L'attesa (2015) - full transcript

[suspenseful music]

[indistinct chanting]

[whispering]

[knocks]

[furniture scraping on floor]

[knocks]

[door closes]

[door screeches open]

[door closes]

[phone rings]

[phone continues ringing]



Hello?

No, he's not here.

I'm his mother.

Come over.

I'll be waiting.

[hangs up phone]

[melodic music]

[airplane revving]

-[car revving]
-[wind howling]

[truck engine revving]

[door unlocks]

[footsteps]

We're back.

The girl's in the room
by the hallway.



[crickets chirping]

[footsteps]

Thanks.

Am I eating alone?

I'm not sure she'll be
coming down, she's not well.

I'm sorry.

Giuseppe's not here?

You should talk to her.

[cup rattling]

She'll be better in the morning.

[light switch clicks]

[footsteps]

[mobile vibrates]

[dishes rattling]

[footsteps]

[beeps]

[girl] I'm packing my bags,
what should I bring?

Should I buy something
for Easter, a gift?

You celebrate it, right?

I'll bring your glasses,
the broken ones,

you left them at my place.

Oh, [exhales] I have a bad
surprise for you.

You'll hate me,
but I bought a guidebook.

To make up for it
I brought the red dress.

Is it too light?

Call me back before I leave.

[beeps]

[crickets chirping]

[beeps]

Where are you, Giuseppe?

I told your mom
I couldn't reach you

and that I arrive
by plane tomorrow.

She sounded odd...

I must've come across
as an idiot.

Call me when you get
this message,

I don't know what to do.

You don't want me
to come anymore?

[beeps]

Answer me, please.

I just got to your house.

You invited me,
where on earth are you?

Should I wait up or go to sleep?

I'll leave the door ajar,

wake me when you get here.

I want to make love to you.

I'll be waiting.

[window creaks]

[wind howls]

[video game music playing]

[murmurs]

[indistinct chatter]

[breathes]

-Good morning.
-Good morning.

Are you feeling better
this morning, ma'am?

I'm Jeanne.

-Do we know each other?
-Aren't you Mrs. Remigi?

You must be looking
for my sister-in-law.

Sorry, I saw you here
and assumed you were her.

I came to give Anna a hand.

You've never met
my sister-in-law?

I arrived last night
and she wasn't feeling well.

-You arrived last night?
-Yes, Pietro picked me up.

[footsteps]

Jeanne...

Good morning.

I just made a fool of myself
with your sister-in-law.

[coffee pouring]

Has Giuseppe arrived?

I'll bring the guests
some coffee.

[footsteps]

I'll help you.

Be right back, excuse me.

Who's she?

She came from Paris last night.

I'm waiting
for the right time to tell her.

[footsteps]

[wind blowing]

[crickets chirping]

[footsteps]

Sorry about last night.

I wanted to be there
for your arrival but...

couldn't manage.

Did you sleep well?

Where's Giuseppe?

Why wasn't he here last night?

Why isn't he here now?
He knew I was coming.

We've suffered a terrible loss.

My brother died.

I'm sorry...

I didn't know.

It all happened so suddenly...

Is that why Giuseppe's not here?

I have to go back in,
they're waiting.

-[footsteps]
-[door closes]

[dog barking]

[Jeanne] Sorry,

I've been mad at you
since yesterday.

This morning I even hated you.

Your mom told me what happened,
I'm sorry.

I don't know if you're listening
to my messages...

I wish you were here.

I had that dream
about water again,

but I was in a tall tower
this time.

I wrote it down when I woke up.
You were in it too.

We had to climb a bunch
of stairs to reach the lake.

[chuckles]
High up above. [inhales]

Once up there it was really hot,

and I can't remember why

but I couldn't go in the water.

I want to sleep with you.

I want to sleep pristinely,

without dreams.

When are you coming?

What'll I do here alone?

[rap music playing on stereo]

[dings]

Pietro said I could help
myself so...

You don't have to explain.

Sorry,
I'll make you something warm.

-No need, ma'am.
-Yes.

[lighter clicking]

I'm wondering
if I've come at a bad time.

I wouldn't want to be a burden
to you.

No, you're not.

Maybe it's best
if I come back some other time.

Can you get the white wine
from the fridge?

Yes.

[Anna] And a glass.

[sizzles]

-Is the wine for me?
-Yes.

[Jeanne] Sorry,
but I don't drink.

Ever?

Giuseppe made that same face
the first time

we went out to eat.

How did you first meet?

At my house.

Ah, at your house.

I woke up and he was having
breakfast in my kitchen.

-You didn't know him?
-[Jeanne] No.

But my roommate did.

But she'd left for work,

so he and I had
breakfast together.

So you fought
with your roommate over him?

No, we still live together.

He wasn't dating her?

Not really, no.

[laughs]

[sauce pan rattles]

Can I help you, ma'am?

-Eat up.
-Thanks.

It's good.

Stay here, Jeanne.

[man] Will she stay tonight too?

[Anna] She'll be needing
clean towels.

[reporter] There was hope
that Pope John Paul II

would be present.

It's the first time
in 26 years of papacy.

The Pope hasn't spoken...

[indistinct shouting]

[indistinct chatter]

[footsteps]

[Jeanne] Hello.

Hello.

Do you need anything?

To sleep.

[music plays on tv]

I wanted to ask you something
without anyone else around...

I was thinking of buying flowers
for Mrs. Remigi,

but maybe it's inappropriate.

When was her brother's funeral?

No need to buy her flowers.

No need to do anything.

[indistinct shouting on tv]

[indistinct chatter on tv]

I'd like to go see the town.

Is there a bus?

There are no buses here.

-Morning.
-Good morning, ma'am.

You should've called me,
been up long?

I didn't want to bother you,
I wanted to go into town.

Into town?

It was just a thought...

There's not much to see.

With this heat, it's best
to walk around the grounds.

Let me show you around, come on.

[footsteps]

[helicopter whirring]

[birds chirping]

Can I take a swim, ma'am?

The water must be cold.

You can call me Anna
if you'd like.

Do you want to come, Anna?

No.

I'm used to seeing some parts
of my body only in the dark.

[exhales]

[helicopter whirring]

[wind howling]

[suspenseful music]

[breathes]

[waves breaking]

[breathes]

[panting]

[panting continues]

[breathes heavily]

[air deflates]

[gasps]

[birds chirping]

[Jeanne] Where are you?

Why won't you answer?

I haven't slept for two nights.

Your mom is odd.

Did you tell her
about last summer?

Is that why you're
not answering?

I thought that was behind us.

I stopped calling
when you said to,

I came back when you said to...

What must I do to make you
forgive me?

[footsteps]

[man] Your sister-in-law called.

You should call her back.

Is Jeanne back?

[man] Yes.

[footsteps]

Breathe slowly.

[breathes slowly]

It's too hot.

[Anna] But you have to stay
for it to work.

[exhales]

Did you sleep last night?
You look tired.

[Jeanne] I'm a light sleeper.

How are things with Giuseppe?

Fine.

Did he tell you about me?

Did you know I was coming?

Yes.

What did he tell you about us?

I'm his mother,
what do you think he'd tell me?

[breathes]

Lately he'd been... quiet.

You know how he can be.

He seemed sad.

[crickets chirping]

[dog barks]

Thank you.

[slurps]

[exhales]

Do you do that for every trip?

It's a method of mine,
so I don't get bored.

[exhales]

-Can I see?
-Yes.

I've never been able to.

You already knew Italian
when you came here?

[groans]

Not as well as you.

I hitchhiked here without being
able to say a word to anyone.

[chuckles]

My husband was the first
who spoke some French,

it was like a miracle for me.

-He gave you a ride, too?
-Yes.

[slurps]

When...

when I met
my husband's mother...

I didn't know how to behave.

You met her here?

Yes, they lived here then.

I didn't know...

how to present myself to her,
as a young and naive girl,

or as a self-assured woman.

What did you feel like?

Neither of the two...

I think I was eager
for her to like me.

Like you.

[footsteps]

[man] The mosaic depicts
ten women in bikinis

putting on a show
in honor of the goddess Tethys.

Judging from their bodies,

we can deduce
that beauty standards

were different than today.

In the first centuries,

three out of ten women died
in childbirth.

Wide hips, hence the chance
of surviving childbirth,

were greatly valued by men
ack then.

You thought Louis Réard
invented it?

-Huh?
-The bikini.

That's before your time.

[Anna] Feeling better?

Yes, thanks.

Thanks to the Turkish bath,

one of the few good things
my husband left me.

[Jeanne] You didn't see
eye to eye?

We did, very much.

Even when it came
to getting divorced.

[laughs]

I was the first woman to divorce
in this part of Sicily.

-Did you know that?
-Yes. [giggles]

Giuseppe told me.

He even told me
about his grandmother's divorce.

[exhales]

Yes.

When my mother-in-law realized

that God didn't strike me dead
after the divorce,

she wanted to do the same.

She began saying,
"I want to live my own life!"

What did she do after divorcing?

Nothing, she went to live
with her son.

One day I had
an overwhelming feeling

that it was over
between me and him.

I saw him from afar
with his lover,

a coworker who was half his age.

He was smoking
and gesticulating, being funny,

and she looked at him...

And laughed,
hung on his every word.

There was a veneration
in her eyes

that I would never again feel.

Never again.

Were you disappointed?

No, I knew he had a lover,

I wasn't jealous.

Feeling jealousy means
you still desire someone, right?

Are you jealous?

Very.

How about Giuseppe...
is he jealous?

Yes.

I was jealous...

of my husband when I still
wanted to make love to him.

We tried to pretend
for many years,

but couldn't manage.

Do you mind me telling you this?

No, why would I?

I don't know...

because I'm
your boyfriend's mother.

You must be thinking...

"Now what should I say to her?

[both laugh]

Maybe this, maybe not that..."

When Giuseppe invited me
to come here

we hadn't spoken
to each other in weeks.

He surprised me.

Our relationship was dissolving,

that's why he was sad.

-[water dripping]
-[footsteps]

[dog barks]

[water running]

[man] Rosa called again
this morning.

We argued, I won't speak to her.

[dishes clanking]

[Jeanne] Morning.

Good morning.
Did you sleep well?

-Come in, breakfast is ready.
-Thank you.

Since I didn't
welcome you properly,

I'd like to prepare something.

-No need.
-I want to.

-Can I help?
-No, Pietro will.

It will all be ready for you.

Can you buy those things
I wrote down, please?

I'm off,
so I don't ruin the surprise.

[Pietro] Excuse me...

if you want to see the town,

come with me,
I'm going shopping.

Thanks, but we got back late
last night.

Unless you need help,
I'll just stay here.

[footsteps]

How do you say papillon ?

Papillon...

-[boy] You stopped competing?
-Six years ago.

[boy] Why?

Too many rules,
too many impositions.

-What brings you to Sicily?
-I'm waiting for my boyfriend.

You wait all day
at the lake for him?

[Jeanne] I'm staying
with his mother.

We talk on the phone
but he has things to do.

He'll be back for Easter.

He'll be here for the holiday.

Let me see it.

[boy] What?

Butterfly.

[breathes]

[splashes]

[laughs]

How long have you known
each other?

Well, more or less forever.

But if I hadn't told him,

he'd still think
I was shy with girls.

No way, I knew he was gay
right away!

Don't say that
or he'll kill you!

[laughs]

I was concerned at first.

I'd pick up girls
just to introduce them to him.

-You sacrificed yourself.
-[boy] He sacrificed himself...

-Do you have a boyfriend?
-From Monday through Friday.

That's his mantra.

-Is it true or just for show?
-Just for show.

-This pasta is divine.
-Thanks.

It's easy to make.

[boy] Why is it dark?

I used some carob flour.

We saw a valley of carobs.

-What are they?
-They're gorgeous trees.

They produce brown fruit.

They dry on the branch
instead of falling off.

Jeanne...

[wine pouring]

Drinking?

-[Jeanne] Just a bit.
-[groans]

[both laugh]

To the girl who's
become a woman.

What are you two
secretly saying?

When Jeanne got here,

she was like a little girl
on a field trip, shy...

[laughs]

Polite...

but here we are
with two strangers!

[laughs]

You're no longer a little girl
who doesn't drink!

Sometimes I forget!

[both laugh]

[Jeanne] They didn't
seem dangerous.

-He's a bit dangerous.
-I'm not dangerous.

[laughing]

Pietro, Anna made some
delicious food.

Good evening.

-Come sit.
-[Pietro] No, thanks.

I'm tired.

May I speak to you, ma'am?

Yes. Be right back.

Put on some music if you'd like.

Why are you doing this to her?

We're dining with two guests.

What's wrong with that?

What'll you tell her tomorrow
when Giuseppe doesn't return?

Tell her the truth.

Let her leave.

If you don't want to help
with dinner, you can go.

[footsteps]

[melodic music]

[door creaks open]

[car revving]

[birds chirping]

[Jeanne] Good morning.

Good morning.

What are you doing?

Preparing for tomorrow.

-[Jeanne] Can I help you?
-No need to, thanks.

I saw Pietro leaving.

Yes, tomorrow's a holiday
for him, too.

What time is Giuseppe coming?

I don't know.

[Jeanne] You told me
he'd arrive today.

We were just dancing.

[Anna] What?

I saw how you looked at me.

[Jeanne] How did I look at you?

As if I was doing
something wrong,

but there wasn't anything wrong.

Sit down, Jeanne.

I...

I'm sorry, I should've told you
sooner but...

I wasn't able to.

Giuseppe won't be coming back.

What do you mean?

He doesn't want to see you.

He didn't know how to tell you.

How do you know?

It's because of last summer.

I didn't tell you anything
about last summer.

But Giuseppe told me.

Last night when I saw you
dancing...

I wasn't upset with you.

You could've fallen
for that guy.

But nothing happened.

I love Giuseppe.

I know.

Nothing happened
because you're waiting for him.

But Giuseppe won't be coming
back, just forget him.

-That's not fair.
-You're right, it's not.

But you'll get over him
and will forget him.

I can't forget him.

It will happen, Jeanne.

You're young, you'll forget
and fall in love again.

It could've happened last night,
and that's fine.

[sobs]

I can't live without him.

[sobs]

[panting]

You will live,

period.

You will because
that's what everyone does.

And Giuseppe will do it too.

Maybe he'll have a family
and kids...

he'll fall in love
with another woman

that you won't meet, maybe
I won't either, but he'll live,

far from you and your life.

That's that, Jeanne.

Let him go.

[Jeanne] You can't do this
to me.

I hate you.

I hate you! [sobs]

You should've told me,
not your mother!

I came here for you.

I hate you.

Why'd you just disappear?

I knew it.

I knew he wouldn't forgive me.

I should never have come here.

Well, I'm glad you came.

There are festivities
in town tonight,

want to go with me?

Thanks, but I'd rather
stay here.

I need to pack,
my flight's in the morning.

[footsteps]

[door closes]

[footsteps]

I thought you would miss
the festivities.

[knocks]

[Anna] Get out, it's late.

[man] I just got in.

Let me see your hands.

Are you going to punish me now?

Yes.

[exhales]

When you were small,
one day you said

that you would marry me
when you grew up.

So I explained that I was
already married to your father

and you said:
"Then I'll get married alone."

[man] I don't want you
to be alone.

You could've thought of that
before moving far away.

Why don't you stay
a few more days?

[man] I can't.

We didn't have enough
time together.

I miss you.

[sighs]

Will you talk to her?

When I imagine you away,

I prefer picturing
you with her than alone.

[man] You imagine my life?

I can't help myself.

[bells chime]

[indistinct chanting]

[marching]

[drums thumping]

[bells chiming]

[fire crackling]

[indistinct chatter]

[Jeanne] Where are you?

Why won't you answer?

Your mom is odd.

Did you tell her
about last summer?

What must I do to make you
forgive me?

I had that dream
about water again,

but I was in a tall tower
this time.

I wrote it down when I woke up.
You were in it, too.

We had to climb a bunch
of stairs to reach the lake,

high up above.

Once up there it was really hot,

and I can't remember why,
but I couldn't go in the water.

I want to sleep with you.

I want to sleep pristinely,
without dreams.

When are you coming?

What'll I do here alone?

Answer me, please.

I just got to your house.

You invited me,
where on earth are you?

I'll leave the door ajar.

I want to make love to you.

I'm packing my bags,
what should I bring?

Should I buy something
for Easter, a gift?

You celebrate it, right?

I'll bring your glasses,
the broken ones,

you left them at my place.

I brought the red dress
that you like.

Is it too light?

Call me back before I leave.

[Anna] Where are you, Giuseppe?

It's Mom.

Why aren't you answering?
Where are you?

It's pouring out
and it's almost dawn...

Has something happened?

Answer me, please.

Where are you?

[crowd cheering]

[footsteps]

[people laughing]

[footsteps]

[door creaks open]

[footsteps]

Have you packed everything?

This house will be empty now.

[luggage scraps on floor]

[sobs]

[breathes]

[footsteps]

THE WAIT

[ending music]

TO VERONICA
MARIO AND SIMONE