Eros e Thanatos (1969) - full transcript

The unleashed eros is equally fatal
to its antagonist, the death instinct.

- Come here, sit down.
- The photographs?

There's time for the photographs.

How come you never stopped before?
Are you shy?

- I hated you.
- Not like that, stupid!

- What do you mean you hated me?
- I hated you, you and your cheeky face.

You parade yourself on the street,
and you're just a girl.

A child whore.
That's why I hated you.

But you changed your mind.

It fits perfectly in one hand.

And they still haven't
managed to ruin them yet.



And you won't either.

No!
Not like that!

That's better.
I like that.

Beautiful.

You're so smooth against the tree.

Rough and smooth.

Your hands are so cold.

Beautiful, beautiful!
Nude, tied to the tree.

- I want to photograph you like this.
- The photographs later.

- And they'll cost extra.
- Yes, but nude.

Not here.
It's cold.

Come, I know where.

Come.

Close the door.



This okay?

Take it off.

Hurry up with the report
and get her off of there.

Photographer.

- Is he the one who found her?
- Yes, sir.

Yes, I did...
But I don't know anything!

Calm down, kid.
No one here's accusing you.

- Tell me what happened?
- Yes.

I was passing by
and you know how it is, I came in...

and I saw her there,
all covered in blood, tied up.

THE KILLER LEFT THEIR SIGNATURE

- It's him - say the police,
but the accused denies it.

Franco Adami Formally Charged

'Lawyer D'Orazi to defend Franco Adami'
- You know who I'd send to prison?

This idiot journalist here.

"These poor girls get killed and lawyers
defend them for free"

I need to eat, the big lawyers
can afford the expenses.

Not me.

Anyway, he's got it all wrong.

That kid's alibi doesn't hold up.

The newspaper's right.
"It's necessary to teach a lesson"

Listen to what they say.

"They must pay for their crimes"

"For each one that gets away with it,
ten criminals find courage"

"It's time to set an example"

"To restore law and order to a province
that was once a model of law and order"

Very well written.
Who wrote that? Let me see.

He's good.
Giorgio Tavani.

It had to be him.
He writes how he talks.

I wish he'd just leave the page blank.

People like this poor kid,
they're sick, real sick.

Yes?
Well that poor girl is dead.

And that other one, two years ago?
With the truck drivers.

They got away with it.

Don't make me laugh.
You think this one's crazy?

Get out of here!
If he's crazy then we're all crazy.

- Indeed, we're all a little crazy.
- Yes?

- We were a bit crazy in bed earlier.
- That has nothing to do with it.

If you're trying to say we're all dirty,
that's a different story.

It's the same thing, Princess.
Crazy, dirty...

For five minutes the brain
takes a walk.

Then you come back to normal,
but not everyone.

It's like a set of scales.

Over here, sex, animal aggression,
death.

Over here, survival instinct, reason,
love.

A bit here, a bit there.

But if the scales break.

The face never changes,
but the scales are broken inside.

Beyond repair.

Of all the circumstantial trials...

This is the most circumstantial of trials.

The testimonies that you jurors
have heard in this courtroom...

have demolished, one by one,
the pillars of the prosecution's case.

Franco Adami's alibi leaves
no room for doubt.

It's true, Adami,
in the first instance...

Unaware the police had found his
belt at the scene of the crime...

Denied ever having met Mirella.

This, according to the prosecution...

The clue of clues!

Mirella.
Who knew her?

No one.

Only two people turned up
to identify her.

An elderly couple who were
putting her up.

And also...

How many people have stopped
at that crossroad...

and whiled away some time
with that lady of the night?

I'm not here to moralise.

I know all about human weaknesses.

Even in the most respectable people.

Most above suspicion!

I would like for a moment,
people of the jury.

That in your place there were lots
of respectable people from this city.

The jealous keepers of
certain personal secrets.

They would never accept that
this pitiful youth's lie...

Promptly retracted, I should add.

Would be enough to condemn him
for his entire life!

The very same necroscopy
in the police's forensics report...

is the biggest flaw in the
prosecution's case.

According to the necroscopy, the
girl died between nine and twelve.

But that was precisely the time when
the girl saw most of her clients.

Adami met her in the afternoon.

At least four witnesses saw him
returning to the village before sunset.

Franco Adami is innocent!

If we weren't absolutely certain...

We wouldn't have refused a
psychiatric evaluation for our client.

But you know, ladies and gentlemen
of the jury.

Asking for a psychiatric evaluation
for a perfectly normal youth...

Actually, exceptionally well-balanced,
like Franco Adami...

Means standing alongside the prosecution.

Admitting the slightest suspicion
of guilt.

The accused refused!

And the defence stands by his refusal.

The clear reason of Franco Adami
appeals to your clear conscience.

People of the jury.

Nor will we settle for an acquittal
due to lack of evidence.

Franco Adami, unlike the
conservative press...

which has already reached its
verdict before this court...

Evidently for politically motivated
reasons.

He is innocent!

In the Adami case, we challenge
certain police methods...

And the press, which we won't hesitate
to call instruments of a de facto justice.

This newspaper's got some nerve.
They're risking a nice lawsuit.

What do you think, lawyer?

Isn't it strange, a key witness
turning up at the last minute?

What's so strange?
He's guilty as sin!

- She's right.
- Make an example of him.

- You want to hang him, Maria?
- Sure.

Maybe the newspaper can
provide the rope.

He'll get away with it.

The defence lawyer already
has the jury in his pocket.

- I don't think so.
- No?

- Lawyer D'Orazi hasn't got a clue.
- D'Orazi hasn't got a clue?

A lawyer like him?

I'm telling you, he hasn't got a clue.

They used to defend people like that
in my grandfather's times.

Put it on my tab.

I didn't come forward before
because it was all going so well.

The police had caught him.

I didn't want to come here
and put myself in the spotlight.

But then, when I saw
that muderer over there...

was going to get away with it
because of a lack of evidence.

So I said to myself, sure, spying on
couples like I do isn't nice...

but killing them is something else.

So I decided to tell the
newspaper editor everything.

Mr. Tavani.

And Mr. Tavani told me
I have to talk to a lawyer.

- Right?
- Sure.

I didn't want to, your honour.
I don't like being in the spotlight.

Have you received any money
from the newspaper?

What are you talking about?
It was a matter of...

What do you call it?
Conscience!

Then tell us the facts in order,
and please be very clear.

- I was hiding not far from the cabin.
- Speak up!

I go there sometimes
because I like to watch.

Good.

Then I saw them going in
and I followed them.

They made love.

I noticed he was getting a bit restless.

I don't think he could get it up.

And then he started taking
photos of her.

Like this now.
With your arms up.

It's more artistic.

He took lots of them,
in various poses.

I thought he worked for one
of those magazines.

Now, like this.

Smile.

Now we'll add an effect.

With a bit of blood.

What are you doing?
Stop!

I just froze.
Then I got scared, real scared.

And I ran off.

It's him, your honour.
He killed that poor girl!

It was him!

- No.
- Finally!

Key witness topples
Franco Adami's defence.

No, it's not true!

- It wasn't me.
- Calm down.

I want to help you but you've
got to help me, tell me the truth.

You know no one wanted
to defend you.

But I accepted to save you.
You understand?

No, no...

Listen to me.

Listen to me.

I know you didn't do it.

It was someone.
Something that's inside of you.

Who knows how long it's been there?

But you mustn't think of me as a lawyer,
you must think of me as a father.

- I've never had a father.
- I know.

I've been following your trial.

Your mother also left you
when you were young.

You were thirteen.

And you couldn't tell anyone
what you feel inside.

But you didn't want to hurt
that poor girl.

That thing inside of you woke up
when you saw her naked, tied up.

It wasn't your hand that struck her,
it was the other guy.

It wasn't her you were attacking,
it was the other guy, right?

You wanted to kill that monster
that torments you.

Which perhaps some other time...

Say it.
Confess.

Open up your soul.
You have a father to talk to.

You have someone.

And confessing is the only
way you'll save yourself.

You're sick.
How can they condemn someone who's sick?

- It wasn't me.
- Indeed, you didn't want to kill her.

You just wanted to see the blood.

The blood.

You can't do it if you don't see blood.

The blood!

When I saw she wasn't waking up,
I ran away.

So she bled to death.

And you were already in the village
when she died.

But how did you know what
the other guy had done?

- I bet you even slept well that night.
- Yes.

- What did you do with the photos?
- I destroyed them, the day after.

When I heard the police
were looking for me.

- Did you look at them?
- No! I burnt the negatives.

So you cleaned house.

You're a good kid, Franco.
It's the other guy that's terrible.

We've got to chase this evil away,
with his blood.

The blood!
It all started with the blood.

My mother had just died.

And I was working in a small hotel
in the mountains.

I used to always go and spy
on the hotel slaughterhouse.

It was stronger than me.

One day Giulio caught me.
He was the hotel waiter.

He was always hovering around me.
Like he wanted to be my friend.

What are you looking at?

Nothing.
The butcher.

Do you like watching them
kill the animals?

There were some good times in my life.

I'd forgotten about the blood.

But then...

Tell me.
You need to get it out.

You didn't do those things,
it was the other one.

Sometimes I even tortured animals.

But I liked animals.

But it was stronger than me,
seeing the blood.

Remembering those sensations,
reliving certain moments.

I've read it, your honour,
it's a real masterpiece of sarcasm.

I don't give a damn about
what you write about me.

I like a drink or two, so what?

Everyone likes a drink,
including you.

Sorry to disappoint you
but I don't drink.

I should have known.
That explains a lot.

Former parachutist, conservative,
teetotal!

This doesn't stop me from
having some fine cognac.

If you like?

Well, a drop.

Just to show you I'm not upset.

Please.

- It's sad drinking alone.
- We'll be sad together.

It's good.

You're not the only who's been
talking about me in this city.

But your insinuations don't hurt me.

They're hurting that poor kid.
He's sick.

Sick?
He's a sadistic murderer.

Murderers are almost always sick.

Especially in cases like ours.

Irresponsibility
or social responsibility?

Listening to you, we should
open all the prisons.

Hell no!
Prisons, murderers, lawyers...

That's what increases the paper's
circulation.

How many more copies will you sell
covering this trial?

Get to the point.
What do you want?

I'm wondering what you want?

You talk about rights and science,
but have you ever studied medicine?

- Are you interested in psychoanalysis?
- Psychoanalysis?

An alibi for debauchery?
To break every social restraint?

I'm aware of your political views.

The total destruction of
middle-class taboos.

- You're ignorant.
- How dare you?

You're ignorant and don't know
what you're doing.

But what do you care if some
22-year-old kid gets a life sentence?

The girl he killed was 17

Have you ever been inside
a criminal asylum?

A visit might make you see sense.

Why don't you come to
St. Anselmo with me?

A half hour drive.

There are people in there
who seem completely normal.

No less normal than Franco Adami.

Yet they're crazy.

I think you've also got a conscience.

Everyone says you're an honest man.
An officer, decorated.

An election candidate,
but an honest man.

You're entitled to your beliefs,
but the newspaper?

- It's a terrifying tool in your hands.
- Listen here...

Your hundred thousand copies
hammer out public opinion.

The jurors read your articles.

You strike every day,
hammering it into them.

As if you were in council chambers.
I see it all the time!

- What are you getting at?
- I told you.

I want you to come with me,
then write whatever you want.

A visit to a criminal asylum will
convince you that society is unfair.

That the law is wrong.
We're still in the dark ages.

If someone has a bad heart
or liver, society intervenes.

Social care, free cures.

But if their illness is here,
if it's inside and you can't see it.

If microscopes can't spot the bacteria.

Then the illness isn't cured,
it's punished.

- The patient is beaten down.
- Franco Adami has killed.

Everyone kills.
Not just the sick, and the sane.

The tuberculosis and encephalitis
sufferers we treat in hospital.

They've already spread their illness.

A baby can kill their mother
in childbirth.

The rich can kill the poor.

Whoever governs can kill
with an almighty war.

A woman sometimes kills the man
they say they love.

I know what you're up to.

You want the paper on your side in
order to get public opinion behind you.

Neutral, at least.
I have every right.

So you want me as an ally?

And you say it like that, openly,
to my face.

- Not even D'Orazi tried that.
- He hasn't got a damned clue.

He maintained his innocence.

You just have to look in that
poor kid's eyes.

But you've got to know how
to read him, he's a killer.

- Precisely.
- And he's a killer because he's sick.

- He's crazy!
- If he's crazy then we're all crazy.

I've heard that before,
but from someone who wasn't too smart.

Sorry, I'm busy now.

You really don't get it.
I'm not asking for him to be acquitted.

I just want to spare him
a life sentence.

Do you know what a life sentence is?
It's much worse than a death sentence.

And that kid wouldn't last,
I'm sure of it.

His mind is too fragile.
He'd find a way to kill himself.

Don't trouble yourself.
I see we have nothing more to say.

You do your talking in court,
I do mine here!

What gives you the right
to decide a man's fate?

Show him out.

Listen, I've got my own score
to settle with God.

But you who claim to be a catholic
should act on your conscience.

Someone like me,
God won't pay much attention.

But someone like you,
he'll be watching.

- News desk?
- Yes?

- Send Barney to me.
- Right away.

What do you know about lawyer Montani?
He seems half crazy to me.

Or better, a protester,
even if he hasn't got long hair.

He's not from here, he's from Carrara,
the land of anarchists.

He used to be a respected lawyer
before he started drinking.

Now he lives on the fringes of the
courthouse, he collects the crumbs.

- Does he have any family?
- No, I don't think so.

But he likes the ladies.
He lives with a nightclub dancer.

I'd like to know more about this man.

Where he comes from.
His past.

- How much?
- 750

Wait.

Be careful or you'll fall.

The telephone!
Who the hell's calling at this hour?

It's probably for you,
asking for seconds!

Very funny!
What am I doing with you?

Love is blind, abnormal,
paralytic and drunk!

Drunk, right!
Who the hell is it?

Come and open the door.

Come on.

Hello?
Who's speaking?

The nightclub manager?

No, Ren?e doesn't do seconds!

Newspaper?
What newspaper?

The newspaper editor?

I'm sorry, Mr. Tavani!
Yes, it's me, lawyer Montani.

There was some intereference.

No, there's no session tomorrow.
The trial resumes on Monday.

What?
I'm really glad you called me!

Thank you very much.

Okay, okay, goodnight!

Who was that?

Good news, princess.

- A tango?
- You're crazy! What woke you up?

Yes, princess, I'm wide awake!

Criminal Asylum

I'm lawyer Montani, we have
an appointment with the warden.

Let's go, Tavani.

Good morning, lawyer.

Good morning.

Please, follow me.

A little visit every now and then
is good for the law and also the press.

When we examine the inner
psychology of our patients...

we must always take two
fundamental factors into account.

Factors we have defined with the
Greek names, Eros and Thanatos.

That is, love and death.

Of course, by love and death
we mean the ultimate tendency.

In the first, Eros...
That is, love.

We find all those manifestations
which lead to reciprocal attraction.

To the union,
and then procreation.

But this path is no bed of roses.

Because, if it's true that all
sublimated feelings depend on it.

Like friendship, affection, sympathy,
enthusiasm and devotion.

But they also depend on the most
primitive erotic manifestations.

From a child's primordial urges
in their early years.

To boys' solitary habits,
to unfulfilled desires.

To everything, in short, which
satisfies their ultimate desires.

That is, the approach and the union.

Which reach their culmination
in the physical union of the sexes.

The second source of impulses is
the aggressive tendency, destructive.

This inspires negative affections
and feelings like antipathy...

aversion, malice, hatred, rage.

We call it thanatos, instinct of death.

But death only as a distant goal.

Along its path, there is
separation and destruction.

It's a mistake.

It's a serious mistake
in children's early education...

to keep this tendecy repressed
inside.

In fact, from eros we tend to cultivate
kindness, friendship, goodwill.

And to repress its other aspect,
which is also natural...

Sexuality.

Thanatos, that is,
the destructive instinct...

Tends to be glorified in depictions of
heroism, wars, and sporting achievments.

And to repress it in its own
manifestations, which are also natural.

Such as a child's aggression.

Their biological egotism.

All repressions, be they
conscious or subconscious, collide.

All the traumas we suffer tend
to crystalise in our character.

They become a permanent asset.

One of the tenets of neuropsychology
is the so-called compulsion to repeat.

A tendency to recreate the psychological
conditions of one's childhood.

Now, if you'd care to follow me.

- This way.
- Good morning, warden.

I'll show you a typical case
of compulsion to repeat.

A person who will seem
completely normal to you.

And yet he has no hope of
being cured.

At the time, the press dubbed
him 'the doll lunatic'

- Yes, I remember.
- Precisely.

We're sure that if he was ever
released he'd repeat his crimes.

Not even the threat of death
would stop him.

In a subject like this, the eros and
thanatos instincts are so closely tied...

that deep inside, this chastisement
and self-destruction...

become the pivotal trigger which
pushes them to murder.

In other words, they kill and destroy
what they love...

on the condition that they will be
killed and destroyed in turn.

Good morning.

At ease.

Here's our Mr. Usai.
How are you?

Fine, I had a headache
this morning but it's gone.

They gave me a pill in the infirmary.

- What are you making?
- Drawings of the staff.

Good, good.

- You can sit down.
- Thank you.

This gentleman's a journalist,
he wrote about you last year.

A journalist!
Which newspaper?

Mr. Tavani edits the local newspaper.

- You read it sometimes, right?
- Not really, just the gossip.

I like reading the city gossip.
And the cinema!

I like to know what's playing
at the cinema.

This gentleman's going into the city
in a few days, he could be of some use.

Great!
Can I give him a letter?

Sure, give him the letter.

- If it's not too much?
- No.

It's a project for the society for
the re-education of single mothers.

The chairwoman is a friend of mine.
I don't know if you know her?

Countess Sandrelli.
A lady, a real lady!

Incredibly wealthy, I'm hoping
she'll cooperate with the institute.

These gentlemen don't know about
your institute, you should explain.

It doesn't matter,
as long as she gets the letter.

When I'm discharged from this hospital,
then I'll see my dream realised!

The Francesca Catoni orphanage.

I would have already done it, if I hadn't
fallen victim to that vicious slander.

Sure.

In any case, if they could
locate little Francesca...

she'd immediately tell the truth.
She's so obedient.

She's so good.
But they won't let her come back.

I feel sorry for her father.
It crushes my heart when I think of him.

- Have you ever met him, sir?
- No, I don't think so.

He's a good man.
I don't know what got into him.

He was unrecognisable in court.

I looked at him,
and I asked myself, is that really him?

Memmo Catoni, the joker.

The life and soul of the market.

Check out these apples!

Come on, ladies and gents!
You won't believe our prices!

Hold on, lady, look at what
I've got for you! Bananas!

It's the tenth time you've been back!
You've got to stop!

It's twice as much now
with all the interest!

I'm not paying it!
You damned loanshark!

Calm down, the accountant's a good man
unless proven otherwise!

- Don't worry.
- With that damned interest?

It's the fifth time he's put it off,
I can't pay the interest for him.

Those people are ignorant!
Just ignore them.

- Have you got your fruit?
- No.

- Give him something!
- What do you want?

I'll see you tomorrow.

- Hi, Mum.
- You're back early?

We finished earlier today.

My maths teacher is sick.

Accountant.

Hello, Francesca.

Stop hanging around.
Go home.

I was just there.
Grandma wouldn't even let me in.

She's run out of oil
and she didn't have any money.

Get it from your father.
Memmo, the till.

Here, now go home.

Grandma!
It's me.

At last!
What took you so long?

- What did you get me?
- Nothing.

Good morning, accountant!

Good morning, Adele.

Where are you going?
Come here!

- Hello, Tonino!
- Sorry!

Not at all, my dear.
I've got something for you.

For you and for Francesca.

- Come on, let's go.
- No.

- You've got to eat.
- I don't want to.

I'm not hungry.

No one knew exactly who Usai was,
or where he came from.

He lead a very reserved life.

Even the police found it difficult
to collect any information.

He was always good to me.
He'd been here a few years.

He used to live in the centre.
He was a widow.

He once told me that his wife died
when she was ninteteen.

Such a long time ago?
I was surprised.

Then he explained that they
married when she was sixteen.

- Did anyone ever visit him?
- Sometimes, but mostly neighbours.

He was very kind.
Always willing to help.

I used to clean his place once a week.

He had two or three other girls
do some cleaning as well.

The little hussies!

Now I think about it,
maybe he chose them on purpose.

Slowly, slowly, his image of her
had transformed into an idol.

Into an obsession.

- Stop it, Tonino!
- No!

Enough!
Come down!

I want to try!
Get off!

I want to try!

Accountant!

Excuse me, accountant.
What's the square root of 728?

You're still studying?
I thought you went to sleep a while ago!

No way, I've got to do
my maths homework.

Dad got upset when he saw
my grades today.

- So they've all gone to the cinema.
- And your grandmother?

Daddy took her on purpose to spite me.

- Have you got a little problem?
- I wish it was just one.

I've got three to do.

Come here and show me,
I'll help you.

I'll be right over!

- Excuse me, accountant.
- Not at all, come in, my dear!

Come, dear.
I was just having a snack.

- Can I help you?
- No, it's all done.

This here.

Let's see.

A barrel maker has to fill five barrels,
each with a total capacity of 47 litres.

Sit down, dear.

Well, let's see...

Is your hair bothering you?

Why don't you make braids?
You're very pretty with braids.

Yes, but in the day.
I let it down in the evening.

Also with your hair pulled up, like this.

What do you think?

You look really good with your hair up.

You look like a doll.

You really are a beautiful doll.

My homework?

There's one that looks like you.
I'll show you.

Isn't she pretty?

- Where are you going?
- It's late.

It's late and I have to go.

But there's time.
There's lots of time.

- My homework?
- No one's waiting for you.

Come, dear.
I'll help you with your homework.

Let me go!
No!

- Let's go to the dolls.
- I don't want to!

Don't be afraid.

I want to go home!

Let me go!

- Come on, mum, we've arrived.
- When you get to my age...

- Why's the door open?
- I don't know.

Francesca.

Francesca's not here, the light's on,
she was doing her homework.

She must have gone to the
accountant for help.

At this hour?

- Francesca!
- My god!

Usai was the perfect clerk,
a shrewd accountant.

And he's a typical example
of compulsion to repeat.

Psychological analysis revealed a
hidden trauma in his early childhood.

He was eight years old.

As a child, Usai adored dolls.

The doll!
My doll!

Give it back!

- What's wrong with you?
- Leave him alone, he's just a kid.

He was jealous of girls who had them.
He even hated them.

Not only were his parents worried
about this tendency...

but they felt lessened,
offended in their pride.

They'd wanted a boy so much.

Come on, let's go.

What is this unnatural fascination
of yours with dolls?

- Why won't you let him be?
- You'd better change your ways!

Keep out of this!

Tell me where you put that doll?
Where have you hidden it?

- Where have you put it?
- I didn't take it.

- What's this then?
- That's enough!

Don't contradict me!
Not only is he an embarrassment...

He's put my job in jeopardy!
I'm a laughing stock!

Stop meddling!
It's time for you to grow up!

That cruel repression was an
enormous mistake by his parents...

and it remained in his soul.

Certain childhood traumas are
just like germs in an illness.

And when they become adults,
sometimes they turn into obsessions...

and other times they explode in the
form of an irrepressible madness.

That's why someone like Usai...

Who, on the surface,
appears perfectly normal...

Becomes unable to have
sexual relationships.

Unfortunately, that's a regular
sight around here.

Open it.

If you'd care to follow me.

Good morning.
Sit down, sit down.

As I said before, the criminally insane
aren't all victims of childhood trauma.

Sometimes it's simply hereditary
factors, alcoholism, syphilis.

And others.

But whatever the pathogenesis...
That is, the origin of the evil within.

The disease causes the subject to
project certain instincts onto others.

Which we call psychic components.

This process of imbalance is often
caused by a trauma...

which has left its indelible,
pathological, mark.

Aggressiveness, for example.

It's a normal component
of a sexual relationship.

Just think of the relationships
among animals.

Or the initiation ceremonies
of certain primitive tribes.

But, while under normal conditions,
aggressiveness is subservient to love.

As a kick to overcome
certain inhibitions.

Like shyness
or feelings of inferiority.

In pathological conditions
aggressiveness itself can take charge.

That is, to disassociate itself
from the eros instinct...

and serve itself, precisely as
a kind of replacement of eros.

From this imbalance, sadism.

From eros, its natural meaning
disappears, which is love.

And, in a reversal of values,
hate enters and takes over.

Sadism is almost always
an act of vengance.

Against the defeats, the frustrations
and the continuous humiliations.

Especially during childhood.

They reawaken this instinct
for aggression.

A sadist is usually timid,
reserved, inhibited.

Who tries to project themselves
onto others through fear.

I?ll show you where the experiences
of an inhibited subject can lead.

Who, through the phenomenon
of transference...

sees his very own fears
in his victims.

He'll appear completely normal to you.

But he's here because he killed
a woman in a terrible way.

Burnt alive.

Here he is.
How's it going, Gilberto?

How are your rabbits?

Not bad, I was cleaning the cages.
Good morning.

Our Gilberto's an expert.

Animals, plants...
He's an expert.

- You studied agriculture, right?
- Actually, I never finished high school.

Agriculture is one of many interests,
but I prefer gardening.

Flowers.

There's our Gilberto
looking after his flowers.

I don't know what we'd plant
in our garden if he wasn't here.

- And the vegetable patch.
- Right, the vegetable patch!

Gilberto.

- Are you okay?
- Yes, thanks.

Gilberto is a unique case.
Exemplary, I'd say.

Of sadism as revenge, as a way of
conquering his fears and inhibitions.

It's a typical case of transference
and compulsion to repeat.

So, his story...

Orphaned at birth.

His early childhood is spent
in a small orphanage.

And it's there he first begins to feel
different to the others.

He experiences loneliness,
the first humiliations.

Check this one out.

- What do you want? Go away!
- I want to play.

I said go away!
And stop bothering us.

What's going on here?

You're going to stop this once
and for all, is that clear?

I'm not going to keep repeating myself!

Gilberto proved to be particulary
sensitive, vulnerable...

to a hard, severe, education.

And later, in his psychological
analysis...

He'd always remember with
particular bitterness...

the humiliations and punishments
he had been subjected to.

What's this?
You know these are forbidden!

How many times do I have to tell you?
I'll straighten you out!

On your knees!
Face the wall!

You'll stay here until you've
learnt to obey.

And now let us talk about sin.
Or better, let us talk about sinners.

About those who will go to purgatory
and those who will go to Hell!

But the fire in purgatory
is nothing but a caress...

compared to the
frightening fire in Hell.

In addition, the fire in purgatory
has a conclusion.

The fire in Hell is neverending!

Yes, little children,
he who has sinned will go to Hell.

And they will be burnt
by the eternal fire!

Forever!
The flesh of the sinner...

Especially the flesh of he who
has sinned against purity!

They will suffer the torment
of the inextinguishable flame!

Imagine a fire that devours you whole!

That crushes you like the
pincers of a relentless flame!

Forever!

Have you ever tried burning
your hand with a match?

Just a tiny burn.

How painful!

The cells themselves,
the nervous system...

They seem to retreat when faced
with unbearable evil!

This was followed by an episode which
well and truly cemented his mania.

Fire and sins of the flesh.
Flame and sex.

It later transpired he assisted
in the burning down of a brothel.

He was almost fourteen when
he was hired by a farming community.

And it was then that Gilberto
suddenly discovered sexual intercourse.

In circumstances that seemed
to be marked by a twisted fate.

- Sorry, I'm taking cover from the rain.
- Don't stand there, come in.

Come, dry yourself.

Over here, in front of the fire.

Thanks.

- So many potatoes?
- They're all coming back this evening.

- Who?
- The masters.

- Isn't this your house?
- I wish!

It's usually full of people
but there's no one here today.

Come on, take this off.

We'll put it here to dry.

This as well.
It's all wet.

You're embarrassed?
You're a handsome kid.

Almost a man.

Then Gilberto had a more complete
experience.

But sex always remained
the sin of all sins for him.

And the price was fire.

That sexual conditioning never left him.

Even if Gilberto's personality was well
separated from his normal appearance...

and from his pathological,
secret side.

In fact, the kid carved out
quite a path for himself.

He worked as an expert
for a farming company.

At one point he even tried to
normalise his life with a marriage.

But before he got married he
experienced a terrible disappointment...

which lead him to view women as the
bearers of sin, lust and betrayal.

He developed a violent, growing,
hatred of women.

Hate and desire, simultaneously.

This is a normal aggressive
instinct, in addition to eros...

transformed into hate.
A desire for death.

What psychology calls thanatos.

Gilberto only knew women of ill repute.

Look, that one wants you.

Good evening.

Well?
Where are we going?

Gilberto's sex life was a secret
to everyone.

He'd bought an old abandoned
house in order to vent...

To perfect, I'd say, his vice.

Obviously this was all discovered
much later.

When the police found his disturbing
collection in that old house.

That torture garden constituted
Gilberto's mental habitat.

A world of the occult where the ghosts
of his twisted imagination dwelt.

Gilberto paid prostitutes to
transform those images into reality.

Or some semblance of reality.

Well?
How long do I have to stay like this?

Will you hurry up?

What are you doing?

What are you doing?

Careful.
That's hot.

Not so close, it's hot.

Get rid of it!
It's hot!

Be careful!
It's hot!

I was joking, fool!

It was a crescendo.

Gilberto, slowly began to shed
all his inhibitory restraints.

Come over here.
Warm yourself up!

Burn yourself!

There, by the fire.

What are you doing?

You're out of your mind!
I'm leaving and I'm never coming back!

- I pay you!
- I don't give a damn!

- You're staying here!
- You're hurting me!

Damn you!

Adami's trial resumes on Monday,
we've got to move fast.

I want a story on the places
from his childhood.

Barney, you take care of the
slaughterhouse.

You go to the city house.

Of course they'll be different now.

But we must reconstruct
his entire childhood.

An exhaustive report,
humane, sincere, courageous.

This change of opinion
might upset our readers.

No, not if we're informative,
objective.

Like we were in the reconstruction
of the forest murder.

It's our duty to look at
the accused's childhood.

It will be central to his defence.

Science has its rights.

It doesn't mean we're asking
them to be lenient.

But we obviously can't punish
someone who's mentally ill.

If he is mentally ill.

And please...

Photographs.
I want lots of photographs.

Young killer's childhood reconstruction

Psychoanalysis guides us through
a maze of conditions.

It makes us aware of our
social responsibility.

Modern biology illuminates
mysterious hereditary processes.

In the very act of procreation
we bring our conditions with us.

A bad education can magnify
the degenerative state.

Childhood and puberty, these are the most
dangerous areas in our journey as men.

A little boy and a little girl seem
the same age, the same ambiguous being.

It is then that the plant of man
differentiates itself.

We must let nature perform its miracle.

But only in a normal environment.
Free, tolerant, without taboos...

does sexual diversification without
trauma occur.

A normal environment.

But how many of you can say you
grew up in a normal environment?

How many of us adults can say
that we created...

That we create a normal environment
around us?

The elderly look down on the youth.
They judge them, they hold them back.

They punish them.
They don't know.

We don't know how much this
youth anxiety is our anxiety.

How much their brains have
been conditioned since birth...

by the society that we have created.

By the genes that we have
passed on to them.

Fear, violence, alcohol, drugs!

Our sexual perversions.

We presume a child is born
with a blank slate, clean.

A new story to tell the world.

But it's really an old story.
Stained!

Already full of our illnesses
and our wars!

Our Buchenwalds,
Our Auschwitz'

Our Dachaus.
Our hatred.

Our physical and psychic defects.

An abnormal child,
a phocomelic child...

The fruits of a mysterious
hereditary illness...

Or worse, of some medical error,
have all our understanding.

Our care.

But a person born like this.

With no inhibitions or restraints.

Hell bent on the destruction
of others and of himself.

This doesn't move us.

People of the jury, I cannot believe
that you would punish someone...

without first hearing the enlightened
opinion of modern science.

In the name of the Italian people.

This court, in proceedings
against Franco Adami...

...sentences Franco Adami
to twelve years incarceration.

And, as a safety precaution,
three years in a criminal asylum.

You sit here.

And you sit here.

- Where's Tavani?
- Here he is.

Where have you been?

It's not the Lido but it's a jolly place.

- What do you think, Maria?
- It's not bad.

I can't believe it!
Mr. Tavani in a den of iniquity!

My dear lawyer!
You shouldn't be too surprised.

- Did you think I was that moralistic?
- I believed you.

You're a real bigot in disguise!

- Will you have a drink with us?
- Provided it's not mineral water.

As long as the first round is on me.

What an honour to have such
a great lawyer at our table.

Let's hope he doesn't make us
relive the trial.

We're really glad to have you
as our guest.

Cheers.

Haven't you had enough?

Please don't let him drink too much
because I have to put up with him after.

Isn't she sophisticated?

Sorry, that's Ren?e.

She's a bit of a grouch
but she's got a good heart.

She's the only one who'll
put up with me.

She's the only one who'll put up with me
also because she's got a kid to support.

Excuse me.

I feel sorry for him.

Let's dance?

Something wrong?

No, just getting some fresh air.
I can't breathe in there.

You fought like a lion for that kid.

And I'd like to say that
I'm convinced as well now.

It wouldn't be right
if I didn't tell you.

This time it was luck,
the witness.

You're a good man.

My task,
it's like life is calling me back.

Like you could win a battle
you've already lost.

That other time was different,
they were relentless.

Don't drink anymore.

This nullifies the years,
it distances them.

It confuses lives.

The chaos a man carries inside.

All their life.

Like a mistake to deny,
to destroy.

Twenty.

He was only twenty years old.

Do you know who this is?

Your son.

What?
You knew?

I found out that evening.

Yes, that evening when I called you.

And you didn't say a word.
You kept it to yourself.

There's also a moral code.
I respect it.

Yes, I'm a journalist.

- But first I'm a man.
- Thank you.

He was twenty when it happend.

And for twenty years he carried
those damned demons inside.

That us,
me and his mother...

and who knows which damned
ancestor gave him at birth.

I've got my alcohol
and my father's alcohol.

The alcohol killed him.

And his mother?
Her vice was her wickedness.

She abandoned him when he was two.

But his mother was inside him,
in his blood.

She was consumed by her vices.

She left him for her vices.
A perverted sadist!

That's what she gave him
as a mother!

Then the war,
a life of poverty.

Of encounters.

He was already crazy when
he killed that boy.

But they didn't know he was crazy
and they punished him.

After a week in prison
he hanged himself.

And he wrote that he was
heading for freedom.

Well he's certainly at peace.

Where real justice doesn't
just look at the fruit on the tree.

But at the roots,
at the very land that gives it life.

Come on, let's go back inside.

Come on.

Look at the fate of humanity.

They mingle, they meet,
they go their separate ways.

That kid, what encounters
will he have?

What fate awaits him?

Where do their feelings originate?

Each one waiting for the other
with their evil.

Evil?
God's left hand.

But anywhere, even here,
the right hand is always present.

So they say.
Let's just hope He's not left-handed.

Subtitled by Sigmund Freud
and the Loose Cannons - November 2021

Many thanks to rgiff300

And the Pope