The Son's Room (2001) - full transcript
Giovanni is a successful psychoanalyst who has to put up with the seemingly endless string of trivial details his patients ramble on about. Yet his family provides a loving and steadfast foundation for his life that can even survive a problem like their son, Andrea, being accused of stealing a rare fossil in school. That foundation is profoundly rocked when Andrea dies in a scuba diving accident. Although the usual arrangements run smoothly, the emotional harm is profound. Giovanni begins to obsessively dwell on the missed chances he had with his son that might have saved his life, even blaming his patients. In addition, his wife is inconsolable and his daughter is becoming anti social in their loss. In the midst of this turmoil, a secret of their son's life is revealed that provides healing in a way they never anticipated.
Coming. Yes?
Yes, speaking.
HeIIo.
Yes.
Today?
Why? What's happened?
- I'm here to see the principaI.
- Through there.
Come in!
- HeIIo.
- HeIIo, Mr Sermonti.
Sorry to disturb you.
Have a seat.
- Hi.
- Hi, dad.
Something very unpIeasant
has happened.
A fossiI has vanished
from the science Iab.
A rather rare ammonite.
I wouIdn't Iike Andrea
to be mixed up in it...
Are you taIking about a theft?
Yes, we suspect
Andrea and his friend Luciano.
It wasn't us...
That's what Luciano sau?ys too.
But a cIassmate
apparentIy heard them bragging
about taking the fossiI.
- Not true.
Sorry, but I have to suspend
Andrea and his friend for a week.
How much do you understand
of what I'm saying?
What percentage of understanding
is there here? 20-30%%%?
I've spent 460 hours here.
I've spent 46 miIIion Iira.
PIus, I aIways treat myseIf
to a dress after I finish here!
They do good business
with your patients.
I've asked around.
Even the food store.
I've seen for myseIf.
I shouId teII my cousin
to open a shop here!
You aIways feeI guiIty.
ResponsibIe for what happens.
But we can't controI
our Iives compIeteIy.
We do what we can.
Maybe you shouId Iearn to wait,
instead of aIways having to act.
Learn to be idIe,
that doesn't mean be passive,
just take a more reIaxed
approach to Iife and the worId.
What do you think?
I open the door onto a corridor
where Iots of peopIe
are waIking towards me.
And I think:
the party's aIready over.
Then I open a door
Ieading onto a huge patio.
There's a trapdoor,
some stairs, a smaII door...
What a bore.
This dream's such a bore!
Trapdoors, stairs, doors opening...
It's fuII of symboIs
that you can spend hours on.
But I don't agree with you:
I think it's just a waste of time.
Around 180 pages...
Yes, with the photos.
I've started the introduction...
It seems pretty good.
- Have you spoken to Andrea?
- Excuse me.
- Yes, I spoke with him.
- He toId you?
Yes, he toId me. Just a second.
Giovanni just came in.
Two weeks isn't enough.
I Iike pIaying there.
It's a good fIoor.
The baII makes a different
sound than in our gym.
How come?
Our fIoor's IinoIeum.
You know that...
It makes a duII sound
that doesn't reaIIy inspire you.
It's kind of sticky...
I Iike the sound of the baII
when it hits the racket.
- Me too. Like this...
- Like that.
Thanks.
What's your favorite sport,
sound-wise?
I don't know.
Ice hockey.
Come on, if he said it wasn't him,
just forget it!
AII this fuss over a stone!
- Over a theft, you mean...
- I know what:
if he comes straight away,
it wasn't him.
5 minutes Iate:
that means it was him.
15 minutes Iate:
it was the principaI.
Maybe he even has
a coIIection at home!
Very funny: the principaI
steaIing from the schooI...
- Here I am. - Bingo!
- What's going on?
Nothing...
Here's your prize...
You've won.
Irene invented
a new game in your honor.
Going there
means admitting he did it!
No, I'm just trying to
understand what reaIIy happened.
He didn't do it. I spoke to him.
You know him,
he'd never even think of it.
A theft!
Come on, it's ridicuIous.
A theft...
Let's see what happened,
what the others say.
I don't even know
what an ammonite Iooks Iike.
It's a sort of sheII.
You know... SpiraI-shaped.
Yes.
- Want me to go?
- Yes. But I'd rather go myseIf.
Okay?
Weird houses, huh?
I don't know anyone
who Iives this far out.
How do you get here?
I catch the number 24 bus.
It's a quiet area.
Yes, I know.
It's just that
I'd never been out here before.
Have they been here Iong?
Luciano's Iived here
since I've known him.
So what's this FiIippo Iike?
I've never reaIIy Iiked him.
You saw the fossiI, right?
Luciano opened the bag
and it was inside.
No way!
Those were sneakers
in a pIastic bag!
I didn't see sneakers!
Sneakers are much bigger!
HoId on...
You never mentioned a pIastic bag.
The fossiI was inside!
And they were Iaughing.
So?
Maybe they were just joking.
No. When I wanted
to have a Iook, they run off.
So I wasn't reaIIy abIe to see it.
I didn't actuaIIy see it.
Happy now?
What do you think?
Let him have a word with his parents.
We'II go outside.
Can we use the baIcony?
- Go ahead.
- Thank you, come on.
Through there.
The pIastic bag,
the ammonite, the shoes...
I couIdn't make heads or taiIs of it.
- It seems cIear enough to me.
- It does?
- I'm reaIIy happy.
- So I am, of course.
Ever met Luciano's father?
I saw him at the schooI once.
Why?
- He was a bit aggressive.
- With you?
Oh, come on?
He was hard on FiIippo,
the boy who accused them...
WeII, he was right.
I suppose so...
But it was embarrassing.
FiIippo made it aII up.
Who knows why?
He probabIy doesn't Iike Andrea.
Yes, Andrea toId me that:
they don't get aIong.
I'm scared of becoming a maniac,
of raping a chiId
and ending up in prison.
When I asked you
if I disgusted you,
you said that I didn't.
I was gIad.
Then, I went to see
that fiIm you spoke about.
- It was good.
- I'm gIad
you went to see that fiIm.
That seems very positive.
Maybe. But porn movies are better.
But by choosing to see the fiIm,
you've moved cIoser...
To fuck aII!
I got a porn mag and jacked off
in front of the open window!
I jacked off?
Nice and easy.
I'd taken a VaIium.
I'd Iike to meet
the genius who invented that.
He knows how to heIp peopIe!
Even sIed dogs die because
of the smeII of the peach trees.
They can't stand it.
OnIy one survives, a white husky.
But the hero kiIIs it.
At one point, he boards
a ship fuII of dead bodies.
By page 60 of the book,
they're aII dead!
I aIways Iike
Iistening to your stories.
But shaII we try and see
why you've mentioned this today?
AII these dead peopIe?
I don't know.
There's no specific reason.
PeopIe say I'm in shape.
- And what do you think?
- I'm fine.
Work's going weII.
I'm fine.
Even if I stiII think about suicide,
and feeI that I may weII try again.
Next time,
I might actuaIIy succeed.
How is it you can Iive normaIIy
and stiII consider kiIIing yourseIf?
How can that be?
''Ita res accendent Iumina rebus.''
Easy: ''Thus every mystery
shaII be resoIved.''
- That doesn't mean anything.
- I read it badIy.
''You wiII easiIy comprehend.''
''Everything wiII be enIightened,
night wiII no Ionger bIind your path,
nature wiII fuIfiI you
and every mystery shaII be resoIved.''
- It makes no sense...
- Come on, it's a crystaI cIear!
You think so?
So what does
''Nature wiII fuIfiI you'' mean?
- It's man facing the universe!
- You've smoked too many joints!
- What was that?
- You've smoked too many joints.
- I heard right.
- Yes.
CouIdn't you wait
untiI we finished working!
I smoke aII that time.
Just for the taste.
AII the time?
You're not romantic:
''Man facing the universe.''
- We'II try working tomorrow.
- ChiII out.
- Come on, give me a kiss...
- No.
- A IittIe kiss on the cheek.
- No.
- Okay, I get the message.
- I'm going. - See you.
- I'm going, good evening.
- Good-bye.
''Perductus''...
- What does that derive from?
- Don't ask your mother,
she never studied Latin...
''Perduco'' : to drive,
attract, seduce, extend...
- So... - ''Without hardship,
you wiII be guided...''
''Namque aIid ex aIio
cIarescet nec tibi caeca nox...''
- ''CIarescet''?
- ''Indeed, aII things...''
I guess Matteo was right.
- Man facing the universe...
- He made a good guess!
- Lights out?
- Five more minutes.
Listen to this poem.
It's caIIed ''Toes''.
''What in heII is going on?''
''What kind of toes are these
that nothing matters any Ionger?''
''Are they reaIIy my toes?''
''Have they forgotten the oId days?''
''What it was Iike being aIive?''
''AIways first on Iine,
first onto the dance fIoor
when the music started?''
Nice, isn't it?
HeIIo?
Anybody there?
- Are you tired?
- Yes.
Very tired?
Very, very tired?
This nightgown?
- Does it bother you?
- A IittIe.
- HeIIo.
- PIease; come in. - Thank you.
That's a nice couch.
SimpIe, comfortabIe.
And eIegant, in its way.
But I have no intention
of Iying on it.
So, teII me everything...
Doctor VitaIi, in MiIan,
toId me about you.
To be honest,
I've never heard of you.
You seem a bit young.
4-5 years younger than me.
AnaIysts your own age are the worst.
- Why do you say that?
- Because you're more cynicaI.
For you,
it's just any oId job.
You're younger than me,
not as rich...
And I don't know
if you smarter than me.
Perhaps I'm not
inteIIigent enough for you...
But we're not running
an inteIIigence contest here.
- It's a whoIe other matter.
- How Iong does the therapy Iast?
Who decides when it ends?
In generaI, it's something
that we understand together.
You make quite an impression.
You're so caIm and serene.
That's good for both of us!
''My eyes are fiIIed
with fountains of cIear water.''
''Where I'II drink.''
''I seek forests for myseIf,
and sunbathed vaIIeys
warmer than you.''
''I'm no Ionger staying with you.''
''I Iook at the cIouds over there.''
''And when I go''...
''You'II have to smiIe at me,
if you can,
it won't be easy, you know,
to Iive,
you have to die a IittIe.''
''Good-bye, my Iove, good-bye,
the cIouds are aIready further away.''
There you go!
I thought it was odd.
He aIways
ends up getting distracted,
Ietting his thoughts drift.
And he starts pIaying poorIy.
CaImy,
he puts the baIIs out,
into the net.
CouIdn't you foIIow a IittIe?
You're reading.
You're chatting aII the time.
You know how important it is for him!
Why aren't you competitive?
Don't you ever want to win?
You Iost to Stefano on purpose.
No, I didn't pIay so weII today.
You pIay for the fun of it.
Like this...
You don't pIay to win.
That's the idea behind it.
- Don't you agree?
- No. - What?
Around six...
Excuse me.
Just a second.
What are you doing here?
- A surprise.
- Are you sure? - Yes.
Excuse me. Yes...
Six hundred copies.
- What's up? - They've sent
our exhibition cataIogs for puIping!
- What puIping?
- It's when they shred books.
Thank God!
Thank you so much.
- We'II come over.
You're going to get them back, right?
- I need to taIk to PaoIa...
- I'd reaIized that.
- What's the matter?
- I don't know.
Haven't you found Andrea odd IateIy?
- Odd, why?
- I don't know...
He Iost that game on purpose.
He Iost on purpose!
At his age, it's not
normaI not to want to win.
I don't find it normaI.
He didn't steaI that fossiI.
You beIieve that?
Yes.
Yes, yes.
For two days,
I did everything to perfection.
Then, in a newspaper headIine
I saw the word ''sIow''.
I couIdn't resist,
I had to find its opposite.
I searched the whoIe paper
untiI I found the word ''fast''.
By then, more than
haIf an hour had gone by.
I couIdn't be at the supermarket
by 4 pm as I had pIanned.
I'd sIipped up.
So I set another date:
yesterday at midnight.
Another faiIure:
I drank some water before bad,
but I forgot to steriIize the gIass,
so I drank dirty water.
I have to start aII over again.
Set another date...
- It couId be...
- Listen, RaffaeIIa.
This is my best time of day.
I've drunk my tea.
I've drunk my tea.
I'm Iucid. FoIIow me.
Soccer sneakers for dirt fieId.
For turf fieId.
CycIing, basketbaII, tennis,
racing sneakers and voIIeybaII shoes.
You get so bored.
Why don't you take up a sport?
You have no idea how tiring
it is to Iive Iike this!
I know, because
I'm just as boring as you.
I'II see you on Wednesday?
I don't know if I'm steriIizing
my dishes properIy.
After I've steriIized them,
they get dirty again.
So I have to start aII over again.
I must find a better system.
Front first.
The scissor jump.
Fosbury.
Go stronger, more push here!
- What are you making?
- Potato pie. Your homework?
A whiIe ago.
Can you hand me the breadcrumbs?
Mom...
It was me who took the fossiI.
Me and Luciano.
We didn't want to steaI it.
It was a joke.
Our teacher's obsessed by fossiIs.
We want to see his face...
We didn't want to...
It was stupid.
So that means the boy
who accused you was right?
We'd have put it back but it broke.
We tried to gIue it back together
but it Iooked terribIe.
I wanted to teII dad yesterday.
We went for a waIk.
But it was good...
He was happy.
It was a joke... I swear.
You've never understood me.
You've never had any contact.
This is the Iast time I'm coming.
She's said that for 5 years,
she won't stop now.
I can never understand
what you're feeIing.
It's no matter of method.
You're simpIy coId.
My previous anaIyst
was much Iess distant.
- I got somewhere with him.
- This discouragement isn't new.
Let's try to understand what has
happened and how to move forward.
You're not even annoyed.
You know it's aII over too.
It's not your fauIt.
It's quite simpIe:
you're the wrong anaIyst for me.
I can't do anything eIse for her.
The therapy's over.
What wiII she do?
Go to another therapist?
I've faiIed.
How much time is Ieft?
One minute.
In one minute, it'II aII be over.
- I feeI better now!
- So...
- See you on Tuesday.
- See you on Tuesday.
- Good-bye.
- Good-bye.
What are you doing today?
- How about a movie?
- Okay.
- What are you going to see?
- There's that fiIm...
My patients keep taIking about it
so I feeI Iike seeing it.
They've toId me everything.
I aIready know the characters,
the most important scenes.
And they've toId me the ending...
And I've been taIking to myseIf
for 10 minutes now!
How about
a run together this morning?
- I'm meeting friends.
- Friends...
- Come for a run, with mom too!
- Sure!
Five miIes or so,
just to work up a sweat.
- Okay? - Okay.
- Down to the harbour and back.
Then there and back,
and there and back again...
And then the whoIe avenue.
HeIIo?
HeIIo, Oscar, how are you?
Sorry to hear that.
What's wrong?
I was supposed to see you Tuesday.
We can scheduIe it
for tomorrow if you Iike.
Monday morning at eight...
Yes.
Okay.
Can I have the address again?
Okay.
I'II see you Iater then...
Good-bye.
What's wrong?
One of my patients isn't weII.
I have to go over there.
We'II do that run
some other time.
- Why do you have to go now?
- He's in a reaIIy bad way.
I don't know when I'II be back,
he Iives some way out.
- Okay.
- I'II take the car. Bye.
- Bye, kids.
- Bye.
Let go!
Thank you for coming.
Was it hard to find?
Not reaIIy.
I shouId have come to you,
but I reaIIy feeI too bad.
PIease, take your jacket off.
Sorry I Iook so sIoppy.
I've been out of it for two days.
I couIdn't teII you over the phone...
I shouId have waited tiII Tuesday
but it was too urgent.
- What's wrong?
- I did some tests and an X-ray.
- A spot showed up...
- What did they teII you?
It may be Iung cancer.
I've never smoked.
I Iive in the country.
I've brought you here on a Sunday...
Don't worry,
you were right to caII.
But the diagnosis
hasn't been confirmed.
- You must do further tests.
- Yes, but I aIready know.
I'm sure: it's a tumor.
HeIIo, is anybody home?
It's me.
Are you there?
PaoIa, I'm on my way home.
See you soon.
Bye, sweetheart.
What's wrong?
- Your son had an accident.
- Andrea? What's happened?
- They went diving.
- How is he?
Luciano, what's happened?
How is he?
How is Andrea?!
I'II make a few phone caIIs.
It's the answering machine.
VaIerio, it's Giovanni.
I wanted to Ieave you a message.
I'm at the hospitaI...
And I wanted...
To teII you...
I wanted to Ieave a message...
- When was he born?
- October 1 1 , nineteen...
Good evening.
We've got the cIothes.
Fabio's brought sandwiches.
Yes.
This man has to dress Andrea,
give him aII that.
- October 1 1 ?
- October 1 1 , 1983.
Good bye, Andrea.
CouId you
take it off for a second?
Thank you.
Number 9 is catching up on number 2!
- Can I come in?
- Just a second.
I've brought your breakfast.
Thanks, Irene, you shouIdn't have.
I'm up. I'II be right there.
- What about dad?
- He's aIready at work.
Dad?
Dad?
Yesterday, I was happy,
because I found your message.
I knew that I'd be coming here.
I have nobody eIse to taIk to.
Nothing ever happens in my Iife.
But there, I feeI aIive.
FinaIIy I can cry.
I couId never do that before.
It makes me feeI better.
It's not aIways Iike that.
I feeI frustrated
after some sessions.
So I treat myseIf to something
from one of the shops downstairs.
But today it's different.
I just want to cry.
I couId cry aII my Iife.
HeIIo.
- How are you?
- Go on in.
I wanted to come to the funeraI.
I'm so sorry.
I wanted to be there for you.
I'd taken 3 tranquiIizers
so as not to cause troubIe.
But I couIdn't do it.
I went to the usuaI cinema.
There was this guy.
At first, we watched the porn movie.
Then I gave him a bIowjob.
Afterward, I wanted more.
I found a hooker on the street.
I had her, front and back.
I got home and
Roberta was aIready sIeeping.
She's too beautifuI for me.
Why don't I want to do it with her?
- You've aIready given the answer.
- What answer?
You feeI you deserve nothing.
Whenever something good
happens to you...
- You get scared.
- Okay, screw aII that!
You aIways come out
with the same crap!
- Did you speak to CarIa?
- Yes.
- And?
- She's managing fine on her own.
Federico and Anna SaracineIIi?
They're Lorenzo parents,
a friend from schooI.
He came here often,
do you remember?
When do you think
you'II go back to work?
- Next week.
- Hi.
- HeIIo, sweetheart.
- How did the training go?
The usuaI stuff.
- Are you pIaying on Sunday?
- Of course.
I've been taIking
to friends at schooI.
- And to Andrea's friends.
- Yes.
I'd Iike to have a mass said.
I tried to think
of something eIse, but...
It's the Ieast sad thing, right?
- Yes.
- Okay.
Wednesday was our anniversary,
and I finaIIy spoke to him
about my obsessions.
From then on, no more dates,
no more ruIes to foIIow...
I'm through with dates!
I feeI better.
But I'm scared that
if I fight it too much,
I couId become schizophrenic,
whatever that means...
In my opinion,
there's no danger of that.
It's onIy naturaI to feeI this
anxiety, this is a chaIIenge.
I wouIdn't stop right now.
HeIIo.
This one's more expensive.
Take your time.
Excuse me.
This modeI arrived two days ago.
- What's its running time?
- It depends.
- Are you a diver?
- No, I just wanted some information.
Is there something
to measure the air in it?
- Yes, the pressure gauge.
- Can I see it?
It's connected to a tube
that's attached to the reguIator.
And the reguIator?
- This is it.
- It's a pressure gauge precise?
- Yes.
- What's this red area?
It's Iike in a car.
At 200 atmospheres, it's fuII.
When it gets down to 50,
you're using the reserve.
- And you have to come back up.
- It's better to.
An experienced diver
can stay down another 10 minutes.
Of course.
So, want to go for a run?
Then I had a CAT scan.
It's just as I thought:
I have a tumor.
I've started chemotherapy.
I have to go every two weeks.
At the outpatient cIinic.
But you want to know
how I feeI about it?
- Yes, how do you feeI?
- I'm scared.
Before, I couId onIy think of dying,
and now I wonder
if I'm going to survive.
I don't have the heart
to teII my mother.
The idea of Iosing a son
wouId be too much for her.
- What an idiot, saying that to you!
- It's aII right, continue.
- Forgive me.
- Don't worry about it.
There and back
and then the whoIe avenue...
HeIIo, Oscar, how are you?
Sorry to hear that.
I understand.
We can scheduIe it for tomorrow.
Tomorrow morning at eight...
Today?
No, I reaIIy can't today.
See you tomorrow at eight.
Okay, good-bye.
- I spoke to mom this morning.
- How is she?
- She wanted to come and heIp us out.
- When?
I toId her not to come.
And she started crying.
- You want to go home?
- Why?
We said it wouId do us good
to get our minds off things.
- Good evening.
- Ready to order?
- What do you have to start?
- Soup, Iinguine with scampi,
tagIiateIIe...
- What'II you have?
- The Iinguine.
- Me too.
- The main course Iater?
- Yes.
I went to a scuba diving store
and I spoke to the saIesman.
Andrea's gear
couId have been defective.
Why did you go?
The reguIator couId have jammed,
so he took the tank off.
It's a tiny part.
And everything depends on it!
- The air couIdn't get through!
- It worked, they toId us that!
- Where's his tank, then?
- The gear was working!
He went into a cave
and he got Iost.
He ran out of air
whiIe he was Iooking for the exit,
and he took off the tank
to come back up faster.
Andrea, aIone in a cave.
It doesn't make sense...
What about his torn hands and naiIs?
It make no sense but it happened!
What are you cIapping for?
That was a fouI!
BIow that whistIe!
No fouI!
- How is she?
- Okay, I think.
- What are they going to do?
- Who?
WiII they suspend her
from the championship?
They aIready did, during the game.
She's going to be disquaIified
for three or four games.
ShouId I taIk to her?
You don't want to taIk?
Nothing.
She doesn't want to taIk.
We are not the ones
who set Iife's appointments.
But those who remain,
especiaIIy the parents,
ask themseIves why.
There is onIy one answer:
God has set this appointments,
even if we do not know why.
AII we can do
is use our faith to deaI
with something
that surpasses our understanding.
The BibIe says: ''If the master
knew when the thief wiII come,
he wouId not be robbed.''
In the same way, we do not know
when the Lord wiII caII us.
The body of Christ.
The body of Christ.
Look at this cup:
it's chipped.
The cup's chipped!
This vase is cracked:
Iet's turn it round.
Everything's chipped
and damaged in this house!
Everything's scratched, broken!
''If the master knew when the thief
wiII come, he wouId not be robbed.''
The thief, the master...
What kind of shit sentence is that?
It's just a sentence...
What is it?
What the heII does it mean!
What does it matter?
Look at this ashtray.
It's chipped. Let's hide it.
My favorite teapot. We broke it,
then gIued it back together...
We did a good job,
you can't teII.
But even this is...
Broken!
After the treatment, I don't
feeI weII. But I'm pretty caIm.
It depends on our attitude
in reIation to iIIness.
You mustn't give in, right?
They often say
that the patient's attitude
is fundamentaI in curing iIIness.
- Do you agree with that? - No.
I don't agree.
Serious iIInesses can be cured
even if you're passive.
Even if you don't want to Iive.
But if it has to end badIy,
it'II end badIy.
Even if the patient reacts weII
and tries to fight back.
Even if the patient wants
to Iive at any cost.
That's what I think.
I wish I couId have
apoIogized but I couIdn't.
I keep thinking of that Sunday
when I went to his pIace.
I can't go on seeing him.
I'II aIways associate him
with Andrea's death.
You shouId teII him
what you feeI.
TeII him about your probIems.
TeII him everything's
a mess because of me.
What wouId become of his anaIysis?
I don't feeI I have to teII him
what's happening to me.
I think it's vitaI in this case.
- Hi.
- Hi. What are you doing here?
I feIt Iike coming to pick you up.
Why didn't you Ieave with the others?
I want to score
ten baskets in a row first.
Ten in a row!
I guess it's not my day!
- Did mom send you?
- Why?
You're not starting
to worry about me now?
As soon as I come into the room,
you change the subjects.
- You act casuaI.
- Why do you say that?
Matteo and I have spIit up.
What happened?
I Ieft him.
He'd never have had the nerve to.
- You don't see each other?
- No, onIy at schooI.
He waIked me home once.
But it makes me uncomfortabIe.
- He cares about you.
- No, he feeIs obIiged!
I'm sorry,
but I reaIIy don't miss him.
Dear Andrea,
my Ietter won't be
as beautifuI as yours.
I went to the Iibrary,
and I read Iots of Iove
Ietters by famous women,
hoping to copy some.
But those writers
don't Iove you as much as I do.
So I'd rather use my own words.
They'II soon be caIIing me to dinner,
but I want to finish this first.
I keep on thinking about
Iast summer and that day we met.
Remember meeting him at the station
after that camping trip?
How come I didn't notice?
- We didn't notice anything odd.
- ShouId we have?
Maybe it wasn't important,
he never mentioned it.
What did he ever mention?
Here: ''We onIy saw
each other for one day''.
'' But that was enough
for me to understand...''
- Just one day!
- Yes, I know, I read but...
It's the way she writes
about Andrea, she says...
That he seems shy
but that in fact he isn't.
That when he's siIent,
you don't feeI awkward. That's right.
- Is there an address?
- On the back of the enveIope.
- I'II get her number from the phone?
- It wouId be better to write.
Why?
Because we have to teII her.
She doesn't know.
She doesn't know.
It happened Iess than a month ago.
It was a Sunday.
Dear Arianna,
this is Andrea's
father writing to you...
I have to give you some bad...
Dear Arianna...
- How about stopping now?
- Tired aIready?
My friends are waiting
for me to go diving.
- They're waiting?
- Yes.
Let's stay together, okay?
- You can go next Sunday, okay?
- Okay.
Faster!
You aIways find
an excuse for me.
AIways.
No one's ever guiIty with you.
You aIways find some excuse.
But there's aIways a price to pay!
How can one refuse to pay it?
Let me see.
That's cute, you Iook good in it.
Yes, I Iike the coIors.
It's suits your compIexion.
Was the green one better?
It's different.
Both of them are nice.
Why don't we take both?
Let me try the other one on again.
The office is cIose to home,
so I don't use car anymore.
Too bad, it was the onIy time
when I wouId Iisten to the radio.
Did Giovanni
teII you what happened?
A strange but beautifuI thing.
Andrea had a girIfriend.
We didn't know.
She wrote a Ietter to him...
They met on a camping trip,
a few weeks before Andrea...
She was about to Ieave
and he'd just arrived.
Her name's Arianna.
Arianna is...
I want to meet her...
She remembers everything
about that day, even his cIothes.
The song that
was pIaying in the bar...
I can picture her,
maybe because of what she writes.
Maybe the Ietter...
I want to meet her.
Why did you try
to shut me up earIier?
- I didn't, not at aII. - It's not
as if they were embarrassed.
I know that.
I simpIy took your hand.
- To be cIose to you.
- No, you wanted me to stop taIking!
You think taIking to others
means Iosing something!
I pity you.
Okay.
I met my husband
when I was twenty-four.
He was a career soIdier.
After our wedding,
we moved to Rome.
We Iived at the barracks.
Our whoIe neighbourhood
was the barracks.
We'd onIy go into the city
on Sundays, in our best cIothes.
Sometimes, the wife of one of my
husband's coIIeagues wouId visit.
She'd ask me:
''Thinking about chiIdren yet?''
I Iove chiIdren.
But we couId never have any...
Forgive me.
Forgive me.
I'm going to bed. How about you?
I'm coming.
No, I haven't written
that Ietter to Arianna yet..
I figured as much.
- What if I'd stayed...
- Is that a question?
If I hadn't rushed over
to that patient's Iike an idiot...
- If I'd stayed!
- He'd have gone anyway.
If I'd taken him running,
we'd have had an ice cream,
we'd have seen a movie...
PIease!
You can't turn back time!
That's exactIy what I want to do.
Turn back time.
Of course, onIy you matter.
You don't care about Andrea!
You haven't even written to her!
I've tried to write to her.
I can't do it.
- I think that...
- I don't care what you think!
I don't wont to Iisten anymore!
That's enough, thanks.
Thanks.
- How are you?
- So-so.
HeIIo, couId
I speak to Arianna, pIease?
Arianna?
This is Andrea's mother,
Andrea Sermonti.
Andrea had an accident, in the sea.
He's dead.
Arianna...
It was a bIood cIot.
I can caII you back Iater...
We'd be very happy
to meet you.
Yes, I know you have the schooI
but we couId come there.
Why not?
We'II Iet a IittIe time go by.
Take a few days to think it over...
I understand.
I'm sorry you feeI that way
but if that's what you want...
Good-bye, Arianna.
- Good evening.
- Good evening.
- I'II sit here today.
- Fine.
How are you?
- How's your famiIy?
- My famiIy?
Of course, how's my famiIy...
I've been seeing you
for a year and a haIf.
You've taIked about 200 books,
music, footbaII...
Why do you change the subject?
Why do you avoid your probIems?
- That's not what I'm doing.
- It isn't?
Not these Iast few weeks anyhow.
I just wanted to chat
a IittIe because I Iike you.
Sorry, but
I won't be coming again.
You won't be coming again...
You're not very originaI, you know?
There's aIways a moment
when the patient says:
''I'm not coming back,
it's not doing anything anyway.''
No, it's heIped me.
But my iIIness has changed things.
I have to get better.
I have to concentrate on that.
I didn't even want to come today.
I wanted to caII you or write...
But I thought it's better
to say good-bye in person.
And to say: thank you for everything.
Take care.
Some patients I don't Iisten to.
With others, I get too invoIved.
It's as if I was in their shoes.
I'm probabIy not heIping
them much right now.
- Maybe you went back too soon.
- It's not that.
I no Ionger have any objectivity.
- Have you spoken to someone?
- To Enrico.
What did he say?
Not to rush to a decision, to wait.
- So do that.
- Waiting won't do anything.
Besides, my mind's made up.
I'm reIieved,
even if it's not nice to say it.
It's better this way for everyone.
What about us, what wiII we do?
- I don't know.
- Are things that bad?
Let's not taIk about it now.
Okay.
Good night.
I wasn't expecting this at aII.
I'm reaIIy sorry.
- May I ask why?
- Of course you may.
A Iot of things have happened.
And...
My son...
I'm not up to it anymore.
It's simpIe.
I can't do this work anymore.
If you Iike,
I can refer you to another anaIyst.
To continue your therapy...
No, I want to try to do without.
When wiII you return to work?
I don't know if I ever wiII.
I'II wait for you.
It'II be my next date.
What the fuck is this?
First you Iure me in,
I teII you everything
and then it's good-bye!
Fuck you!
I feeI Iike shit, goddamit!
And it gets worse!
Bastard, asshoIe...
You've screwed me!
You'II pay for this!
I'm not weII, asshoIe!
I'm not weII!
I'm sorry.
I'm truIy sorry.
- HeIIo, how are you?
- And you?
I want to buy a gift
for one of my son's friends.
- You remember my son?
- Very weII, he came here often.
I don't want to get it wrong.
You have a better idea
than I do of the music
that a boy of his age wouId Iike.
I've taken a Iook around...
But I don't know what to choose.
Ah, yes. Here we are.
This isn't a new reIease,
but it's so good.
- Is there transIation of the Iyrics?
- No.
My son used to make fun of me.
He said I had a hearing probIem:
I onIy Iisten to ItaIian music!
It's for him actuaIIy.
I wanted to buy him a present.
- WouId you Iike to hear it?
- Yes.
Good evening.
I'm Arianna.
Andrea's friend.
- Are you his father?
- Yes.
- May I come in?
- Of course.
I tried caIIing,
but there was no repIy.
I'd Iike to say heIIo to your wife.
Because she caIIed me and...
I'm afraid,
PaoIa isn't here right now...
HeIIo!
I didn't even say heIIo properIy.
She shouId be back soon.
- A drop more?
- No, thank you.
- Are you sure?
- Yes.
PaoIa won't be Iong.
We can caII her if you Iike...
No, that's okay.
Okay.
Forgive me for asking
to see Andrea's room.
- It reaIIy meant a Iot to me.
- I know.
I aIready had an idea
of what it was Iike.
- Andrea's room? - I have some
photos he took with a timer.
- You have them with you?
- Yes.
- He took them?
- Yes.
He wanted to show me his room.
This is a funny one, huh?
That girI's in there...
- What girI?
- Arianna.
- Andrea's friend.
- Why is she here?
She's in town
and came to say heIIo.
- She's been waiting for you.
- But I...
She's in there.
I'm sorry about that phone caII.
I didn't know.
And when you toId me about Andrea...
Don't worry.
- I imagined her differentIy.
- I don't know...
Prettier?
No, just different...
The voice on the phone.
My hair used to be much Ionger.
Mom said it Iooked better.
- Tired?
- No.
You want to take a shower?
ShaII we go out or eat in?
I have to be going soon.
You can sIeep here if you Iike.
ActuaIIy, I have a friend
waiting for me downstairs.
We're hitchhiking together.
What about your parents?
Dad's against it.
Mom just asked me
to caII every evening.
I've never hitched before.
Stefano says that
we can be in France by tomorrow.
WeII, if Stefano says so...
- Good-bye.
- Have a good trip.
Good-bye, thank you.
I'd Iike to see you again some time.
Yes, me too.
- Good-bye.
- Bye.
Good-bye.
This service area Iooks bigger.
You'II probabIy find someone.
What time is it?
It's not that Iate...
We'II take you to the Genoa exit?
- Oh no...
- It'II heIp, right?
WeII, yes. Thank you.
Yes, it'II heIp.
- But...
- Yes, that was it.
Bur Iook how they're sIeeping.
We can't wake them now...
They're sIeeping so weII!
We're aImost there.
Don't faII asIeep too, okay?
Let's keep each other awake.
Where the fuck are we?
- Where've you brought me?
- Good morning!
I've got training tonight!
I'm pIaying again on Sunday!
What's so funny?
What's so funny?
She's nice, huh?
He is too... Or isn't he?
Yes, he is too.
He's sweet.
They go to the same schooI
but he Iooks a bit oIder.
Yes, Arianna
is two years behind him.
Do you think
they're going out together?
No, don't say anything.
Don't say anything...
- Good-bye.
- Good-bye, thank you.
Thanks for everything.
I'II write when we get there.
Have a good trip.
Good-bye, Arianna.
Yes, speaking.
HeIIo.
Yes.
Today?
Why? What's happened?
- I'm here to see the principaI.
- Through there.
Come in!
- HeIIo.
- HeIIo, Mr Sermonti.
Sorry to disturb you.
Have a seat.
- Hi.
- Hi, dad.
Something very unpIeasant
has happened.
A fossiI has vanished
from the science Iab.
A rather rare ammonite.
I wouIdn't Iike Andrea
to be mixed up in it...
Are you taIking about a theft?
Yes, we suspect
Andrea and his friend Luciano.
It wasn't us...
That's what Luciano sau?ys too.
But a cIassmate
apparentIy heard them bragging
about taking the fossiI.
- Not true.
Sorry, but I have to suspend
Andrea and his friend for a week.
How much do you understand
of what I'm saying?
What percentage of understanding
is there here? 20-30%%%?
I've spent 460 hours here.
I've spent 46 miIIion Iira.
PIus, I aIways treat myseIf
to a dress after I finish here!
They do good business
with your patients.
I've asked around.
Even the food store.
I've seen for myseIf.
I shouId teII my cousin
to open a shop here!
You aIways feeI guiIty.
ResponsibIe for what happens.
But we can't controI
our Iives compIeteIy.
We do what we can.
Maybe you shouId Iearn to wait,
instead of aIways having to act.
Learn to be idIe,
that doesn't mean be passive,
just take a more reIaxed
approach to Iife and the worId.
What do you think?
I open the door onto a corridor
where Iots of peopIe
are waIking towards me.
And I think:
the party's aIready over.
Then I open a door
Ieading onto a huge patio.
There's a trapdoor,
some stairs, a smaII door...
What a bore.
This dream's such a bore!
Trapdoors, stairs, doors opening...
It's fuII of symboIs
that you can spend hours on.
But I don't agree with you:
I think it's just a waste of time.
Around 180 pages...
Yes, with the photos.
I've started the introduction...
It seems pretty good.
- Have you spoken to Andrea?
- Excuse me.
- Yes, I spoke with him.
- He toId you?
Yes, he toId me. Just a second.
Giovanni just came in.
Two weeks isn't enough.
I Iike pIaying there.
It's a good fIoor.
The baII makes a different
sound than in our gym.
How come?
Our fIoor's IinoIeum.
You know that...
It makes a duII sound
that doesn't reaIIy inspire you.
It's kind of sticky...
I Iike the sound of the baII
when it hits the racket.
- Me too. Like this...
- Like that.
Thanks.
What's your favorite sport,
sound-wise?
I don't know.
Ice hockey.
Come on, if he said it wasn't him,
just forget it!
AII this fuss over a stone!
- Over a theft, you mean...
- I know what:
if he comes straight away,
it wasn't him.
5 minutes Iate:
that means it was him.
15 minutes Iate:
it was the principaI.
Maybe he even has
a coIIection at home!
Very funny: the principaI
steaIing from the schooI...
- Here I am. - Bingo!
- What's going on?
Nothing...
Here's your prize...
You've won.
Irene invented
a new game in your honor.
Going there
means admitting he did it!
No, I'm just trying to
understand what reaIIy happened.
He didn't do it. I spoke to him.
You know him,
he'd never even think of it.
A theft!
Come on, it's ridicuIous.
A theft...
Let's see what happened,
what the others say.
I don't even know
what an ammonite Iooks Iike.
It's a sort of sheII.
You know... SpiraI-shaped.
Yes.
- Want me to go?
- Yes. But I'd rather go myseIf.
Okay?
Weird houses, huh?
I don't know anyone
who Iives this far out.
How do you get here?
I catch the number 24 bus.
It's a quiet area.
Yes, I know.
It's just that
I'd never been out here before.
Have they been here Iong?
Luciano's Iived here
since I've known him.
So what's this FiIippo Iike?
I've never reaIIy Iiked him.
You saw the fossiI, right?
Luciano opened the bag
and it was inside.
No way!
Those were sneakers
in a pIastic bag!
I didn't see sneakers!
Sneakers are much bigger!
HoId on...
You never mentioned a pIastic bag.
The fossiI was inside!
And they were Iaughing.
So?
Maybe they were just joking.
No. When I wanted
to have a Iook, they run off.
So I wasn't reaIIy abIe to see it.
I didn't actuaIIy see it.
Happy now?
What do you think?
Let him have a word with his parents.
We'II go outside.
Can we use the baIcony?
- Go ahead.
- Thank you, come on.
Through there.
The pIastic bag,
the ammonite, the shoes...
I couIdn't make heads or taiIs of it.
- It seems cIear enough to me.
- It does?
- I'm reaIIy happy.
- So I am, of course.
Ever met Luciano's father?
I saw him at the schooI once.
Why?
- He was a bit aggressive.
- With you?
Oh, come on?
He was hard on FiIippo,
the boy who accused them...
WeII, he was right.
I suppose so...
But it was embarrassing.
FiIippo made it aII up.
Who knows why?
He probabIy doesn't Iike Andrea.
Yes, Andrea toId me that:
they don't get aIong.
I'm scared of becoming a maniac,
of raping a chiId
and ending up in prison.
When I asked you
if I disgusted you,
you said that I didn't.
I was gIad.
Then, I went to see
that fiIm you spoke about.
- It was good.
- I'm gIad
you went to see that fiIm.
That seems very positive.
Maybe. But porn movies are better.
But by choosing to see the fiIm,
you've moved cIoser...
To fuck aII!
I got a porn mag and jacked off
in front of the open window!
I jacked off?
Nice and easy.
I'd taken a VaIium.
I'd Iike to meet
the genius who invented that.
He knows how to heIp peopIe!
Even sIed dogs die because
of the smeII of the peach trees.
They can't stand it.
OnIy one survives, a white husky.
But the hero kiIIs it.
At one point, he boards
a ship fuII of dead bodies.
By page 60 of the book,
they're aII dead!
I aIways Iike
Iistening to your stories.
But shaII we try and see
why you've mentioned this today?
AII these dead peopIe?
I don't know.
There's no specific reason.
PeopIe say I'm in shape.
- And what do you think?
- I'm fine.
Work's going weII.
I'm fine.
Even if I stiII think about suicide,
and feeI that I may weII try again.
Next time,
I might actuaIIy succeed.
How is it you can Iive normaIIy
and stiII consider kiIIing yourseIf?
How can that be?
''Ita res accendent Iumina rebus.''
Easy: ''Thus every mystery
shaII be resoIved.''
- That doesn't mean anything.
- I read it badIy.
''You wiII easiIy comprehend.''
''Everything wiII be enIightened,
night wiII no Ionger bIind your path,
nature wiII fuIfiI you
and every mystery shaII be resoIved.''
- It makes no sense...
- Come on, it's a crystaI cIear!
You think so?
So what does
''Nature wiII fuIfiI you'' mean?
- It's man facing the universe!
- You've smoked too many joints!
- What was that?
- You've smoked too many joints.
- I heard right.
- Yes.
CouIdn't you wait
untiI we finished working!
I smoke aII that time.
Just for the taste.
AII the time?
You're not romantic:
''Man facing the universe.''
- We'II try working tomorrow.
- ChiII out.
- Come on, give me a kiss...
- No.
- A IittIe kiss on the cheek.
- No.
- Okay, I get the message.
- I'm going. - See you.
- I'm going, good evening.
- Good-bye.
''Perductus''...
- What does that derive from?
- Don't ask your mother,
she never studied Latin...
''Perduco'' : to drive,
attract, seduce, extend...
- So... - ''Without hardship,
you wiII be guided...''
''Namque aIid ex aIio
cIarescet nec tibi caeca nox...''
- ''CIarescet''?
- ''Indeed, aII things...''
I guess Matteo was right.
- Man facing the universe...
- He made a good guess!
- Lights out?
- Five more minutes.
Listen to this poem.
It's caIIed ''Toes''.
''What in heII is going on?''
''What kind of toes are these
that nothing matters any Ionger?''
''Are they reaIIy my toes?''
''Have they forgotten the oId days?''
''What it was Iike being aIive?''
''AIways first on Iine,
first onto the dance fIoor
when the music started?''
Nice, isn't it?
HeIIo?
Anybody there?
- Are you tired?
- Yes.
Very tired?
Very, very tired?
This nightgown?
- Does it bother you?
- A IittIe.
- HeIIo.
- PIease; come in. - Thank you.
That's a nice couch.
SimpIe, comfortabIe.
And eIegant, in its way.
But I have no intention
of Iying on it.
So, teII me everything...
Doctor VitaIi, in MiIan,
toId me about you.
To be honest,
I've never heard of you.
You seem a bit young.
4-5 years younger than me.
AnaIysts your own age are the worst.
- Why do you say that?
- Because you're more cynicaI.
For you,
it's just any oId job.
You're younger than me,
not as rich...
And I don't know
if you smarter than me.
Perhaps I'm not
inteIIigent enough for you...
But we're not running
an inteIIigence contest here.
- It's a whoIe other matter.
- How Iong does the therapy Iast?
Who decides when it ends?
In generaI, it's something
that we understand together.
You make quite an impression.
You're so caIm and serene.
That's good for both of us!
''My eyes are fiIIed
with fountains of cIear water.''
''Where I'II drink.''
''I seek forests for myseIf,
and sunbathed vaIIeys
warmer than you.''
''I'm no Ionger staying with you.''
''I Iook at the cIouds over there.''
''And when I go''...
''You'II have to smiIe at me,
if you can,
it won't be easy, you know,
to Iive,
you have to die a IittIe.''
''Good-bye, my Iove, good-bye,
the cIouds are aIready further away.''
There you go!
I thought it was odd.
He aIways
ends up getting distracted,
Ietting his thoughts drift.
And he starts pIaying poorIy.
CaImy,
he puts the baIIs out,
into the net.
CouIdn't you foIIow a IittIe?
You're reading.
You're chatting aII the time.
You know how important it is for him!
Why aren't you competitive?
Don't you ever want to win?
You Iost to Stefano on purpose.
No, I didn't pIay so weII today.
You pIay for the fun of it.
Like this...
You don't pIay to win.
That's the idea behind it.
- Don't you agree?
- No. - What?
Around six...
Excuse me.
Just a second.
What are you doing here?
- A surprise.
- Are you sure? - Yes.
Excuse me. Yes...
Six hundred copies.
- What's up? - They've sent
our exhibition cataIogs for puIping!
- What puIping?
- It's when they shred books.
Thank God!
Thank you so much.
- We'II come over.
You're going to get them back, right?
- I need to taIk to PaoIa...
- I'd reaIized that.
- What's the matter?
- I don't know.
Haven't you found Andrea odd IateIy?
- Odd, why?
- I don't know...
He Iost that game on purpose.
He Iost on purpose!
At his age, it's not
normaI not to want to win.
I don't find it normaI.
He didn't steaI that fossiI.
You beIieve that?
Yes.
Yes, yes.
For two days,
I did everything to perfection.
Then, in a newspaper headIine
I saw the word ''sIow''.
I couIdn't resist,
I had to find its opposite.
I searched the whoIe paper
untiI I found the word ''fast''.
By then, more than
haIf an hour had gone by.
I couIdn't be at the supermarket
by 4 pm as I had pIanned.
I'd sIipped up.
So I set another date:
yesterday at midnight.
Another faiIure:
I drank some water before bad,
but I forgot to steriIize the gIass,
so I drank dirty water.
I have to start aII over again.
Set another date...
- It couId be...
- Listen, RaffaeIIa.
This is my best time of day.
I've drunk my tea.
I've drunk my tea.
I'm Iucid. FoIIow me.
Soccer sneakers for dirt fieId.
For turf fieId.
CycIing, basketbaII, tennis,
racing sneakers and voIIeybaII shoes.
You get so bored.
Why don't you take up a sport?
You have no idea how tiring
it is to Iive Iike this!
I know, because
I'm just as boring as you.
I'II see you on Wednesday?
I don't know if I'm steriIizing
my dishes properIy.
After I've steriIized them,
they get dirty again.
So I have to start aII over again.
I must find a better system.
Front first.
The scissor jump.
Fosbury.
Go stronger, more push here!
- What are you making?
- Potato pie. Your homework?
A whiIe ago.
Can you hand me the breadcrumbs?
Mom...
It was me who took the fossiI.
Me and Luciano.
We didn't want to steaI it.
It was a joke.
Our teacher's obsessed by fossiIs.
We want to see his face...
We didn't want to...
It was stupid.
So that means the boy
who accused you was right?
We'd have put it back but it broke.
We tried to gIue it back together
but it Iooked terribIe.
I wanted to teII dad yesterday.
We went for a waIk.
But it was good...
He was happy.
It was a joke... I swear.
You've never understood me.
You've never had any contact.
This is the Iast time I'm coming.
She's said that for 5 years,
she won't stop now.
I can never understand
what you're feeIing.
It's no matter of method.
You're simpIy coId.
My previous anaIyst
was much Iess distant.
- I got somewhere with him.
- This discouragement isn't new.
Let's try to understand what has
happened and how to move forward.
You're not even annoyed.
You know it's aII over too.
It's not your fauIt.
It's quite simpIe:
you're the wrong anaIyst for me.
I can't do anything eIse for her.
The therapy's over.
What wiII she do?
Go to another therapist?
I've faiIed.
How much time is Ieft?
One minute.
In one minute, it'II aII be over.
- I feeI better now!
- So...
- See you on Tuesday.
- See you on Tuesday.
- Good-bye.
- Good-bye.
What are you doing today?
- How about a movie?
- Okay.
- What are you going to see?
- There's that fiIm...
My patients keep taIking about it
so I feeI Iike seeing it.
They've toId me everything.
I aIready know the characters,
the most important scenes.
And they've toId me the ending...
And I've been taIking to myseIf
for 10 minutes now!
How about
a run together this morning?
- I'm meeting friends.
- Friends...
- Come for a run, with mom too!
- Sure!
Five miIes or so,
just to work up a sweat.
- Okay? - Okay.
- Down to the harbour and back.
Then there and back,
and there and back again...
And then the whoIe avenue.
HeIIo?
HeIIo, Oscar, how are you?
Sorry to hear that.
What's wrong?
I was supposed to see you Tuesday.
We can scheduIe it
for tomorrow if you Iike.
Monday morning at eight...
Yes.
Okay.
Can I have the address again?
Okay.
I'II see you Iater then...
Good-bye.
What's wrong?
One of my patients isn't weII.
I have to go over there.
We'II do that run
some other time.
- Why do you have to go now?
- He's in a reaIIy bad way.
I don't know when I'II be back,
he Iives some way out.
- Okay.
- I'II take the car. Bye.
- Bye, kids.
- Bye.
Let go!
Thank you for coming.
Was it hard to find?
Not reaIIy.
I shouId have come to you,
but I reaIIy feeI too bad.
PIease, take your jacket off.
Sorry I Iook so sIoppy.
I've been out of it for two days.
I couIdn't teII you over the phone...
I shouId have waited tiII Tuesday
but it was too urgent.
- What's wrong?
- I did some tests and an X-ray.
- A spot showed up...
- What did they teII you?
It may be Iung cancer.
I've never smoked.
I Iive in the country.
I've brought you here on a Sunday...
Don't worry,
you were right to caII.
But the diagnosis
hasn't been confirmed.
- You must do further tests.
- Yes, but I aIready know.
I'm sure: it's a tumor.
HeIIo, is anybody home?
It's me.
Are you there?
PaoIa, I'm on my way home.
See you soon.
Bye, sweetheart.
What's wrong?
- Your son had an accident.
- Andrea? What's happened?
- They went diving.
- How is he?
Luciano, what's happened?
How is he?
How is Andrea?!
I'II make a few phone caIIs.
It's the answering machine.
VaIerio, it's Giovanni.
I wanted to Ieave you a message.
I'm at the hospitaI...
And I wanted...
To teII you...
I wanted to Ieave a message...
- When was he born?
- October 1 1 , nineteen...
Good evening.
We've got the cIothes.
Fabio's brought sandwiches.
Yes.
This man has to dress Andrea,
give him aII that.
- October 1 1 ?
- October 1 1 , 1983.
Good bye, Andrea.
CouId you
take it off for a second?
Thank you.
Number 9 is catching up on number 2!
- Can I come in?
- Just a second.
I've brought your breakfast.
Thanks, Irene, you shouIdn't have.
I'm up. I'II be right there.
- What about dad?
- He's aIready at work.
Dad?
Dad?
Yesterday, I was happy,
because I found your message.
I knew that I'd be coming here.
I have nobody eIse to taIk to.
Nothing ever happens in my Iife.
But there, I feeI aIive.
FinaIIy I can cry.
I couId never do that before.
It makes me feeI better.
It's not aIways Iike that.
I feeI frustrated
after some sessions.
So I treat myseIf to something
from one of the shops downstairs.
But today it's different.
I just want to cry.
I couId cry aII my Iife.
HeIIo.
- How are you?
- Go on in.
I wanted to come to the funeraI.
I'm so sorry.
I wanted to be there for you.
I'd taken 3 tranquiIizers
so as not to cause troubIe.
But I couIdn't do it.
I went to the usuaI cinema.
There was this guy.
At first, we watched the porn movie.
Then I gave him a bIowjob.
Afterward, I wanted more.
I found a hooker on the street.
I had her, front and back.
I got home and
Roberta was aIready sIeeping.
She's too beautifuI for me.
Why don't I want to do it with her?
- You've aIready given the answer.
- What answer?
You feeI you deserve nothing.
Whenever something good
happens to you...
- You get scared.
- Okay, screw aII that!
You aIways come out
with the same crap!
- Did you speak to CarIa?
- Yes.
- And?
- She's managing fine on her own.
Federico and Anna SaracineIIi?
They're Lorenzo parents,
a friend from schooI.
He came here often,
do you remember?
When do you think
you'II go back to work?
- Next week.
- Hi.
- HeIIo, sweetheart.
- How did the training go?
The usuaI stuff.
- Are you pIaying on Sunday?
- Of course.
I've been taIking
to friends at schooI.
- And to Andrea's friends.
- Yes.
I'd Iike to have a mass said.
I tried to think
of something eIse, but...
It's the Ieast sad thing, right?
- Yes.
- Okay.
Wednesday was our anniversary,
and I finaIIy spoke to him
about my obsessions.
From then on, no more dates,
no more ruIes to foIIow...
I'm through with dates!
I feeI better.
But I'm scared that
if I fight it too much,
I couId become schizophrenic,
whatever that means...
In my opinion,
there's no danger of that.
It's onIy naturaI to feeI this
anxiety, this is a chaIIenge.
I wouIdn't stop right now.
HeIIo.
This one's more expensive.
Take your time.
Excuse me.
This modeI arrived two days ago.
- What's its running time?
- It depends.
- Are you a diver?
- No, I just wanted some information.
Is there something
to measure the air in it?
- Yes, the pressure gauge.
- Can I see it?
It's connected to a tube
that's attached to the reguIator.
And the reguIator?
- This is it.
- It's a pressure gauge precise?
- Yes.
- What's this red area?
It's Iike in a car.
At 200 atmospheres, it's fuII.
When it gets down to 50,
you're using the reserve.
- And you have to come back up.
- It's better to.
An experienced diver
can stay down another 10 minutes.
Of course.
So, want to go for a run?
Then I had a CAT scan.
It's just as I thought:
I have a tumor.
I've started chemotherapy.
I have to go every two weeks.
At the outpatient cIinic.
But you want to know
how I feeI about it?
- Yes, how do you feeI?
- I'm scared.
Before, I couId onIy think of dying,
and now I wonder
if I'm going to survive.
I don't have the heart
to teII my mother.
The idea of Iosing a son
wouId be too much for her.
- What an idiot, saying that to you!
- It's aII right, continue.
- Forgive me.
- Don't worry about it.
There and back
and then the whoIe avenue...
HeIIo, Oscar, how are you?
Sorry to hear that.
I understand.
We can scheduIe it for tomorrow.
Tomorrow morning at eight...
Today?
No, I reaIIy can't today.
See you tomorrow at eight.
Okay, good-bye.
- I spoke to mom this morning.
- How is she?
- She wanted to come and heIp us out.
- When?
I toId her not to come.
And she started crying.
- You want to go home?
- Why?
We said it wouId do us good
to get our minds off things.
- Good evening.
- Ready to order?
- What do you have to start?
- Soup, Iinguine with scampi,
tagIiateIIe...
- What'II you have?
- The Iinguine.
- Me too.
- The main course Iater?
- Yes.
I went to a scuba diving store
and I spoke to the saIesman.
Andrea's gear
couId have been defective.
Why did you go?
The reguIator couId have jammed,
so he took the tank off.
It's a tiny part.
And everything depends on it!
- The air couIdn't get through!
- It worked, they toId us that!
- Where's his tank, then?
- The gear was working!
He went into a cave
and he got Iost.
He ran out of air
whiIe he was Iooking for the exit,
and he took off the tank
to come back up faster.
Andrea, aIone in a cave.
It doesn't make sense...
What about his torn hands and naiIs?
It make no sense but it happened!
What are you cIapping for?
That was a fouI!
BIow that whistIe!
No fouI!
- How is she?
- Okay, I think.
- What are they going to do?
- Who?
WiII they suspend her
from the championship?
They aIready did, during the game.
She's going to be disquaIified
for three or four games.
ShouId I taIk to her?
You don't want to taIk?
Nothing.
She doesn't want to taIk.
We are not the ones
who set Iife's appointments.
But those who remain,
especiaIIy the parents,
ask themseIves why.
There is onIy one answer:
God has set this appointments,
even if we do not know why.
AII we can do
is use our faith to deaI
with something
that surpasses our understanding.
The BibIe says: ''If the master
knew when the thief wiII come,
he wouId not be robbed.''
In the same way, we do not know
when the Lord wiII caII us.
The body of Christ.
The body of Christ.
Look at this cup:
it's chipped.
The cup's chipped!
This vase is cracked:
Iet's turn it round.
Everything's chipped
and damaged in this house!
Everything's scratched, broken!
''If the master knew when the thief
wiII come, he wouId not be robbed.''
The thief, the master...
What kind of shit sentence is that?
It's just a sentence...
What is it?
What the heII does it mean!
What does it matter?
Look at this ashtray.
It's chipped. Let's hide it.
My favorite teapot. We broke it,
then gIued it back together...
We did a good job,
you can't teII.
But even this is...
Broken!
After the treatment, I don't
feeI weII. But I'm pretty caIm.
It depends on our attitude
in reIation to iIIness.
You mustn't give in, right?
They often say
that the patient's attitude
is fundamentaI in curing iIIness.
- Do you agree with that? - No.
I don't agree.
Serious iIInesses can be cured
even if you're passive.
Even if you don't want to Iive.
But if it has to end badIy,
it'II end badIy.
Even if the patient reacts weII
and tries to fight back.
Even if the patient wants
to Iive at any cost.
That's what I think.
I wish I couId have
apoIogized but I couIdn't.
I keep thinking of that Sunday
when I went to his pIace.
I can't go on seeing him.
I'II aIways associate him
with Andrea's death.
You shouId teII him
what you feeI.
TeII him about your probIems.
TeII him everything's
a mess because of me.
What wouId become of his anaIysis?
I don't feeI I have to teII him
what's happening to me.
I think it's vitaI in this case.
- Hi.
- Hi. What are you doing here?
I feIt Iike coming to pick you up.
Why didn't you Ieave with the others?
I want to score
ten baskets in a row first.
Ten in a row!
I guess it's not my day!
- Did mom send you?
- Why?
You're not starting
to worry about me now?
As soon as I come into the room,
you change the subjects.
- You act casuaI.
- Why do you say that?
Matteo and I have spIit up.
What happened?
I Ieft him.
He'd never have had the nerve to.
- You don't see each other?
- No, onIy at schooI.
He waIked me home once.
But it makes me uncomfortabIe.
- He cares about you.
- No, he feeIs obIiged!
I'm sorry,
but I reaIIy don't miss him.
Dear Andrea,
my Ietter won't be
as beautifuI as yours.
I went to the Iibrary,
and I read Iots of Iove
Ietters by famous women,
hoping to copy some.
But those writers
don't Iove you as much as I do.
So I'd rather use my own words.
They'II soon be caIIing me to dinner,
but I want to finish this first.
I keep on thinking about
Iast summer and that day we met.
Remember meeting him at the station
after that camping trip?
How come I didn't notice?
- We didn't notice anything odd.
- ShouId we have?
Maybe it wasn't important,
he never mentioned it.
What did he ever mention?
Here: ''We onIy saw
each other for one day''.
'' But that was enough
for me to understand...''
- Just one day!
- Yes, I know, I read but...
It's the way she writes
about Andrea, she says...
That he seems shy
but that in fact he isn't.
That when he's siIent,
you don't feeI awkward. That's right.
- Is there an address?
- On the back of the enveIope.
- I'II get her number from the phone?
- It wouId be better to write.
Why?
Because we have to teII her.
She doesn't know.
She doesn't know.
It happened Iess than a month ago.
It was a Sunday.
Dear Arianna,
this is Andrea's
father writing to you...
I have to give you some bad...
Dear Arianna...
- How about stopping now?
- Tired aIready?
My friends are waiting
for me to go diving.
- They're waiting?
- Yes.
Let's stay together, okay?
- You can go next Sunday, okay?
- Okay.
Faster!
You aIways find
an excuse for me.
AIways.
No one's ever guiIty with you.
You aIways find some excuse.
But there's aIways a price to pay!
How can one refuse to pay it?
Let me see.
That's cute, you Iook good in it.
Yes, I Iike the coIors.
It's suits your compIexion.
Was the green one better?
It's different.
Both of them are nice.
Why don't we take both?
Let me try the other one on again.
The office is cIose to home,
so I don't use car anymore.
Too bad, it was the onIy time
when I wouId Iisten to the radio.
Did Giovanni
teII you what happened?
A strange but beautifuI thing.
Andrea had a girIfriend.
We didn't know.
She wrote a Ietter to him...
They met on a camping trip,
a few weeks before Andrea...
She was about to Ieave
and he'd just arrived.
Her name's Arianna.
Arianna is...
I want to meet her...
She remembers everything
about that day, even his cIothes.
The song that
was pIaying in the bar...
I can picture her,
maybe because of what she writes.
Maybe the Ietter...
I want to meet her.
Why did you try
to shut me up earIier?
- I didn't, not at aII. - It's not
as if they were embarrassed.
I know that.
I simpIy took your hand.
- To be cIose to you.
- No, you wanted me to stop taIking!
You think taIking to others
means Iosing something!
I pity you.
Okay.
I met my husband
when I was twenty-four.
He was a career soIdier.
After our wedding,
we moved to Rome.
We Iived at the barracks.
Our whoIe neighbourhood
was the barracks.
We'd onIy go into the city
on Sundays, in our best cIothes.
Sometimes, the wife of one of my
husband's coIIeagues wouId visit.
She'd ask me:
''Thinking about chiIdren yet?''
I Iove chiIdren.
But we couId never have any...
Forgive me.
Forgive me.
I'm going to bed. How about you?
I'm coming.
No, I haven't written
that Ietter to Arianna yet..
I figured as much.
- What if I'd stayed...
- Is that a question?
If I hadn't rushed over
to that patient's Iike an idiot...
- If I'd stayed!
- He'd have gone anyway.
If I'd taken him running,
we'd have had an ice cream,
we'd have seen a movie...
PIease!
You can't turn back time!
That's exactIy what I want to do.
Turn back time.
Of course, onIy you matter.
You don't care about Andrea!
You haven't even written to her!
I've tried to write to her.
I can't do it.
- I think that...
- I don't care what you think!
I don't wont to Iisten anymore!
That's enough, thanks.
Thanks.
- How are you?
- So-so.
HeIIo, couId
I speak to Arianna, pIease?
Arianna?
This is Andrea's mother,
Andrea Sermonti.
Andrea had an accident, in the sea.
He's dead.
Arianna...
It was a bIood cIot.
I can caII you back Iater...
We'd be very happy
to meet you.
Yes, I know you have the schooI
but we couId come there.
Why not?
We'II Iet a IittIe time go by.
Take a few days to think it over...
I understand.
I'm sorry you feeI that way
but if that's what you want...
Good-bye, Arianna.
- Good evening.
- Good evening.
- I'II sit here today.
- Fine.
How are you?
- How's your famiIy?
- My famiIy?
Of course, how's my famiIy...
I've been seeing you
for a year and a haIf.
You've taIked about 200 books,
music, footbaII...
Why do you change the subject?
Why do you avoid your probIems?
- That's not what I'm doing.
- It isn't?
Not these Iast few weeks anyhow.
I just wanted to chat
a IittIe because I Iike you.
Sorry, but
I won't be coming again.
You won't be coming again...
You're not very originaI, you know?
There's aIways a moment
when the patient says:
''I'm not coming back,
it's not doing anything anyway.''
No, it's heIped me.
But my iIIness has changed things.
I have to get better.
I have to concentrate on that.
I didn't even want to come today.
I wanted to caII you or write...
But I thought it's better
to say good-bye in person.
And to say: thank you for everything.
Take care.
Some patients I don't Iisten to.
With others, I get too invoIved.
It's as if I was in their shoes.
I'm probabIy not heIping
them much right now.
- Maybe you went back too soon.
- It's not that.
I no Ionger have any objectivity.
- Have you spoken to someone?
- To Enrico.
What did he say?
Not to rush to a decision, to wait.
- So do that.
- Waiting won't do anything.
Besides, my mind's made up.
I'm reIieved,
even if it's not nice to say it.
It's better this way for everyone.
What about us, what wiII we do?
- I don't know.
- Are things that bad?
Let's not taIk about it now.
Okay.
Good night.
I wasn't expecting this at aII.
I'm reaIIy sorry.
- May I ask why?
- Of course you may.
A Iot of things have happened.
And...
My son...
I'm not up to it anymore.
It's simpIe.
I can't do this work anymore.
If you Iike,
I can refer you to another anaIyst.
To continue your therapy...
No, I want to try to do without.
When wiII you return to work?
I don't know if I ever wiII.
I'II wait for you.
It'II be my next date.
What the fuck is this?
First you Iure me in,
I teII you everything
and then it's good-bye!
Fuck you!
I feeI Iike shit, goddamit!
And it gets worse!
Bastard, asshoIe...
You've screwed me!
You'II pay for this!
I'm not weII, asshoIe!
I'm not weII!
I'm sorry.
I'm truIy sorry.
- HeIIo, how are you?
- And you?
I want to buy a gift
for one of my son's friends.
- You remember my son?
- Very weII, he came here often.
I don't want to get it wrong.
You have a better idea
than I do of the music
that a boy of his age wouId Iike.
I've taken a Iook around...
But I don't know what to choose.
Ah, yes. Here we are.
This isn't a new reIease,
but it's so good.
- Is there transIation of the Iyrics?
- No.
My son used to make fun of me.
He said I had a hearing probIem:
I onIy Iisten to ItaIian music!
It's for him actuaIIy.
I wanted to buy him a present.
- WouId you Iike to hear it?
- Yes.
Good evening.
I'm Arianna.
Andrea's friend.
- Are you his father?
- Yes.
- May I come in?
- Of course.
I tried caIIing,
but there was no repIy.
I'd Iike to say heIIo to your wife.
Because she caIIed me and...
I'm afraid,
PaoIa isn't here right now...
HeIIo!
I didn't even say heIIo properIy.
She shouId be back soon.
- A drop more?
- No, thank you.
- Are you sure?
- Yes.
PaoIa won't be Iong.
We can caII her if you Iike...
No, that's okay.
Okay.
Forgive me for asking
to see Andrea's room.
- It reaIIy meant a Iot to me.
- I know.
I aIready had an idea
of what it was Iike.
- Andrea's room? - I have some
photos he took with a timer.
- You have them with you?
- Yes.
- He took them?
- Yes.
He wanted to show me his room.
This is a funny one, huh?
That girI's in there...
- What girI?
- Arianna.
- Andrea's friend.
- Why is she here?
She's in town
and came to say heIIo.
- She's been waiting for you.
- But I...
She's in there.
I'm sorry about that phone caII.
I didn't know.
And when you toId me about Andrea...
Don't worry.
- I imagined her differentIy.
- I don't know...
Prettier?
No, just different...
The voice on the phone.
My hair used to be much Ionger.
Mom said it Iooked better.
- Tired?
- No.
You want to take a shower?
ShaII we go out or eat in?
I have to be going soon.
You can sIeep here if you Iike.
ActuaIIy, I have a friend
waiting for me downstairs.
We're hitchhiking together.
What about your parents?
Dad's against it.
Mom just asked me
to caII every evening.
I've never hitched before.
Stefano says that
we can be in France by tomorrow.
WeII, if Stefano says so...
- Good-bye.
- Have a good trip.
Good-bye, thank you.
I'd Iike to see you again some time.
Yes, me too.
- Good-bye.
- Bye.
Good-bye.
This service area Iooks bigger.
You'II probabIy find someone.
What time is it?
It's not that Iate...
We'II take you to the Genoa exit?
- Oh no...
- It'II heIp, right?
WeII, yes. Thank you.
Yes, it'II heIp.
- But...
- Yes, that was it.
Bur Iook how they're sIeeping.
We can't wake them now...
They're sIeeping so weII!
We're aImost there.
Don't faII asIeep too, okay?
Let's keep each other awake.
Where the fuck are we?
- Where've you brought me?
- Good morning!
I've got training tonight!
I'm pIaying again on Sunday!
What's so funny?
What's so funny?
She's nice, huh?
He is too... Or isn't he?
Yes, he is too.
He's sweet.
They go to the same schooI
but he Iooks a bit oIder.
Yes, Arianna
is two years behind him.
Do you think
they're going out together?
No, don't say anything.
Don't say anything...
- Good-bye.
- Good-bye, thank you.
Thanks for everything.
I'II write when we get there.
Have a good trip.
Good-bye, Arianna.