "Enough, now!" "The last vote." "Fun time is over." "The envelope is sealed." "Here we are!" "Don't be afraid, I'll keep my distance." "I'm a bit emotional myself." "The name of the winner is right in here." "Here, Mr. President." " It's all rigged." " It was fun, anyway." "By unanimous vote, Miss Farina 1989 is" "Miss Aldina Ferruzzi!" "Congratulations on winning." "I'll decorate you with the prize ribbon." "Look out, I've got it crooked now." "Bravo Aldina!" "It's a set-up!" "But who else?" "O ye of little faith!" "Open up!" "Listen to Rossella!" "Someone's trapped under there!" "He'll open it!" "You, a hand!" "What are you doing down there?" "Anyone else?" "No, just me." "What a stink!" "Rossella," "Are you listening?" "Just in time!" "The Miss is here, she's pretty." "Oh no, no!" "What rhythm, eh?" "I'm leaving." "It's better than last year, the potatoes were too mushy." "I'll have a taste." " May I?" " It's hot." "A little more sauce." "That's how I like it, lots of sauce." "My grandmother made this." "A sprinkling of cheese." "Can I eat it here?" "It melts in your mouth, like sabayon sauce." "Good for the health!" "Better than needle jabs!" "No comparison!" "Are you trying to gain weight?" "He needs to eat!" "I smell something awful!" "I'll get to the bottom of it, by God!" "Stuff yourselves on this muck!" "Red, help me get away, I didn't do anything!" "They'd better leave off, damned gaolers!" "Follow me, young man!" "They won't be able to touch us here!" "Unless they bring up cannon!" "Sit down!" "This is like that empty room next to my room at home." "Nothing but apples on the floor." "It all started there." "It was quiet, just like here." "And in that silence a clamor of birds, whistles, bells." "And I heard words I didn't understand." "What exactly were they saying?" "I only recognized a few syllables, 'for' or 'in any case'." "One time, they clearly said 'thus'." "Thus, thus, thus'." "Thus', eh?" "Dogs, cowards!" "And you had to make the first move?" "If they caught you, you'd have been cooked." "From now on, it's war." "Written by a so-called expert." "Well!" "'Gonnella Adolfo, born...etc.." "Overweight." "Bland facial expression," "Nervous, taciturn.'" "Are they trying to insult me?" "Here's the best part!" "From a modest family'!" "Without boasting," "I come from a French line of the Biancamano, one of the Gillette family." "And that lady with me you missed when we were escaping those bastards, she's the Duchess of Alba." "Terzio, what are you doing here?" "We'll never part again." "Destiny has reunited us." "You went down in a bucket?" "To steal watermelons?" "Nobody keeps them in wells anymore." "You were disturbed, uh?" "I'm your friend, tell me." "This time, they weren't making fun." "The bird calls stopped me, they had a kind of frenzy." "'Run, Salvini, run, it's now or never.'" "I found the well right away." "But when I got down, there was a noise, a din, a hurricane of sounds clouding my head." "I thought I was about to understand, that everything would be clear." "To live free at last, free at heart!" "That's something that's always been ours." "Such pain, such desolation!" "Everything's so far away." "I only see offences, injustice." "Where is Aldina?" "Did she get out?" "Is this justice, progress?" "Does it really have to be like this?" "Unable to believe in a friendly voice?" "Nothing is certain." "Maybe they want to help us, but they don't know who to talk with." "They choose at random, they make mistakes." "I have to understand." "But all these bees in my head, this din, the infinite echo of a thousand thousand voices." "I must try to understand, I must understand." "Come here, little brother." "Still the same featherbrain!" "One day, I'll tell you something." "I have to leave you," "I work all night with this machine." "They say that on a night like this they'll do it." "When you were talking, I wanted to cry." "Promise me you won't take walks at night." "This time it turned out well, but, dear man..." "Now what?" "Have a good time with your machine!" "The moon won't be there much longer." " It has to work!" " Of course!" "Young man!" "Excuse me." "OK." "I listened carefully to what you said." "I have one objection." "You're not making sense, you're daydreaming." "But as we have no time to lose," "I must confide in you." "It's a good thing I'm able to recognize a man of value." "On your knees!" "I hereby appoint you my deputy." "Even more, my right hand." "Many people would love to have your job!" " Many, uh?" " Oh, yes!" "Get up!" "I'll show you the bounds of my prefecture." "Walk ahead of me, let's take this path." "For a prefecture of this size," "I need to command a responsible staff!" " Shall I continue?" " Yes." "And you know what I found inside the files?" "Cheese bits, salami bits." "That's why I have a persecution complex." "And the upshot?" "Here it is," "'Compelled to retire due to progressive mental decline.'" "Am I someone to compel to retire?" "'Mental aberration'." "'Loss of motor ability, general senile marasma.'" "What a surprise to find you here!" "How long have we been walking?" "It seems to me my whole life is tonight." "Young man!" "Come with me!" "Crouch down as you go." "Lower!" "The consequences will definitely be extreme." "This is a great moment." "Look at me and tell me, do you have inner strength?" "I don't need you." "From now on I'll be on my own and good fortune will smile upon me." "Otherwise, I wouldn't be here walking into their den." "Look at their headquarters." "Lower!" "Let's go together." "We'll catch them redhanded, with their hands in the bag." "Let's go around here." "Go!" " Are you still crouching?" " Like a shadow." "I have to ask you something else." "Forgive me." "Good luck." "And you." "Why do you say that?" "You'll need it." "We need to settle the score, and if we completely fail..." "Why did I meet you?" "Alone, it was risky." "I needed an ally, I observed you a long time." "Fine." "The truth is, curiosity gets me up in the morning." "They've seen us!" "They're coming." "Let's wait for them here." "I'm sure you women know something we don't, and you don't want to tell us!" "What's the secret?" "Will you tell me?" "It has to be a secret." "Please tell me." "What's the secret of being a woman like you?" "You have to find out for yourself." "Tell us, once and for all!" "Who did you steal it from?" "It's yours!" "I brought it for you!" "Try it on!" "I looked everywhere, I waited so long." "It's perfect, it's yours!" "I'm not so sure you're right." "Let's see if it fits you." "I could be mistaken." "If this is yours, it should slip on right away." "It does, it's yours!" "It's mine, riffraff!" "I want to try it too." "I'm beginning to see." "Here's the beautiful foot of.." "It fits her like a glove." "It's yours, Fulgenzia!" "Such perfume!" "Don't look at me like that, you have that same look." "You, you have her laugh." "At last, here you are!" "I recognize you!" "I can't do without any of you!" "How could I?" "Never!" "Never!" "I've found your secret." "You fill the world up, but you're all one!" "You're all her, Aldina!" "You're all Aldina!" "All of you!" "Who are you?" "Identify yourselves!" "Barbarians, you've even killed music!" "Drums of hell, rubbish!" "Death rattle!" "Silence!" "Silence!" "This is the middle of Africa, the Malebolge!" "I'm not afraid of you!" "Life has forsaken you!" "Poor skeletons drowning in corruption!" "Of course, you can't know." "Have you heard the sound of a violin?" "If you knew the voice of violins, the way we know them, you'd keep silent." "You're not brave enough to have faith in dancing." "Dancing is a piece of lace, a message, a peek at the harmony of the stars, a declaration of love," "a dance is a hymn to life!" "Robby, Vicky, help me!" "Why are you laughing?" "Help me leave!" "Who's that?" "He dedicated a poem to me." "Robby, Vicky, where are you?" " Leave him alone!" " It's my brother!" "He's nice." "Osvaldo, come here!" "What happened?" "We have to take him back home." "He said he wanted to sleep a while." "Get out, this isn't your car." "Thanks for the poem." "'How beautiful the rain, I'm dying for this dame.'" "What a nice surprise, here have you been all this time?" "So many things happen on a journey!" "All of them happened to me." "But you, I never forgot you." "Adele, my little sister." "You're in good humor, as always." "You don't have to worry about me any more." "I have plans that could change my life." "It's such a relief to be back home!" "We're going there, uh?" "Yes, of course." "Ah, the happy sleep of once upon a time." "Bring out your laser rays!" "Don't get up, I'll do it." "Eat some fruit!" "Ultrasonic rays!" "Who's that?" "Ivo?" "You found your way home, eh?" "Some way to greet your uncle, what a shame!" "I couldn't find any apples, want a pear?" "Even better." "This is not the season for apples." "Always in front of the television." "Television puts me to sleep." "If you're tired, your bed's ready." "I'll stay up a bit longer." "I'd like to wash your clothes, but..." "I'll do it tomorrow." "You'll stay a few days." "Eh, Osvaldo?" "This is his home." "I knew we'd see each other again." "Can I say hello?" "Welcome!" "Remember us?" "And how!" "The bookseller!" "I'll see you tomorrow..." "We meant to visit you, but Luigi's sciatica..." "Mr. Luigi isn't dead, they say he..." "Your uncle is going to sleep." "He slept all day!" "Tomorrow, we'll go for a walk, all right, Malimba?" "I'm not Malimba!" "You're Malimba, and she's Kurielle." "You don't understand a thing!" "Daddy's turning the television off now." "We wanted to expand the kitchen, then..." "You'll sleep well." "I bought a little anti-mosquito thing," "There isn't one left..." "Maybe one." "I have a hard time keeping the kids out." "This, was it always" "an empty room?" "Good night." "Call me if you need something." "I'm downstairs." "Sleep well." "You too." "Nestore!" "I want to tell you, they did it!" "Look out the window, everybody's heard." "What wonderful news!" "Such a long time coming!" "Such happiness for you, me, everybody!" "Hear the bell?" "Everyone's going down to the river!" "Let's go!" "Look at all the lights!" "What a fete!" "We're coming to the main square." "The church is completely lit up." "There are two huge screens." "The leading figures in the country are here." "The government is represented by a minister." "His Grace degli Esposti has come from Rome." "Your Highness," "Minister, dignitaries of the region." "Minister, the leadership of the Rome Party..." "It's such an extraordinary event that this humble journalist is lost for words." "You already know the great news." "The Moon, the satellite of Earth, pale daughter of night, star of lovers..." "Thanks to an unprecedented feat has been caught by three of our fellow countrymen!" "The fact that our netting..." "Who could have done it but folks from here?" ".... we're live now... an historic event adds emotion to astonishing turmoil that overwhelms us." "Man has been to the Moon., but the Moon has never before been here." "Here's an interview with the Micheluzzi brothers, recorded a few hours ago in the office of Professor Falzoni." "He says it should be put back." "Take it easy!" "Yes, she looked at us and spied on us, but it's good to have someone watching over us." "He says we can't live without her." "Calm down, I told them everything!" "You all know the Micheluzzi brothers." "You've seen them working in the street, in your houses, fixing the pipes." "Listen to what they say!" "We want all the details of how you did it." "Very simple!" "This is what she's been waiting for!" "The Moon's a woman, the maximum of femininity." "All she wants is to be taken!" "A little smile, a sweet kiss," "She dropped down like a ripe pear!" "Where is she now?" "She's still there, at the Migliori farm." "Here are pictures taken at the farm." "Incredulity, confusion, fright, these are the feelings imprinted on the faces of those who saw the captive Moon, solidly anchored to our soil." "Superstitious awe, fear, as if beholding an unknown divinity." "Many wept, others prayed, asking for mercy, pardon, grace." "I have been asked to comment on this fantastic event." "I can tell you I am entirely unable to do so." "In the words of the poet:" "'Say nothing, imagine everything.'" "Just one comment," "Our position was always unequivocal and courageous." "Wake up!" "Social, democratic, national international and, indeed, interplanetary context..." "Let's talk with His Excellency." "Eminence, forgive me a clumsy question, what would you ask the Moon if she could speak?" "A question for the Moon?" "What should one ask her?" "The Moon has nothing to reveal, as everything has already been revealed." "True, Your Eminence, very true." "I have a question." "Who is to blame?" "Ask her that question." "What question?" "He wants to know, who is to blame?" " Who said that?" " I don't understand." "He wants to know, Who is to blame?" "What?" "Maybe everyone's to blame." "Good question, isn't it, Minister?" "My respects, Madam Television." "Can I change my question?" "I would like to know, what's my purpose in this world?" "Your Eminence, gentlemen, excuse me for asking why no-one ever explains what they want us to do." "Why do we have to be born?" "You said everything's been revealed already." "Where?" "When?" "To who?" "Dear friend, you're right, but I want to ask you..." "I want to know right now, otherwise, I'm not budging from here." "What am I doing in this world?" "It has to be made clear!" "We're all taking part in this charade called life!" "You're on fire!" "If there's a contract," "I want to know the terms." "What are we doing here?" "You, what would you say to that?" "It's understandable, people feel they're a prey to nothingness, they get tired." "I mean, does Paradise exist?" "Ask yourself that question!" "We all need to know." "Sometimes I'm embarrassed, for ages no word, people complain." "That's true." "When I ask myself, I'm in trouble." "I'd say fifty-fifty it exists." "Better than nothing." "Let's not waste any more time!" "We're half a century ahead of the world." "We're in the future already." "I implore you, help Tomasio." "Do me this favour!" "Speak, answer!" "Stone-ass!" "I ask you to remain calm!" "We have honoured guests!" "We must ensure their safety!" "I repeat, remain calm." "Minister, please explain to these gentlemen that you wanted to speak to me on this subject," "You're missing an opportunity." "Once again, I am obliged to note that we are wasting no chance to display our everlasting immaturity." "I am ashamed of you." "We are such stupid people!" "Here comes somebody." "He's gotten engaged!" "Good for him!" "At your command." "Dancing is so great." "Your head is very funny!" "Your grandma was right, she looked at you and laughed." "You want to talk about voices, eh?" "About journeys to wells, aren't you happy?" "This is a great gift, a piece of fortune, Salvini." "What do they want from me?" "They're poking fun." "I don't understand them, what are they saying?" "Even better!" "It's a double piece of fortune!" "You don't have to understand!" "Woe to him who understands!" "What will you do later on?" "You just have to listen, to hear these voices." "And hope that they never tire of calling you." "Such melancholy!" "My poor heart doesn't know what to think anymore." "You've made me forget the most important thing." "One moment, uh?" "Advertising!" "But if there was a little silence, if we all granted a little silence, we might be able to understand something!"