Kindness Diaries (2017–2019): Season 1, Episode 4 - The Gift of Transformation - full transcript

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[Leon]
I started my day early,

feeling optimistic
as I headed east along the
French Riviera.

I mean, just look at this view!

I was thinking there was no way
to have a bad day in a place
like this.

And, I decided to make my
first stop when I got hungry.

Now, if ever there were a place
in the whole geography of the
planet

where people could afford
to be generous, it'’s here.

French Riviera.

Beauty.

[Leon] It wasn'’t long before a
generous soul offered me some
food.

What do you want?



Oh! Jambon et fromage.

[Leon] I have my crepe...

now I need to find
somewhere to stay.

[Leon] I was feeling pretty
confident that I just needed to
talk

to a couple of these
mega-rich yacht owners

and surely one of them
would have room for me,

even if just aboard
one of their dinghies.

[Leon] Is it possible for me
to stay on this boat tonight?

I was wondering if
you would allow me

to stay on this
wonderful boat for the night?

[man, in French]
That's nice, but no.

-[Leon] Just one night?
-No, no, no.

[Leon] Boy, was I wrong.

Do you speak English?



[Leon] Maybe I just needed
to try my luck on land.

Do you know anyone who
lives on that boat?

No, I don'’t know
nobody around here.

[Leon] Though I wasn'’t having
much luck there either.

[woman] Maybe I can ask someone
because these people know all
around St. Tropez.

[Leon] And, just when it seemed
like my luck was about to
change...

Hi.

No, I don't think so.

[Leon] ...it didn'’t.

Couldn'’t persuade someone
to put me up for the night.

[Leon] It was official.

In the land of the haves,
I was definitely a have-not.

So, I decided to try my luck
back out on the road

and crossed the
border into Italy.

I guess you could say that
I got off to a slow start.

I need to find a place to stay.

For what? For sleeping?

Sleeping, yes.

Without money,
I don'’t know. It's very hard.

-No.
-No?

[Leon] And it seemed like I
wasn'’t going to have any luck
here, either,

until this happened.

Not in my house, but maybe I can
help you with some friend'’s
home, if you accept.

Yeah, that'’d be great.

-Okay, so just let me call them.
-OK, please.

Who are you going to call?

I'’m going to call my
good friend Filippo.

He is living out of Turin, but I
think that he can help you
somehow.

Hey, Filippo. Hey,
how are you doing?

I met some... a
guy coming from--

I don'’t know very well where.

-Los Angeles.
-Los Angeles.

[man] He needs some
place for tonight.

I know you have a huge house.
Can you help him?

Oh, this is great.
This is great.

So we are in the downtown here,

so basically you just
have to go with your bike...

go down from, in
that direction...

Now it'’s off to find
this chap, Filippo.

[Leon] So, it all
seemed easy enough.

All I had to do was follow
the map and arrive before dark.

But, somehow, I made a wrong
turn, or possibly several.

And, before I knew it, I was
lost on these back country roads

with no one around to help me

and a sky that was filling up
with darkness at a rather
alarming rate.

[engine puttering, dog yelping]

I mean, the map'’s useless.
I am completely lost.

I have absolutely
no idea where I am,

and to be lost in the
middle of nowhere...

doesn'’t help.

Hello, hello.

Hello. Um, I'’m lost.

-Do you speak English?
-No.

Kindness 1 , I really do love
you, but I do not want to sleep
in the sidecar.

Oh, God.
I need some divine intervention
again.

Ah, hello, hello.

Rebarro Street?

[driver speaking indistinctly]

Ah, Filippo, Filippo.

[laughter]

[man] ...Filippo.

-Filippo!
-Siì, si.

-Siì.
-Siì.

Give me a hug, my friend.
He knows Filippo!

Did that actually just happen!

How is it possible
that that man knows Filippo?

[Leon] Finally, I arrived
at the house, though very late.

In fact, I wasn'’t even 100% sure
that I was going to be invited
to stay the night.

[dog barking]

-Hello.
-Hello.

-Are you Filippo?
-I am Filippo.

[Filippo] Welcome.

- [Leon] But after a warm
greeting... - Please come in.

[Leon] I felt much better
about my chances.

This is an amazing house.

[Filippo] Well, it'’s
an old family house.

[Leon] It turns out my
new friend Filippo'’s family

had lived in this magnificent
house for a long time.

It'’s been rebuilt
in early 1800'’s.

[Leon] I mean, a very long time.

This was done in
the early 1700'’s?

[Leon] And I just had to ask...

[Leon] Are there any ghosts?

[Filippo chuckles]

[Filippo] If there is any
ghosts, it is a benevolent one.

[Leon] Okay, so it'’s
a friendly ghost.

[Filippo] It'’s a friendly ghost.

[Leon] And after a quick tour
of his impressive ancestral
home,

we sat down to an equally
impressive homemade dinner.

[Filippo] Now this is a thick
countryside minestrone.

[Leon] Oh, please.

[Filippo] Prepared
from vegetable garden

with some Italian pasta in it.

-Cheers.
-Cheers.

-And once again, welcome.
-Thank you.

-I feel honored to be here, by
the way. -Fantastic. Fantastic.

[Leon] And now it was time
for a good night'’s sleep.

[Filippo] Please, come in.

Hope you are having...

a very, very good
rest, a good sleep.

-I cannot thank you enough.
-Oh, come on.

[Filippo] Good night. Sleep
well. Good night. Bless you.

[Leon] The next morning I wanted
to learn more about my good
host'’s family.

-Good morning.
-Hello, hello, good morning!

I remember yesterday you said
to me that you had pictures

of your ancestors
that lived in the house.

-[Filippo] Exactly.
-[Leon] Can I see those?

[Filippo] Eduardo Gautier.

-[Leon] He looks like you.
-[Filippo] Ah, does he?

[Leon] No, he really does.

[Filippo] Oh, and
Miss Carena Gautier.

That painting was
done 200 years ago.

[Filippo] More or less.
Yes, a little bit less than
that.

But still a beautiful,
beautiful looking lady.

[Leon] And it turned out,
taking in strangers in need

was a bit of a family tradition.

[Filippo] After the huge
bombing which took place

over Torino and
Genoa and Milano,

there were a lot of families,
homeless families.

We hosted three
families of refugees.

They lived here for a good
couple of years in this house.

[Leon] After seeing the house,
we took a bike tour of the
grounds of the estate

and, incredibly, after all
he had done for me,

Filippo offered
me one last gift,

a full tank of gas
for Kindness 1.

But then it was
time to say goodbye.

Leon, that was a gift for us.
Thank you for coming.

[Leon] And once again
we hit the open road.

And so I continued east through
beautiful Northern Italy...

arriving at my next destination
just as it was starting to get
dark.

I went from one beautiful
location to another beautiful
location,

Lake Como.

Absolutely stunning.

What I have to do now
is find a place to stay.

I was wondering if you could
let me stay with you tonight.

Oh, we'’re just
leaving Como tonight.

Unfortunately, I
live with my parents.

[Leon] At first it seemed
I was getting a lot of
rejections,

but then... I got
even more rejections.

A glass of beer,
will you accept it?

We can give you booze, man.

[Leon] And just when it seemed
my luck had run out, I
realized...

For you...
is not to give you
accommodation.

[Leon] ...it had for sure.

My mom'’s not, like,
she'’s not at home right now.

- [Leon] Absolutely...
-But I'’ll come back in 30
minutes.

Ciao. Grazie!

-[bystanders] Ciao!
-Bye.

[Leon] ...run out.

He didn'’t come back.

[Leon] And so I was left
with no other choice

but to sleep in the one place
I knew I could afford.

I can'’t believe it
has come to this.

[Leon] The next day,
though a little worse for wear,

I traveled further down the lake
and tried to keep my situation
in perspective.

The truth is, I am in Lake Como,
one of the most epic places on
earth,

so I'’m going to make the
absolute best of this day.

I'’m going to go and have
a chat with this chap,

see whether or not I can get
one of these peddlers for free.

Ah!

Whoa.

I think I'’ve found the
only vehicle in the world

that drives worse
than Kindness 1.

[Leon] Having slept in my side
car, I didn'’t have the
opportunity to shower,

so I decided to get
a little creative.

I'’m gonna do this, and if I get
arrested, then that was my
destiny.

[Leon] And boy,
was it refreshing.

And with that, it was time
to come back to port

and explore more
of this beautiful city.

I wonder what'’s up
there. That looks cool.

[Leon] There was something about
the view from inside a 120
-year-old vertical train,

as it climbs over
1,600 feet straight up.

And, the view from
the top was even better.

As the skies turned an even
darker gray, I decided to get
back out on the road

and try to get ahead of the
rain, but that didn'’t happen.

♪ Rain

♪ Rain

♪ Sing me a song

[Leon] And, after an hour or so,
it just became too much.

A... a total downpour.

I am completely and
utterly drenched.

I just can'’t do this.
I'’m going to catch pneumonia.

♪ Take me home

[sighing] Oh, my God!

[Leon] After I dried off and the
weather broke, I continued my
journey east,

where I stopped in the
beautiful town of Portogruaro.

[Leon] It'’s actually
really beautiful here,

the only problem is, there don't
seem to be any people,

which is a little bit of a
problem because I still haven'’t
found a place to stay.

- [Leon] And the few people I did
see... -I'd have to say no.

[Leon] ...weren'’t
able to help me.

I am mentally, physically,
and emotionally exhausted.

There'’s a limit to how
many times I can be rejected.

I have to leave this place.

[Leon] So, for the third time
that day, I was out on the open
road

until I arrived in the
magnificent port city of
Trieste.

Heavily influenced by Latin,
Slavic, and Germanic cultures,

Trieste was once one of the most
important cities in the world

because of its harbor.

Today, the city is located
within one of the richest
regions of Italy,

and certainly one of the
most beautiful as well.

But I was a man on a mission,
so I rode directly to the city
center.

[Leon] I am not leaving
this place until:

A... I have found someone
that speaks English,

B... I have found
someone to put me up.

-Do you speak English?
-Yes, why not?

-You do?
-Yeah.

I need someone to put me up
in their house for one night.

Okay.

-Are you letting me stay in your
house? -Yeah.

Are you serious?

Thank you, man.

[Leon] As we walked
to the apartment,

I learned some more
about my new friend Alex...

Believe it or not, I'’m a fencer.

Oh, a fencer, like this?

Ah, well, not really, but...

[Leon] ...and this ancient city
he called home.

-Do you see this?
-Yeah.

This is a Roman ruin.

This was a theater
to see sea battle.

-The wars?
-Yeah.

They would sit
there and watch war?

-Romans. Yeah.
-Wow.

[Leon] We said a quick hello
to Alex'’s wife and daughter

before he suited me up
like a proper fencer.

-This is your sword. Yeah.
-This is my sword?

-Why do you have padding and I
don'’t? -Well, because I'm
worried about you.

You have to learn some rules.

Feet. Correct. Down.

Right.

More down?

Okay.

Look at you! Wow!

[Leon] Alex was
such a good teacher.

By the end of my lesson,
I was feeling pretty confident.

Arrggh!

Do you think I could become
an Olympic champion?

-No.
-[laughter]

[Leon] As we talked, I learned
about Alex'’s passion for
teaching.

A fencing master
called me and says,

"“You can be good with kids,"”
and then I started.

Do you know any children that
have been really affected
positively by fencing?

I see sweat. I see good will.

I see the way of learning.

This is sad, but, um...

relatives and parents
cannot afford...

[Leon] I also learned how
expensive the sport of fencing
can be.

A complete outfit is almost
$1,500, and the child is growing
up so fast,

when they arrive at
the age of about 13-14,

they have already
changed three or four outfits.

And you can see the
efforts of parents,

because parents, they see the
happiness in the eyes of their
kids.

[Leon] Over lunch,
I learned more

about where Alex'’s passion
for teaching came from.

[Alex] And my fencing master,
that, for me, it was like a
father.

It seems that this man
really affected your life.

Absolutely.

Maybe one of the main reasons
why you'’ve dedicated your life
to teaching kids

and inspiring them to live great
lives is because someone did
that for you?

I wish to be, as my
fencing master, and...

be able to transmit the same
positive attitude for life and
sport.

To me, it doesn'’t seem
like fencing is just a sport.

And it'’s a way to inspire
people to live good lives.

Good life, and the respect.
When say hi to your opponent,

you are doing this and
you are kissing the sword

but you are kissing a cross.

So still there is
a form of respect.

If a child can'’t afford the
equipment, then what happens?

[sighs]

[Leon] The look on his face told
me exactly what I needed to
know,

so I fell asleep knowing exactly
what I needed to do the next
day.

What happens is that when me
and the crew meet someone

who we think is very special and
who we believe can make great
changes

in the world, we give
something to them.

You were talking about how much
your master affected your life.

[Alex] Sure.

[Leon] Because you'’re
such a giving person,

that you would know
a child in Trieste

who needs some help

and that the way that they
can be helped is through
fencing,

so maybe that child can be
given the fencing equipment

which you said was
very expensive,

maybe that child can be
put into a fencing school,

something that will
help inspire that child

the same way that
you were inspired.

-For true?
-Very true.

No.

I'’m telling you the truth.

Wow.

Wow.

I have no words for
that because, um...

there is one guy that he
lost recently his father...

in our team.

The age is 12 years old,

and that father
had a heart attack.

For me, fencing master
was a kind of a father,

sometimes better than a father.

I think that this can be
a marvelous gift for him.

For Angelo, with this gift
will have a chance to approach

more national and
international competition.

[Leon] Incredibly, this man,
who had already done so much

for his students and for me,
had one more gift to give.

This blade was with
me for 20 years.

-Twenty years?
-Yes.

And this, that is the end,
the most important part of the
épée.

It was...

it'’s the same part of the
Italian Olympic games,

winner in Beijing 2008.

Really? So, this won
the Olympic games?

This is a part.

For me it means something

because with this I have done
my last lessons with my fencing
master.

-Your master taught you with
this sword? -Yeah.

-Thank you very much.
-Ciao.

[Leon] And, as I left Alex,
I knew at that moment

we were both experiencing
the kind of joy

that can only come from doing
something special for someone
else.

And, it made me feel as happy
as a child with a new toy.

Though the last few days had
their shares of ups and downs,

the good experiences
really did outshine the bad.

And they did so spectacularly.