A che servono questi quattrini? (1942) - full transcript

WHAT USE IS THIS MONEY?

Please, Sir.

Thank you.

Thank you, Michele.
- I'm sorry, Marchese,

to see your home go away piece by piece.

The best years of my life were
spent in your service. - Indeed!

I wouldn't have wanted to be here for this.
- Certainly, it's not a pretty sight.

However, it's unbearable
in the first hours of the morning.

For evictions by seizures, by law
shouldn't be carried out before noon,

when the patient has spent a last
night of comfort sleeping peacefully.

Yes, instead they began making noise at 8.



I told the bailiff that you,
Marchese, are a light sleeper… Stop!

What is it?
- Excuse me. - By all means.

Act early in the morning,
when the patient is sleepy.

Use anesthesia like doctors.
You're good hearted people. Drink up.

Please do.

So, Marchese… lout!

Marchese, how are you going to live now?

Does this question hide another?
"How will you pay me my arrears?"

Considering I took the liberty of collecting
advances from some of your expenses,

I deem myself already paid back.
- Good!

Your years with me were not in vain.

I only regret you've
no aptitude for philosophy.

Be honest, it would've been better
if you had got your salary too?

No, be contented. My tastes are not dear.
I have a few thousand note bills



only useful in case of something
urgent, you never know.

If the Marchese wishes to have use of them,
I will consider myself honored to serve him.

Thank you, Michele. The only difficulty
will be in choosing a profession.

I never imagined how many professions
existed of which I knew nothing.

Thank you, Michele.

Look how low Marchese
Parascandolo's house has fallen!

Our old house.
- The home of our ancestors! - Hurry.

Here are my relatives
with their ritual condolences.

Will you allow me to go out the backstairs?
- Marchese.

Good day, Michele. Eduardo is not here?

Well, as always. Even in the end,
he takes no care of his interests.

He's not present at a time like this
when the bailiff is emptying the house!

Certainly. They might forget
to take away something.

One moment! You, if you'd like to sit…

Help yourself. - We're here for
moral support, not to amuse you.

Know that in what concerns me personally,
I have never and never will permit jokes!

No need to be afraid.
He never comes during the day.

Is that you? What a nice surprise!

Marchese.
- Don't get up!

It's not my birthday or yours.

No, but today begins a new era in my life.

I'm completely ruined.
- Ruined?

I'm kidding, I still have you.
Any regrets?

For giving me a three room apartment,
a fur and four rings…?

Five.
- Four!

And this?
- Oh, yes, nice. Quite good taste.

But now I'm busy. Now go.

Thank you.
- You're welcome.

Still here, Marchese?
You've been here for a while.

Ferdinando De Rosa won.
- Who says he didn't lose?

We lost.
- Who says you didn't win?

Are there letters?
- Yes.

One moment.

OK. OK. Yeah, yeah, yeah…

These ones are anonymous. Be well.
- Good day, Marchese.

Vincenzino, it's about time you rested.
You work from morning 'til night.

Well done: You're all home and family.
You don't gamble, drink or smoke. An angel!

Bring it to the De Rosa's. Make them
pay right away, eh? - Of course.

Who does not work, does not eat.

I come and go… to work.

I liked to take from life
everything that was attractive:

Fine clothes, fine horses, fine meals,
fine women, above all, an easy life.

The contemplative life.

I despised money. I never cared to take
care of what I had or even asked about it.

I had some land that was worth a Peru.
I used to go there sometimes.

I would take long walks
that would last for hours.

What beauty! What tangerines!
What oranges! What vineyards! What wine!

And then what peace, tranquility, peace!
I would sit in a corner and contemplate it.

Drawn, enchanted by the beauty
of the marvel of nature.

If the tenants paid me, fine,
if not it was no big deal.

The act of asking them for money,
was something I never liked.

Remember, money is the bane of mankind!

It's a disease. And like all diseases,
causes its own disorders.

The disorders of money
are avarice and prodigality.

When I was rich, I was prodigal. Now
the disease is gone, the disorder is gone.

Now I feel fine. I'm cured.

How well he speaks!
- Go on, go on, Professor!

No, it's Marchese.
- No, I don't care. As you wish.

My acquaintances call me Professor.

They say I'm a cultured man,
who knows everything.

It makes me laugh. I know nothing.

All that I know is this: I know nothing.

But that's still something.
There are people who don't even know that.

Professor, you're too modest.
You have an immense mind, genius!

A volcano!
- A Vesuvius!

What Vesuvius?
I force myself to think, to understand,

to discover the ways of wisdom,
to guide you towards indifference

and absolute contempt for
all the pettiness that surround us.

And boys, the lesson is over for today.

Finally! You were gone long!

Did you get the money from the De Rosas?

Money is the bane of humanity!
- Who says so?

It's a disease and must be cured.
- Cured from a disease?

How?
- How? Contemplation!

Get back immediately
to the De Rosa house and make them pay!

If not, we don't eat!
- Not eat…

Was the carpenter paid for that job?
- No, Mama, Vincenzino didn't say how much.

Call him, I don't want any loose ends.
I noticed he's been coming around a lot.

How dare you? You're taking a great risk.
- Ah, Don Ferdinando, I swear…!

Don't swear 'cause when Ferdinand De Rosa
asserts something, that means he's sure.

I don't allow people to laugh
behind the backs of the De Rosa family!

Why should they laugh?
- What?

My sister is admired by all for her
goodness, her honesty, her intelligence.

She sings, plays, and paints. And I should
let it be said that she makes love to you?

I don't understand! - I do. For some days,
you've been passing near Rachelina.

Ah, I meant no harm! Sometimes, I looked at
the balcony and contemplated the windows.

Well, you mustn't look at that balcony.

If I catch you again
contemplating the windows…

Contemplating! - …you'll regret it.
You'll have a really bad 15 minutes.

Am I clear?
- Certainly. - Goodbye.

But Professor I always have worked.
- You've done very badly.

First off, work makes you sick.
When a doctor visits a sick man,

the first thing he says, "Absolute rest".
He never said, "Absolute work"! - Never!

Besides, work is a waste of time.

And you mustn't waste your time
on useless stuff, boys, remember that.

You need to utilize it. There are
people who use it solely on work.

Look at me: I don't waste one minute!

From rising 'til going to bed at night,
I use my time in contemplating, walking,

thinking, looking at the trees, the sea.
Come, don't be afraid! Come!

There are people who work
a lifetime to take rest at 70.

Oh, a different system!

I rest at 50 years old, and at 70,
if there is a need, perhaps I'll work.

It is not an easy, smooth road.
- No, not like this one!

We need an elevator.

Don't think about the stairs.
Just imagine an elevator!

Yeah, then I'll fall and break my head!
You kidding?

Ah, my dear disciples,
do you know what my secret is?

Indifference. Only with
indifference can man rise. Rise!

Rise! Rise!
And you'll get heart attack!

My dear boys, sit down and rest.

And now if someone wants
to ask a question, he may speak.

Professor!
- Eh?

Is it true that a ghost of a moneylender
appears here who was killed long ago?

And that you have the furniture made of
bricks 'cause the wooden ones were moving?

Only the spirit of Socrates hovers here.

I built the furniture of bricks and cement.

Because if the bailiffs came to remove
them, they would need dynamite!

Hand grenades!
- Hand grenades!

What philosophy! What philosophy!
- What a great man!

Who should speak? You?
- Not me. Professor?

Thank you.
- You again? Well?

Professor, Raffaele, goes around saying
that I'm a coward and a troublemaker.

He said you're a cuckold! - And that
the professor is a cuckold too, right?

It's true he said you were a cuckold.
- True, I always was!

And that every morning,
you receive anonymous letters. - Tons!

So much so, I'd ask the porter,
"Any anonymous letters for me?"

He gave me 4, 5 but I never even read them.
Indifferent. - Yes, indifferent!

And for revenge I said, "It's true I'm
a cuckold. And my wife's lover is you!"

Have you met his wife, Professor?
She's a witch! Right?

So-so.
- How not?

Raffaele was so enraged,
offended, he wanted to slap him.

Let him do it.
Welcome his blows with smiles.

This will humiliate him so much,
it will be a great punishment!

Dear boys, little by little,
you will learn to live with wisdom.

It makes me laugh, it does.
Look upon the street. What do you see?

Houses, houses, houses…
- Houses, houses!

In every house there are people who work,
in every shop people are working.

The shoemaker makes shoes for the tailor,
the tailor sews clothes for the barber,

the barber shaves the shoemaker
and the tailor. They all work.

But they are waiting for
the moment when they can rest.

When after many years of working,
they finally take rest,

they are so used to working,
they get bored with doing nothing.

You must not work! You mustn't!
- You mustn't work! You mustn't.

Every Sunday people get bored.
Do you know why?

Because they lack the necessary training to
be idle. To which I say, "Train to be idle!"

This way we'll fight the boredom
of Sundays. Is that clear?

Very clear!
- Like sunlight!

Donna Carmela, truly,
this is a delicate subject.

Though it's better that you know.

For some days, your nephew
has been courting Rachelina,

Ferdinand De Rosa's sister.

Well, that's kids for you.
- Kids? Listen to this.

Don Ferdinand said that if Vincenzino has
lost his head, he'll make him find it again.

Yes, he has lost his head,

but know that Vincenzino is
an excellent carpenter and engraver.

But I can't take it anymore.

He does nothing and spends his time
with that bum professor, worse than him.

And now he's even harassing young women.

It's been three months
since he wanted to work.

Professor, now that we are finally
alone and in this beautiful place,

may I ask for your advice?
Can't I be a good husband?

What do I lack?
- I told you I'd think it over.

No, Professor, let's not start again with
imagination! I tried and it's not enough!

I need Rachelina in the beautiful flesh!

No, you must admit it, Professor.
If I can't marry Rachelina, I'll jump! Eh!

They'll say, "He was a poor young man,
but with such feelings!"

And Ferdinando De Rosa
will deservedly regret it!

And Rachelina…
Rachelina will become a nun!

I'll jump, Professor, I will!

Is that what you'll do? "I'll jump!
Jump!" And leave me in trouble!

I've been looking you for an hour.
They've come to seize the furniture!

You understand that, Professor?
- Seizure? Good, let them come!

What, Professor? The furniture doesn't
count, they'll throw us out of our home!

And Professor, if Vincenzino doesn't
work, how are we supposed to eat? - So?

So?
- Exactly, I say "so?"

What's so abnormal about this?
You don't work, you don't eat. - Logically.

Then almost all of humanity
should start fasting, Donna Carme'.

You've a narrow mentality, too bourgeois.
Your point of view is too limited.

And it's limited to petty interests,
immediate interests.

Do you want to ruin your nephew?
- What? If Vincenzino works, he's ruined?

Naturally! He's a young man in full health
and he should be working? What is this?

You'd like him to sacrifice himself all
his life as a carpenter, a cabinet maker?

If this young man never met me,
I hate to think…!

Right! Who knows how I would've ended up!

Then remember, Vincenzino,
"Better to sit than to stand."

Let's sit down.
- "Better to lay down than to sit."

"Better to sleep than to lay down.
Better to die than to sleep!"

So what should you do?

Then, Vincenizi', everybody
thinks doing nothing is easy

but it depends on how one does it.

Socrates, Plato, Diogenes did nothing all
day, but that nothing they did perfectly.

If Diogenes were a cabinetmaker,
carpenter like you,

his contemporaries would've said, "What
a worker, that Diogenes! What an artisan!"

But posterity wouldn't remember him.

Instead posterity exalted him because
he did nothing from morning to night.

And do you know where he slept? In a tub.
He despised money, proud of his poverty.

He used to say, "Omnia mea, mecum porto."

Which meant that
all his wealth was in his brain.

One day they saw him going around with
a lantern in his hand. Searching for a man.

One time, he was before
the Emperor Alexander who said,

"Diogenes, what can I do for you?"
And Diogenes replied,

"I want you to stand out of my sun."

Another time he saw a child
who drank from the hollow in his hand,

and he said, "That baby teaches me that
I carry with me many useless things."

And he broke his bowl, which was his cup.

By the way, what are you eating tonight?
- You think I don't have something in mind?

I didn't like it at all, my dear man.
Here's your book: "Thorns in the Heart".

Still in the window, I got the thorns!
In three years, I've sold three copies.

One to your uncle, one to your niece and one
to a poor guy who suffers from palpitations.

He thought it was a treatise
on blood circulation.

Nothing left to do then?
- Nothing!

Come with me, come. Lunch and
dinner guaranteed. Watch. Come with me.

Enter. May I?
- Come in! - Thank you.

Good day. Excuse me, how many copies
do you have of "Thorns in the Heart?"

If they were bricks, I could build a house.
- 10 lire a copy? - Yes, 10 lire.

If I were to sell some of them?

You need to find readers.
- I said sell, not read. Buyers not readers.

Would you be willing to
give me 5 lire for every copy?

Even 8!
- 5, 5. 5 will do.

My trusted staff will come
here to verify the sales.

Cash in hand from the register.

Tomorrow I'll come by
to give you a final debriefing.

Anyway, a done deal: 5 lire a copy, eh?
Let's go. - Done, eh?

8 lire?
- No, no, 5!

MARRIAGE PROPOSALS

Young, tall millionaire disappointed with
life would like to marry a young lady of
20 to 49 years of age even poor or having

physical imperfections as long as her
soul is pure. Ready to forgive the past,
present or future. Casella 425 F

"… in the hope from this
fateful meeting of our hearts…"

In the hope of what?
- "Fateful seeing." - Which means?

The professor knows, just write!

What is it?
- Heart…

How do you write heart
With "ea" or "a"? - "A".

What? "A"? With "ea'!
You need to ask? Eh!

Continue!
- This doesn't write!

"I await you at the Modern Cafe,
in the room of the mirrors."

"Please, have under your arm,
as a sign of recognition…"

May I help you? - Do you have
"Thorns in the Heart?" - By Polenton?

Yes, Polenton.
The robust neoromantic writer.

Ah, yes. Here you go, Miss.
10 lire at the register. - The register…

Mark it down.
- No, no, no!

"Thorns in the Heart" by Polenton?
- Here you go, Miss. 10 lire.

9.90
- Hey, no discounts! 10…

Is this the Libreria Esperia?
- Yes, Ma'am.

Get me "Thorns in the Heart" by strong,
neoromantic writer, Casomiro. - Polenton!

Here, Ma'am.
There's the register.

When your purse is empty,
laugh at your destiny, fine you'll feel.

Remember money flies quickly,
living without soldi is often the ideal.

No money, then rest easy,
you'll be the object of no one's envy.

Accept love's dart, make a bank of your
heart, a chest of kisses will be your part.

At the clink of metal,
what wealth do you possess?

You'll turn red and yellow,
get no sleep and begin to stress.

No money? Welcome the news.
Nothing to gain, nothing to lose!

May I?
- Go ahead, it doesn't interest me.

It does me. I like romances, especially
"Thorns in the Heart." Have you read it?

No.
- Read it. Buy it.

"Thorns in the Heart". Ah!
- Is that you?

Who?
- The one I was waiting for?

No, me… I came to get my book.

Then you're the author?
- Yes… no! Yes, I'm the author.

But you're not strong and robust?

Yes, I know but this morning
I felt unwell and I look less robust.

And you are a neoromantic?
- So, so. I'm not really neo-rhumatic.

I'm a carpenter, cabinet maker.
- But you said…

You're a crook.
- Yes. - Yes?

No! For heaven… I meant… I'm a…

I look like a crook but
I'm a philosopher of a future.

A disciple of Professor Parascandolo.
"Omnia mecum porto!"

Which means everybody's stuff is mine.
This book is mine and I'm taking it.

I need it! 5 lire!

It's a great novel, half a lira a copy.

6 soldi, no more.

Give it to him! A done deal!

Departing: Volcano, Little Black Face, Gold
Star, Thunderbolt, Puppet, Marcus Aurelius

Professor, the pants are too tight!

Thank God the baron exchanged my ticket to
supply you with a grand suit for the races.

With binoculars!
- Right.

Professor, there's a guy.
- Which one?

The one who looks like a fine fool.
- Wow, what an eye you have!

Those I can smell with my nose!
- Well done. Let's begin.

Thank you, Professor! Thank you!
You're a true prodigy! Don't deny it!

You've made me win again!
How do you always pick the winning horse?

My boy, it's a kind of divining: waves!
- Waves? - Thanks to the waves.

Then since you're so kind, can you tell
me which horse will win the next race?

Forgive me, if I'm intruding.
- What is it?

Tell me too.

Bet on Puppet. - Thank you!
- Let's go bet.

Bet on Gold Star.

Bet on Volcano.

Bet on Marcus Aga…Ga…Ga…
- Aurelius! - Aurelus!

Bet on Thunderbolt.
- Thunderbolt?

Bet on Little Black Face.
- It's a sure thing!

Little Black Face!
- Go, Puppet!

Damn you, you said
Thunderbolt and he came in last!

He told me Marcus Aurelius.
- And me, Volcano.

Little Black Face, eh?

The one who looked like a fine fool won.
The first one!

Thank you, Sir!
You are a prodigy! I won!

Good! Well done!
- Waves, waves!

Professor! Let's beat it! Here comes
a fool who didn't win! - Hightail it!

Hey, you stop for a moment.
- Teach him a lesson!

Will you knock off badmouthing me?

How can I make you understand
that you mustn't even say my name?

According to you, I get with
your wife to make people laugh?

Don't you know your wife makes me sick?
And you make me even more sick?

Yeah, I do. So? - So, if you don't leave
I'll make your eyes as big as oranges!

You hear what he said?
- Well, I look upon him with indifference.

Oh, really? - Yes, I look at you
with indifference. - So what?

Due to your teaching, Professor,
I had a resounding victory.

I taught him a lesson.
Two teeth were knocked out.

I did suffer but I endured. - He endured
with indifference for 4 minutes!

Bravo, Marchitiello,
I'll send you to a dentist I trust.

Thank you, Professor.
Then he gave me a slap. - And you?

Like a statue, I didn't move.
- What a satisfaction!

That was the first tooth.
Then boom! Another slap!

Then went my second tooth and
I lost my head. Know what I did then?

I laughed indifferent to the pain.

A laugh, Professor,
which I never before heard:

Beautiful! It seemed like weeping!
The people there were really moved!

Carme', you know what this means?
Teaching oneself stoicism.

Absolute indifference to all
petty intrigues, petty competitions.

These guys, little by little,
are learning to live with wisdom.

Donna Carme', eat.
A slice of meat will do you good.

Continue, Professor, go on.
- I'll speak and you eat.

You took my fork.
Give it to me. Give it!

One moment and I'm done. Shall I iron them?
- Not now, Mateo, I'm in a hurry.

Come in! Good day, your suit is ready.

Now, I'm in a hurry.
I heard he was living the sweet life.

Who?
- Vincenzino Esposito.

I have a bill to present to him!
- And I don't?

Peppi'! My pants?

Peppi'! Where… where did you put them?
Damn it…!

Be patient, Cavaliere,
we have distinguished guests.

You haven't paid the rent for two months.
Shame on you!

A young man like you to leave his job
and become a dissolute vagabond!

Cavaliere, no insults!
I have no time to waste working.

I have to seriously think
about what I'm thinking.

I must contemplate, see
the sea, the sun, nature.

Look at Socrates, Diogenes, Plato,
who did nothing from morn to night.

Diogenes walked about with a lantern.
You know why? He was looking for men!

He once saw a boy drinking out of the
"shallow" of his hand and the emperor said,

"Why drink from your shallow?"
And he broke his cup.

The end of the story is
you must cough up the dough!

Professor, what did
Diogenes do with a tailor?

How much does Vincenzino Esposito owe?
- 150 lire plus 30 for the lining.

180 total? - 180.
- Very good. 180 total.

Yes, Sir, 180.
- Here we go.

Come back tomorrow at this time
and you'll be paid. - But…!

I said come back tomorrow. You two as well.

I've marked it here.
There's no danger in forgetting it.

Tomorrow we'll be here.
- And I'll cross this out.

All right. Fine.

My dear Miss, I told you money is useless.

What's today?
- Thursday.

We'll postpone our
discussion for next Thursday

and you'll say to me, "You were
right, Professor, money is useless!"

It's not, Professor!
- It is.

It's not! - It is!
- It's not to me.

She's sick. - Obviously sick.
- Poor woman. - Poor Carmella.

Is that the last bucatino?
- Unfortunately, Don Ferdinando.

What will we do?
- Not much to do.

I asked Arduino for the usual supply and
he said wasn't extending any more credit.

Even De Cesare wants to file
for bankruptcy for that note.

You need to get money.

If I may say so, Don Ferdinando,
you could turn to… - Who?

To Palmieri.
- Loan sharks? Forget it!

You know what we should do?
Let's go contemplate.

Vincenzin, I found a place at
Camaldoli that is a real paradise.

It's far away, but when you get there…

No, I've been contemplating
all day. I want to rest.

We'll be there in a few hours.

I know you don't need to go
to Camaldoli in order to contemplate,

just look out the window, observe
the square, chickens, a cat on a roof.

The beauty of these things evades
the superficial eye. Very interesting.

A cat? Chickens?

Today we'll contemplate at home.
We have certain cockroaches!

They are creatures of God too.
How beautiful they are!

Can one know when
you're returning to work?

Let's not start. Let's not start!

Working! Don't make me laugh.

Look out into the street instead.
What do you see?

Houses! Houses. Houses…

Houses. Houses. Houses!

Houses?
- Houses!

May I enter?
- Come in.

Vincenzino Esposito, son of Alfredo.
- That's me.

Born in Naples February 18, 1908?
- That's right.

I am the notary, Pietro Calascione.
- A pleasure. Have a seat.

Have a seat.

My Aunt Carmela.
My friend Marchitiello, also a philosopher.

You are the cousin of the carpenter
Giorgio Esposito, who in exactly 1915,

August 21, moved to Buenos Aires.
- No.

Try hard to remember.

You're the cousin of the carpenter Giorgio
Esposito, who moved to Buenos Aires.

No, I don't think so. Right, Aunt Carme'?
- No, no.

Is it possible you don't have some uncle
or cousin, some relative in America? - Me?

I've never heard of this Giorgio Esposito.

Too bad. This Giorgio Esposito
has died and left 10 million…

I remember! - … to his cousin, Emanuele,
living in America and 25,000 to you,

Vincenzo Esposito, resident of Naples,
Via Canalone at Forcella Number 6.

Well, better than nothing.

10 million!
And only 25,000 for us in Naples, eh?

Yes, a legacy (tied up), a legacy of 25,000.
- It's tied up? Then I can't get it?

Why can't you get it?
- It's tied up.

That's just a formality. The legatee must
declare himself and accept the legacy.

Fine, we'll ask him.
- Who? - The legatee.

But you are the legatee!
- Me?

He made me legatee too! Poor Giorgio!
Poor Giorgio! - Poor Giorgio!

You must sign here.
- Yes.

Poor Giorgio!

He made me legatee!

One, two, three, four,
five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten,

eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen,
fifteen, sixteen, seventeen,

…eighteen…
- Come on!

Nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two,
twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five.

Thank you.

Marchitiello, thank you.
- Goodbye and good luck. - Thank you!

Thank you, Professor!

How disgusting!

Were you asleep, dear?
- Yes, dreaming of you.

You were giving me the fur you promised.

It looked so good on me.

Look, dear, I don't know how to say this,
it isn't easy, but I…

Like that other guy!
- What guy? - The marchese.

The marchese had the same look
on his face that morning that you do.

I understand these things quite well.
Tell the truth, you're ruined?

This morning my pasta factory
has made its last bucatino.

Bucatino?
- Bucatino.

How naive I was!
I dreamed you'd give me the fur!

Why didn't you tell me you were
going bankrupt? - I just found out…

Don't you see now I'll have to go
around naked in winter like a worm?

Didn't you think I could get pneumonia?
Ah, beat it! Leave me alone!

One doesn't tell such news out of the blue!
The marchese had more tact!

Before he told me,
he gave me a 10,000 lire ring!

The marchese!

Come in, sweetie. He's left.

Then Don Ferdinand is ruined?

Always in my armoire! It's an obsession!

You stink of mothballs.

Ruined!

Just as well.
Tomorrow, Don Fernando will come to me

and I'll get you that fur.

I've always loved him like a brother!

Keep an eye out, Sir.
- Don't worry.

I've written down the three flasks
and four bottles more.

Professor, another drink!
- No, this wine turns my stomach.

Pay and let's go to another tavern.
- The bill!

Pay that old man, so he'll shut up!
- Are you trying to offend me, Professor?

VIncenzino can pay whenever he wants:
after a month, a year.

If it's the wine, allow me to offer
you some bottles of that one…

The good stuff?
- Ernesto!

Here's the bill. - How dare you,
wretch, offend my customer, Vincenzino?

Run and get three bottles of the old wine!

Don Vincenzino!
Finally, I can greet you!

You came for that bill? The money?
- What bill? What money?

Between me and Vincenzino,
the word "money" is never spoken!

I'm honored to serve you and that's it.

I'd like to make you a mid-season
suit and an overcoat.

I don't want anything! There.

Now I'm truly sorry.

I came to apologize for
insisting on that paltry amount.

More than this, what can I do?
- Now, I'll speak.

Fine. He's won over. He forgives you.

You can make him 4 suits for summer,
4 for winter, a coat, an overcoat…

Do you make shoes?
- No, I do not.

Oh, no shoes! Do you have a relative
or a friend who is a shoemaker?

My cousin is a shoemaker.

Well done! But your guy… is he a…
a man you can trust? - Totally.

Very good. Then you can make an overcoat
for Marchitiello, Gaetano and Pasqualino.

Don Vincenzi', what do you say?

I ask you what do you say?
- Ask me and I'll answer.

I already asked you to answer!
- But if you don't ask, what can I answer?

You wanna make me mad!
- Don Peppi' wants to know…

if you're ready to make him a guarantee
for that small supply for Marchitiello, etc?

It's just a trifle:

some suits, overcoats, coats.
- That too? - And why not?

Truly, we only talked
of one coat and one suit.

All right.
- Then it's done!

What? Ask Vincenzino for his word? Who
would've thought? - Fine, I said it's done!

They will be done!
- They will be done.

He'll need your measurements.
- I can't measure him if he keeps moving.

Leave it to me.
Music, boys!

Eduardo is descending onto
the last steps of human dignity.

The palazzo will go into other hands and
Eduardo won't care as if it were never his.

He wastes time with low people but what
is amazing, heaven protects him still.

Tell him, Mattia.

I met by chance, Michele,
the ex-valet of Marchese Eduardo,

who seems in his great misfortune,
the soul of hope and trust.

One who,
I can't call the Marchese's friends,

but lately has acquired much
familiarity with him. He has inherited…

…millions. You say the pasta
factory can make millions.

In theory!
The fact is you need 200,000 lire.

God, I don't really need it!
I just want to buy new machinery.

You're ruined.
- Ruined?

Never mind. In your condition,
it wouldn't be business but gambling.

I won't rule out that we can
come to an agreement. But…

it can't be done less than 30%.
- 30%!

But you know… - I only know that yesterday
at 9, in the factory of Ferdinando De Rosa

the last macaroni was manufactured,
precisely the last bucatino.

Some people are just lucky.
- Right.

And we're forced to deprive
ourselves of even of necessities.

Some people deserve to beg,
rather than find themselves wealthy.

Don't worry, pay when you like!
You come to the market everyday.

You wouldn't insult me so?
- Certainly, I won't.

Donna Carmela, good day!
- Good day! - And congratulations!

It made me so happy!
Donna Carme', you must enjoy life.

Me? Thank you. - And tell
Vincenzino too because he deserves it.

Now that you have this fortune,
what will you do? Your plans?

What can I say? We'll do what
Vincenzino wants. - Certainly! Bye!

What a miser!

Don't you know? Everybody does!

Ma'am, ain't it true that Vincenzino
inherited 10 million? - Absolutely!

10 million!
- Fortune is blind!

30%? This is usury!

He actually said that
Ferdinando De Rosa made his last bucatino!

There must be a spy at the factory.

200 million lire!
Where do I find 200 million lire?

It's not an easy thing.

The door? - No, it's the window.
- The window? - My sister.

As you wish, Don Ferdinando.

However, I don't think it's so serious.
- Not serious? I had the bell put in.

In your sister?
- Yes. No! In the window!

To inform me when that
birdbrain looks over to that bum!

Aren't you ashamed? Watching out
the window all day to see that idler?

I don't even think of him! If he passes
under my balcony, what can I do?

At least don't look on him. Don't lead
him on! - Oh, let me. It's fun to lead on.

There's big news, Don Ferdinan.
- Haven't we had enough?

That no good Vincenzino Esposito
has inherited! - Are you sure? - Yes.

The whole neighborhood knows it.
He inherited tons of millions! - Millions?

I've always said that guy had
the air of a great gentleman!

You see, I can't because
of my dignity, so you do it:

Tell Rachelina to watch
whenever she wants.

Remove the bell.

Why are you closing it, Miss?
Look out and watch.

No, he used to be as regular as a watch.
He hasn't even passed by once today.

I'm getting cold. - Today for Vincenzino,
is a day like no other, Miss.

You're truly fortunate:
he's inherited, he's a millionaire!

Millions!
- What?

Ah, now I see! That's why you wanted
me to do it, my brother told you to.

Yes. He's thinking of a good marriage.

And I loved Vincenzino because
he was poor, a poet. Like in La Bohème.

I can't think! I can't think!
Pasqualino said, "Let's go get a drink."

I didn't want to go to the pub!
- Calm down. - Professor!

What if it were Pasqualino?
- Don't even say that as a joke!

Pasqualino is one of my best disciples.
He despises money!

I'm a good disciple and
I despise money too! Oh, yes!

But that 25,000 lire,
I liked so much! A lot!

Calm down, Vincenzino, calm down.
You put the 25,000 lire in your pocket.

Your aunt stored it
in a drawer and you secretly…

A suspicion: What if it were Marchitiello?
- Don't be silly. Impossible.

But he kept saying,
"Drink, Vincenzino, drink!"

Then he hugged me and said, "Vincenzino,
I always loved you like a brother."

Vincenzino, you must calm down.
- It ain't easy!

See, you've had money in your pocket for
5 hours and look what it's done to you!

I look sick?
- You're depressed, nervous, congested!

Vincenzo, you must do as the Americans do:

Whenever something bad happens,
an American put himself before a mirror

and he repeats 1000, 2000
times that it doesn't matter.

Eventually, he's convinced.
You lost 25,000 lire?

Get before the mirror
and repeat to yourself,

"I have lost 25,000 lire and I don't care!
I won't think about it."

"I lost 25,000 lire?" Have a good
laugh and say it doesn't matter.

Until you're convinced and don't
think about it anymore. Go on!

But professor, my aunt doesn't
know a thing about philosophy.

And when she won't see
the money, she'll break my head!

Why should you care? Go before
the mirror and say, "I don't care."

Come here. You must see that having
lost all that money was good luck.

Excellent luck!
- How, professor…?

Eh, my Vincenzino!
Thus philosophy teaches.

Do you know the Chinese parable?
- No.

In China, there lived alone an old
farmer with one son and one horse.

One sad day, the horse ran away.

All the farmers went to the old man
to show their sorrow for his bad luck.

"How do you know it is bad luck?",
said the old man. He was a clever one!

In fact, a few days later the horse came
back bringing with him 7 wild horses.

All the farmers came to him
to show their joy for his good luck.

"How do you know it is good luck?",
said the old man.

In fact, a few days later the farmer's son

mounting one of the wild horses,
fell and broke his leg.

Then the all the farmers came to show
their grief over the son's bad luck.

"How do you know it is bad luck?",
said the China man.

In fact, the farmer's son
was taken to the hospital,

while at the same time,
his bedroom collapsed.

And because the farmer's son
was brought to the hospital,

he didn't die beneath the rubble.

And how did it end?
- It ended.

Don't you see?
This Chinese parable,

serves to make you understand that you're
losing 25,000 lire is a stroke of luck.

A stroke of luck?
- With that money, you could've bought a car.

The car might've threw you in a ravine.

A wrong move, a crossing,
a backfiring, a cliff!

A cliff?
- And then die!

Sometimes we should thank Providence.

You're a devotee of St. Vincenzo?
- Of course.

It was St. Vincenzo. - Really?
- St. Vincenzo stole the money.

Kneel down, take your
hat off and repeat after me,

"Oh, St. Vincenzo!" - "Oh, St. Vincenzo!"
- "I thank you" - "I thank you"

"for the favor you have shown me"
- "…have shown me"

"without having asked for it."
- "without having asked for it."

But…
- But?

Next time, don't do me a favor
without telling me anything about it.

No! Then you don't get it.
It was a true favor.

I do get it,
but this favor got me into trouble.

Your trouble was good fortune!
You were freed from money, a disease.

It is a true disease but I got in trouble.

My money! My money!

Who took my money from the drawer?
Was it you? Was it you?

Was it you? Madonna, give me
strength or else I'll kill him!

Are you crazy? I don't need money!
- It was you! - Excuse me?

Donna Carmela, forgive me, when I spoke
of eviction before, I was just kidding.

You can pay at your convenience:
within 6 months, a year, whenever.

When money is in your hands,
it's as if it were in a bank.

If ever you want to move,
I've a lovely apartment with 6 rooms.

It's magnificent.
We'll talk it over when you like.

My deepest respect, Donna Carmela.
- My deepest respect, Cavaliere.

Scum! Don't think you'll get away
with this! Cough up the money!

But I assure you…!
- Assure my foot!

Professor, stop a moment.
I'm not going back home. - Why?

What will I do?
My aunt will break my head!

If she breaks your head,
what does she gain?

You must remain impassive.
Your "I" must laugh over it.

You know what a head is? Just a cranium.
- Yeah, but this time, it's my cranium.

I'll go "test the waters", then you
join me. - Professor, test them well!

Isn't Donna Carmela in?

I think she went out.
- And when will she be back?

I don't know.
- Too bad, I'd like to talk with her.

And Vincenzino?
- Who knows?

He's meditating. Marchitiello,
you'd better go meditate too.

This gentleman must speak with me.

Ferdinando De Rosa.
- Marchese Parascandolo.

If my memory is correct,
we already had the pleasure to meet.

Marchese, I hope you don't hold a grudge
over our chance meeting at Lilli's house?

For heaven's sake, I'm very used to it.
With Lilli, the same will happen to you.

Maybe you're wrong, Marchese.
- I know, Lilli is a convincing girl.

But remember my words, "Nothing matters
to the man who says nothing matters."

Marchese, you have a great influence
on Vincenzino, you must save me.

What is this about?

I found out that Vincenzino
has an inheritance. - So?

Marchese, a word from you
would be enough to convince him.

You should convince Vincenzino
to lend me 200,000 lire.

That won't be easy.
Especially after you humiliated him.

You're right, Marchese, I'm an idiot.

What luck that Vincenzino wanted to
marry my sister and I let it slip away.

Marchese, not to know Vincenzino's
business but how much did he inherit?

Don Ferdinando, I know nothing.

I just know that he and his
American cousin inherited a total of

10 million and 25 thousand lire.

Then what would 200,000 lira be to him?
- Nothing. Chicken feed.

"I don't care, I won't think about it."

"I don't care, I won't think about it."

"I don't care, I won't think about it."
"I don't care, I won't think about it."

"I don't care, I won't think about it."
I won't!

25,000 lire!
- Laces for shoes, brushes, mirrors!

What?
- Mirrors!

2 and 50.
- "I don't care, I won't think about it."

"I don't care, I won't think about it."
- 2.50.

"I don't care, I won't think about it."
- Neither do I!

"I don't care, I won't think about it."

"I don't care, I won't think about it."
- Eat coconut!

I don't care!

Carlo Palmieri, I know him well.
Famous antiques usurer for my family.

I live in the attic of his grandfather
who was killed for stealing.

He wants 30% interest.

Crooked stuff!
I'll speak to Vincenzino.

I'm in your hands, Marchese and
no offense intended, I'll remember it.

Don Ferdinando, don't start.
Money hasn't the least attractions for me.

But Vincenzino is stubborn.

However, the one who could
do the most would be Rachelina.

Those two were born for each other
and their meeting can bring many things.

Don Ferdinando, at 4 have your sister
go for a walk in the public gardens.

I'll do it in such a way that
they'll meet as if by chance.

All right. But Vincenzino
really loves my sister? - Oh, yes.

Thank you, Marchese, understood.

Everything is going to plan.

Madonna, I'm dying!
Where's Vincenzino? And the 25,000 lire?

Vincenzino is not to blame.
The 25,000 lire was stolen.

Stolen! Madonna, what a disgrace!

Stolen! - Calm, calm down.
- What a disgrace! - No.

What a misfortune!
- You are sick.

Remember, misfortunes exist
because we recognize them.

If we didn't recognize them,
they wouldn't be misfortunes.

Calm down, Donna Carmela, calm down.

Vincenzino! Vincenzi'…!

The 25,000 lire! The 25,000 lire!
- Here.

Here. Repeat with me:

"I don't care, I won't think about it."

"I don't care, I won't think about it."
Repeat it. Repeat it!

Say it.
- Do you know the Chinese Parable?

A Chinese man had a horse.
That horse ran away…

Then his friends came and he said to them,
"What do I care about this misfortune?"

"I don't care, I won't think about it."

"I don't care, I won't think about it."
"I don't care, I won't think about it."

Professor! She's calming down.

Yes, yes. She's calming down.
Yes, yes.

Vincenzino Esposito,
that terribly vulgar man,

wants to buy Eduardo's noble palazzo
and turn it into a sausage factory.

In the living room of your forefathers
there'll be animal intestines

for the base nourishment of the city:

Dried meats, grinding stones, salamis
will hang from its historical ceilings.

Ancestral ceilings.
- Yes, ancestral.

A worse outrage could not be done.

I thought it my duty as
a faithful servant to warn you.

Now then there is still time to save
the family name from this shame.

For my part, I have nothing
personal against pork and dried meat,

but the solution is very simple:

Instruct our clever notary
to prevent the sale of the palazzo.

That's not a possible solution.

Vincenzino Esposito,
pardon the boldness of confession,

holds a deep antipathy to
the Marchese's family. Oh, yes!

He has sworn,
in the arrogance of his new riches,

to level the palazzo, so it wouldn't
return back into your possession.

But there is a solution…
- Yes!

Redeem the palazzo and reinstate
the pensions paid to Eduardo!

With all due respect for the Marchese,
I believe that my master,

in his great incapacity for business,

has produced in his family,
some highly praiseworthy scruples.

It is true that all of Marchese Eduardo's
wealth is even now in your hands.

We only did it to save the family fortune.

Indeed. The proof of this is that the houses
have remained with you for little money.

Keep silent. Don't interfere with
affairs that don't concern you!

But for your good name! - We don't
need your aid to learn how to act.

Then I present my respects.

Are you rich again?
- In your dreams.

Then why did you come?
- Where is he?

Who do you mean, dear?

This isn't a jealous scene, it's about
business. Come on, where is he?

Who?
- Palmieri.

How do you know?

Wherever you are, Mr. Palmieri,
have no fears but listen to me.

I must speak to you. Some big business.

Ferdinando De Rosa has asked
you to lend him 200,000 lire.

Don't give it to him, darling.
Don't be foolish.

Palmieri, Lilli's right. You shouldn't.
You would lose to the last penny.

This is disinterested advice.

A millionaire friend of mine,
Vincenzino Esposito,

wants to close the deal at 6%.

He's one who when he loses money
is thrilled! He's a student of my school.

Have a wonderful time, Mr. Palmieri
and excuse me for bothering you.

Why don't you introduce me
to your friend? - Why not?

He could cover you with jewels.

That's the first good idea
you've had in your life. Bye, lovely.

I don't care, I won't think about it.

Although Diogenes had no clocks,
he always he knew what time it was.

For example: when the shadow
got to here, it was four.

Here five and here six.

How mysterious! I thought
it was a statue instead of a clock!

Now I see why you've pawned your watch.
You don't need one.

Professor, I think Rachelina won't come.

Maybe they told her I was robbed!
- Oh, no.

Rachelina knows nothing.
Ferdinando, her brother said,

"Rachelina weeps, despairs,
she wastes away like a candle!"

Weeps? I'm surprised, I thought
Rachelina didn't even notice me.

When I went under her balcony, I only
saw the blinds. - And that's nothing?

Rachelina is not a flirt who falls
in love with one guy then another.

Her brother justly fears that she'll
become consumptive. She's in love!

In love? With me?
- Madly.

She could become consumptive?
5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10!

We'll do 10,000!
For the Rickets Institute, 15,000! 20,000!

Not even a look.

It's no good, she can read in my looks
that I've been robbed! She knows all.

Miss! Did… did you cry?

Are you talking to me?
- Did you cry?

Why would I cry?
- The professor told me.

Who told him?
- Don Ferdinando.

He said you're wasting away like a candle!

Rachelina, I want to marry
you and make you happy.

Will you buy me clothes and jewelry?

Will you take me to Venice?
How much money you have!

Oh, Rachelina, money doesn't bring joy.
Money is disgusting. Sit down, sit.

Do you know what Socrates did? Diogenes?

Diogenes slept in a tub and despised money.

Maybe he didn't have a family?
Was he a bachelor? - I don't know.

For him the wealth of a person
was the brain, not the money.

You say that because you're rich, but if
you were poor, you'd say something else!

And they'd say it was a misfortune!

Why? You want them to say it was
good fortune? - There, I wanted that.

Who tells you that it'd be a good fortune?

You know the story that they tell in Japan?

In Japan, there was a Chinese man
who had a horse that ran away.

So his friends came to him to express
their grief over what had happened.

"How do you know it's a misfortune?",
said the Chinese man.

The next day the horse returned,
bringing with him 70 horses.

Then all the Chinese rode over to express
their joy over the good fortune he had.

"How do you know it is good fortune?",
said the old man.

In fact, the next day the horse ran away…
ah no, no…

He broke his leg.
Then the war came…

the barn collapsed… the horse on account
of being transported to the hospital,

did not perish under the rubble…
and then died!

I don't care about any of that.
- Me neither.

But it's a Chinese parable.
Did you understand it? - No.

Professor! Professor!

Professor, please come here.
Just for a moment, please.

Let me introduce my girlfriend.
- Don Ferdinando's sister, Rachelina.

Very nice. Congratulations.
- Thank you, Professor. - Thank you.

Don Vincenzino Esposito asks too
flowers to be sent today to Miss De Rosa.

Put it on his account.
- Of course, have no doubt.

So much at the end of the month…
- You're telling me!

A nice neatly packaged bundle.
All on Vincenzino's account.

Done. Then at the end of the month…
- Of course!

The other day, I asked you
not to invest that amount

in Ferdinand De Rosa's company.

You said that the deal would've
been done by Vincenzino Esposito.

Indeed, Vincenzino will lend to him.

I gave it up
because I didn't put any credence in it.

But when I found out that Vincenzino is
about to become De Rosa's brother-in-law,

I realized that my chance to
close any deal was diminishing.

You may say, it's already gone.

Professor, you must get
Vincenzino to drop the deal.

But you want 30%.
A ruinous sum for De Rosa, my boy.

The deal is risky: the pasta business may
go badly and De Rosa is a spendthrift.

If I guaranteed Vincenzino
to guarantee your loan?

You wouldn't have any risk.
- Certainly. What I'd expect.

With Vincenzino's signature…

De Rosa could make up bills of exchange
with the guarantee of Vincenzino Esposito.

If De Rosa doesn't pay,
Vincenzino would be responsible.

It's ironclad!

The professor is waiting.
- Thanks.

We must drop to 7%.
If not, Vincenzino will get there first.

10%. - 7%.
- 8%!

I'll accept with Vincenzino's signature.
- At 7%. The price is set!

He's already here?
- I'm a businessman, I waste no time.

Good day.
- Take a seat. - Thanks.

Don Ferdinando, listen,
while awaiting the execution of the will

and the redemption
of Vincenzino's inheritance,

Mr. Palmieri is willing
to advance the 200,000 lire.

I know but the taxes? - At 7%.
- A poor bargain for me!

Of course, you'd like Vincenzino's
guarantee. - And Vincenzino?

He'll do it.

Vincenzino will do it!

As you see, the company's in the black.
- That's not enough, Don Fernando.

Vincenzino wants a guarantee against,
shall we say, your vice. - What vice?

Your vice of spending with women.

I give you my word that I'll stop.

A true guarantee would be giving
him the management of your company.

Let me speak.
Vincenzino cashes in, he pays.

He safeguards your interest and at the
same time marries your sister, also his.

In short, he'll be a proper manager of
the factory and oversee all transactions.

All the money stays in the family.

Then, at the end of the month,
you'll get your salary and Vincenzino his.

You'll know there'll be no irregularities
from one side or the other. Is it clear?

Professor, I like your idea, I do.
I'd benefit, he'd benefit.

It's sink or swim.

Accountant, prepare a contract
for Vincenzino Esposito

to become the pasta factory manager in
control of all the commercial transactions.

Go.

Me, a factory manager?
I worked so hard at not working

and now you want me to work again?
- You call that work?

You'll be well paid.
- What do you mean by that?

Vincenzino, get this in your head,
whoever works little is paid much.

And who is paid little, works much.

The less you work, the more you're paid.

At some point you, you'll do nothing
from when you rise to when you go to bed

and that's when humanity will lavish you
with thousands! - Really? - Yes.

This is your chance.
Why should you worry?

Confess. Confess that you're not Pietro
Calascione, the notary. - I admit it.

I'm the valet of Calascione, the notary.
I acted for the good.

You see? And I'm Michele,
Marchese Eduardo's valet.

Now will you tell me what
happened to that 25,000 lire?

Donna Carmela, don't you see?

Ah! He's not the notary,
he's my cousin from America! - No.

Even you don't get it?
Marchitiello!

Return the 25,000 lire.
- Hurry up! Gimme the money!

One moment! - Professor, you saw
that Marchitiello had the money?

This money has no value.

Ah, Professor, don't exaggerate!
It's my inheritance from my poor cousin!

We respect the dead! - The legacy
doesn't exist. Nor does the cousin.

There's only this fact: What is today?
- Today is Thursday, Professor.

Miss Carmela, I kept my word.

You have to recognize that I was right:
Money is good for nothing! - What?

It was trick.
Only the imagination counts.

There's no need for money.
You just need to live as if you had.

Look at this? This doesn't exist?

No. I had Marchitiello steal it from you.

It's only the money my faithful Michele
had set aside after many years of service.

And yet it was good
enough to make you rich.

You just needed to think it was yours.
- Then it was Michele's?

What happened?
- Mamma mia, I spent some this morning.

Bad! Bad!
- Very bad!

Money must not exercise
on you any evil fascination.

Michele, I'll reimburse you. Remember,
boys, eh? Remember what I said earlier.

It's all imagination!

It suits you. You look like a doll. - No,
Mama, there's a defect in the sleeve. Look.

The seamstress didn't have time.
We should wait two weeks.

No, my dear, there's only one Vincenzino.
That's why it's best to hurry.

Luisa!
I asked you to polish all the doorknobs.

I did, Ma'am.
- That doorknob is gross! - No!

Did they bring the pastries?
- Yes. All sfogliatelle and babà!

Good day! - Good day!
How elegant you are! What a fine suit!

It's from the tailor's. It's new.

He said, "Allow me to me make you 6 suits,
an overcoat, a raincoat, a fur coat."

I accepted. So he made me 6 suits,
an overcoat, a raincoat, a fur coat.

But at the end of the month…!
- The end? - Let's not talk about it.

Who's playing?
- Rachelina. Shall I let her know?

And ndanderandì and ndanderandá.
What a lovely girl, Carcioffolá!

Rachelina! How well you play!
I like the music a lot too.

On this day of happy competition,
I offer you flowers, few but heartfelt!

Thank you. And thank you
for the roses you sent this morning.

I sent roses? - Truly, Vincenzino,
you've sent roses every morning.

Ah, it was the florist!

He asked me if he could send a bunch
of flowers every morning to my fiancee

and I said yes.
Thus he sends flowers every morning…

But at the end of the month…!

The bill… I…
- Pay? - Yes, I pay.

Rachelina! Rachelina,
on this day of happy competition,

I offer you this small,
but heartfelt emerald!

I couldn't open it earlier either.
- No, don't, you'll break it.

There!

I wonder how much it costs?
- Even I don't know.

The jeweler said, "Don Vincenzi', let me
make an emerald for your betrothed."

and I accepted.
He said later he would send…

By the way, what is today?
- The seventh.

The seventh? Then there's time.
He can send another one. Come out!

Come out now.

Boy, do you know where
Vico Canalone at Forcella is?

If you gimme that cigarette, I'll tell you.

Here.
- Right here!

I'm the butler of
the Marchese Parascandolo.

Shall I repeat it?
- Repeat it.

The butler. I've come to look for
the Marchese to tell him important news.

Go on, talk.
May we hear this important thing?

Know that part of his income and palazzo
were restored by his relations' kindness.

Did the professor send you here?
- Did he tell you to say…?

I admit no jokes. - And neither do we!
- Tell him, once bitten, twice shy!

Tell him.
- But, you're a good actor!

He told me to say…
Nobody told me…

I am the butler.
- Ah, so you say!

What matters, is not that it's true,
but that you think it so!

How dare you say you're the butler,
if you don't exist?

You're an imagination!

Do you understand that we already
understand what we understood?

Understand?

I had to say it!

Marchese, welcome back into your home.

Everything is in order and in place.
You can also invite your friends.

I cannot, Michael.
I'm no longer comfortable.

Sofas, chairs, carpets.
All this luxury doesn't concern me.

Anyway, I leave it to you. Let them
have fun, drink and not lack for anything.

As usual, Eduardo's not here.

I'll look for him again. Excuse me.

Tell him we're waiting.
- Good.

That idiot tailor could've
used another material, no?

He used the same one for Vincenzino.

We can't go out together.
- They'd mistake us for schoolmates.

Vincenzino, you really love me?
- Yes and I don't need any imagination.

But I'm worried. If those millions
from America never arrive!

It wouldn't be at all a disgrace.

At the movies, I see that all
the rich couples always argue.

We mustn't fight.
We'll always love each other.

You love me?- If I'm marrying,
it means that I love you.

But remember: Our honeymoon
must be a long one and by car.

By car!
Here's a parable! Here's a parable!

Who says the car won't flip over?
- So many people go by car!

And there are many people who die in a car!

A train crossing!
You've heard of train crossings?

One wrong move, one backfire
and the engine is in flames!

The flames! You're locked inside!
The smoke fills your throat!

You can't get out! Open the door!
The door won't open! Break the glass!

You throw yourself out
and there's no Chinese man to help you!

You're face to face with a ravine!
Then you're dead.

Long live the betrothed!
- Long live!

Rachelina! Vincenzino!

Vincenzino!

Silence! Vincenzino is talking!

Sit down.
- Where, Vincenzino?

Then, stand.
Better to stand than to sit!

Better to sit than to lay down.

Better to lay down than to be laid out.
Better to be dead than accompanied!

The tailor!
- The tailor! What does the tailor do?

The tailor make clothes for the barber.
The barber makes clothes for the shoemaker.

The shoemaker shaves the tailor!
And the tailor makes clothes for everybody!

This is a parable of the professor's.

Marchese, your guests call for you.

They want to see you.
- I don't care! I won't think about it!

Marchese, I don't understand
why you prefer to live in this dump.

Now you're in possession of
your wealth, your money.

Don't talk to me about money, Michele.
There's too much talk about it.

All these people, this humanity
running, fretting, sweating,

jumping into trams, lining up at counters,
turning their hair white for money.

As if we were living forever.

But we're all condemned to death.

Can you imagine a condemned
man counting his thousands?

Money is a word. A convention.

There are many people with no money
who live as if they had millions.

There are many other people,
burdened with millions,

who live as if they didn't have a cent.

How I pity men.

Because of the money, they forget
life's truth though truth exists.

Everything that God created is truth.

Watching a cloud, a sunset,

a garden, a meadow full of daisies,

children laughing,
the countryside, the sea,

a sky full of stars.

Remember this: Money is good for nothing!

It never gave happiness to anyone.

To anyone!
Especially, when it's not enough!

Bravo!

English subtitles by sineintegral@KG