["Non Ti Riconosco Più" by Giancane]
[in Italian] ♪ Years, months, and days Spent untangling a thread ♪
♪ From the tangle of your nerves Hung out to dry ♪
♪ Sleepless nights And pillow marks on your face ♪
♪ I lose everything, even my hair And I try to breathe ♪
♪ But where are you going? Where are you? Tell me where you'll go ♪
♪ Lock everything in a hatch You never know ♪
♪ But where are you going? Where are you going now that ♪
♪ You don't recognise yourself any more? ♪
♪ There's someone in the mirror But it's not you any more ♪
♪ I don't recognise you ♪
♪ How many lives do you live in secret? ♪
♪ I don't recognise you ♪
MY 2 CENTS
[coin clattering]
["The Vampyre of Time and Memory" by Queens of the Stone Age playing]
♪ I want God to come ♪
♪ And take me home ♪
♪ 'Cause I'm all alone ♪
♪ In this crowd ♪
♪ Who are you to me? ♪
EMERGENCY 24/7
♪ Who am I supposed to be? ♪
♪ Not exactly sure ♪
♪ Any more ♪
♪ Hmm ♪
♪ Where's this going to? ♪
♪ Can I follow through? ♪
♪ Or just follow you ♪
♪ For a while? ♪
♪ Does anyone ever get this right? ♪
♪ I feel ♪
♪ No love… ♪
[in English] So, the internal bleeding has stopped.
We were lucky to catch it in time,
'cause they often bring them to us when they're pretty much beyond help.
Just remember that we can't guarantee anything
until we've patched him up and we see how he is when he wakes up.
But, look, at least now we can cross our fingers, can't we?
[Zero] They say that when a story reaches its final act,
you just know.
You can feel it in the air.
[music fades]
[Zero] I don't know if that's true.
I thought it was already over 20 years ago,
that August afternoon,
when the great pantomime finally came to an end.
[upbeat music playing in background]
Zeh, are you free Saturday afternoon to come see the new exhibition by Warhol?
[Zero] I didn't give a shit about Andy Warhol,
but she'd just broken up with her boyfriend,
and we were now back in that narrow window of time
where I could make a move
before the next thresher she'd date came along.
Before, I would have said…
Absolutely. I'm obsessed with Andy Warhol!
I was gonna get that soup can tattoo
and those Marilyn portraits that look like Moira Orfei.
I jerked off so much to them!
I'd have burnt everything to the ground,
exams, work, doctor's appointments, friends, girls…
Every single time,
I would've burnt all the bridges connecting me to my dignity, to say…
Of course I'm free. Let's go wherever you want to go!
Instead, I decided to bite my tongue and said…
[dialogue rewinding]
[bleak music playing]
Um… I think that I'm actually going out with someone on Saturday.
That was one of the hardest things I've said in my whole life.
Worse than when I told my mother I wasn't actually going to university.
In the morning, I'd leave and ride the subway back and forth
for eight hours like a psycho.
Because it felt like that sentence…
[slow, distorting] "I'm actually going out…"
…signalled the end of something wonderful
that had never really happened.
But maybe that's exactly why it stayed unrealised,
pure in a way only things that never happen,
or that last no time at all, ever are.
That's the problem with us simps.
When people stand us up, don't give a shit about us,
put us at the bottom of their list of priorities, or even below it…
What can I do? I've got power Pilates!
We're prepping for the end-of-year show.
[Zero] And…
Sorry, hon. On Wednesdays, I watch Chi l'ha visto.
No! Don't you mock that show!
I am aware that the priority level of Chi l'ha visto is debatable.
It's every citizen's civic duty!
I get it, but what if someone asks you out…
Shut up now. They're showing the final chat messages Isotta sent.
It turns out she went to buy an iguana for her lover's 13th birthday.
She met him on TikTok,
but we discovered that she never actually got to the exotic animal store.
[Zero] When other people piss on us, we're fine with it.
We think, "Oh well, maybe next time".
But when it's us who have to draw the line,
when it's us who have to say…
Uh, no, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, but I can't.
Saying "I can't" is worse than stabbing yourself.
[pained groan]
Because it makes that doubt grow inside you
that it was finally time for us to get together,
and now it's my fault if it doesn't happen,
and I'll spend the rest of my life regretting it.
But who knows? Maybe I had a sudden surge of dignity.
Maybe the heat that day short-circuited my simp gland.
But I added…
Uh, I'm actually going out with a girl.
Boom! You told her. Gimme a G! Gimme an O!
And touchdown!
What's she gonna say now? And what if she freaks out?
Maybe she gets a pang of jealousy, and you can finally tell her.
"Oh, you regret it now, don't you?"
"You missed your opportunity, girl, 'cause this beefcake is off the market."
"He's gone to the local stud farm."
[suspenseful music building]
I'm happy for you. Such good news. You'll have to tell me how it goes, Zeh.
Nah. She doesn't give a flying fuck.
[Zero] I don't know if she really didn't give a fuck.
Gimme a "fuck". Gimme a "wit". What do you get?
Cappuccino, sweetheart.
[Zero] She definitely wasn't pulling her hair out.
But it seemed to me that something tiny,
something imperceptible, had cracked inside of her too.
[glass cracking]
But I couldn't hear the sound of the shards breaking,
because she had this idea that every embarrassing silence
had to be filled with someone screaming
until their vocal cords gave out.
["Granito" by Plakkaggio playing]
ALARM SNOOZE
[singing in Italian]
NO NOTIFICATIONS
WAR AMONG THE STARS
[both singing] ♪ Still standing You won't ever beat us! ♪
[in English] Hey. What are you doing that for?
I thought this is what you do.
If he stabs me, it won't spill all my guts out.
A pineapple often does the trick.
[unsettling music playing]
-Oh, is that so? -A pineapple's skin is much harder, Zero.
And what's more, it also puts out fire.
If you wear it as a sleeve,
you can stop a blowtorch without getting burns all over your arm.
I don't think Tripwire's gonna come waving a blowtorch.
We can go by my house if you want. I've made a complete suit of armour.
I am at a loss to understand
why you felt the need to make a suit of armour out of pineapple skin.
But what if there's a villain who can control fire, though?
[Zero sighs]
-What villain? -[Wild Boar] I'm ready.
Do we have time for a coffee, or shall we go?
Look, guys, there's no need for all of us to go.
Let's be sensible and use our heads. We're not exactly going on a day trip.
This whole thing started because of me. I can't not come along.
Now you come to mention it,
if you didn't come along, and this only applies to you,
you'd be a total and utter shit.
There, I said it. I got it off my chest. But no need for anyone else to come.
This is my ex we're talking about. And I got my brothers involved,
so I'm coming, too, to make sure they don't do too much damage.
There's something I wanna say in relation to that.
I won't be shocked if there's a dust-up.
But I don't want to get caught up in, how would you say? Uh…
-How would you say, what? -Come on, you know.
I know that one has to look the part.
But when it's all over, you know, he has to be able to tell someone.
Who does he have to tell?
Someone! Fuck, do I have to spell it out?
[grunts painfully] Pow! [mimic gunshot]
Come on! I don't want to be involved in a murder, all right?
Jesus Christ, Zeh!
You're meeting in the square at ten in the morning, all arranged over text!
When people decide to murder someone, they usually take a few more precautions.
Okay, so let me get this straight.
You're saying that they'll show up before he guts me like a sea bass,
but you're sure they won't do anything excessive.
Zeh, look, today is predominantly a day of pretty big scares,
and maybe a tiny bit of damage.
I'm coming along to make sure there's balance between these two things.
-[door opens] -[Zero sighs]
It's not clear what the fuck you're coming for.
What can I say? At least there'll be another woman there.
This entire situation reeks of patriarchy.
We can sprinkle a bit of sisterhood on this procedure that I don't agree with.
Uh…
Okay, I won't ask you. Let's go.
I just hope there's fire
so you have to apologise about the pineapple suit of armour.
Dracarys.
[epic music playing]
[Zero] I remember it being a very long walk.
[heartbeat pounding]
[Zero] My heart was pounding,
and the Armadillo kept repeating the only nagging doubt I had on my mind.
But what if Carlo and Emilio don't even show up?
Supposing they oversleep? You get there and meet Tripwire.
What the fuck will you do? What if he has a knife?
Oh, spare me the details. I'm anxious enough.
That's why I tucked a pile of magazines down there.
Whatever. Not even pineapples work in this case 'cause he always aims high.
He stabs you here, right in the throat, right in the chest. That hurts.
But you explicitly said it was safer to get stabbed by Tripwire
because he's the kind of guy who stabs you reasonably!
Yeah, but that was before. Put yourself in his shoes now.
You sprayed him in the face.
You broke his nasal septum. You screwed his woman.
I didn't screw anyone, for fuck's sake!
It's the perception that counts, okay?
And to top it all off, he got fired from the family business he worked for.
Poor guy. I'm not on his side.
But taking all that on board, if he stabs you to death,
what can you actually say?
[Zero] I don't have the strength to argue,
and I try to think about the only thing that comforts me.
Controversial though it may be…
[suspenseful music playing]
…I don't want to die alone.
You might say, "No shit! Nobody wants to die alone".
But I don't mean I want my loved ones around my bedside,
holding my hand, and all that malarkey.
I mean, I don't want to be the only one to die. I want them all to die with me.
[chuckling]
HERE LIES ZEROCALCARE NEVER DEAR WAS THAT LONELY BURDEN
The idea that I die and they live and a thousand things happen to them,
like seeing dinosaurs being cloned, an alien invasion,
the guys from the Zanzara show down on their luck,
begging for money on Celebrity Island.
All the things I've been waiting for all my life,
and I'd be the only one who wouldn't be there.
Anyway, it's not like they deserve it any more than me.
I wish the whole world would end with me.
WHO SAW YOU? END OF PREVIEW
Like when my heart beats for the last time,
a meteorite hits the Earth and wipes out all life.
So we're all even, and I won't feel bitter about it.
I know it's a megalomaniacal and selfish thought.
But I'm not crazy. I don't think I can make demands on all of humanity.
So, I'd settle for my friends dying.
While I was looking at them and thinking who had the best chance of dying with me,
I noticed all these police cars driving by, and I thought,
"What the fuck's going on today?"
Then I saw they were all heading towards the square, so I said…
Smeralda, do you think your brothers have already got here?
She didn't answer, but started running.
We followed her, but didn't get far as everything was all blocked off.
There were people everywhere, and they wouldn't let us into the square.
Everyone was asking, "What happened? What happened?"
And I started to panic because I thought, "What the fuck did those two do?"
"Did they kill him?" Or was it the opposite?
"Has he killed them?"
They were feeling confident, after all.
They must've arrived all cocky, and he stabbed them.
Or Secco was right, and he really did have a blowtorch.
Yes, that's what that burning smell is!
[Carlo chuckles]
[Zero] But then I looked up,
and they were there, with a look on their faces that gave me goosebumps.
We locked eyes for just a second,
then Carlo made the international gesture for "let's get the fuck out of here".
Why? Have they killed him?
Then they disappeared.
I couldn't see Smeralda any more, and I thought, "Where the fuck is she?"
Maybe she's smarter than us and ran away with her brothers
when she realised it was the only thing to do! But no.
Honestly, I don't feel like doing the voices here,
because my blood still freezes when I think back to that moment.
-[solemn music playing] -[woman singing angelic aria]
[whispers] I think he's dead.
Zero, we gotta go.
Hey, let's go!
[crowd whispering]
Smeralda's over there, though.
Just drop her a text message. Tell her we're at the café.
-But we can't just leave her here. -Jeez, Zero, we have to get out of here!
[Zero] I was half in a trance,
so it's hard to say what was going through my mind.
[Wild Boar] We'll meet her at the café.
[Zero] I was going crazy and I needed to regain control,
so I thought, "I'll put everything back in order".
"I have to do it as if it were an autopsy".
I open my head, take out every thought, and put it on the table.
Okay, let's start.
The first thing is a horrible feeling.
-[sharp exhale] -Relief.
And I know that's awful.
There's a guy lying in a pool of blood, but I can't say I'm sorry.
[blood bubbling]
It's like asking Frodo if he's sad that Sauron died.
Hey, what more can I say? The whole trilogy, he's tried to kill me.
Should I shed a tear for him now? "Poor guy, he was always very polite."
-[Gollum] My precious! -No!
I won't actually do a TikTok dance,
but I cannot pretend that I'm in mourning, though, now, can I?
[Zero] And then there's fear.
A lot of fear.
[uneasy music playing]
Death.
The scariest thing in the world.
Even natural death seems like something far away
that doesn't belong in our lives at all.
We almost never take stock of it.
Except when it happens.
But violent death,
being stabbed to death…
[horrifying music playing]
…that's something you always think is a thousand worlds away from you.
STABBED TO DEATH STRANGLED BY HUSBAND
But it's right there, just a few metres away.
[gasps, whimpers, breathing heavily]
On that body that still smells like you,
and you smell like him.
You exchanged atoms, molecules, sweat…
[Tripwire] Do you think this is a game?
[Zero] And now he's there, dead,
pierced and lacerated by a piece of sharp iron
that ripped him open several times.
Then there's a feeling that I'm ashamed of.
-I don't even want to give it a name. -[Smeralda wailing]
[Zero] It's what I felt when I saw Smeralda in despair.
A tiny part of me couldn't help but think…
What the fuck are you crying for?
You kept saying he used to beat you, that he was a piece of shit,
and now you're crying as if Derek from Grey's Anatomy just died.
Oh, for fuck's sake, girl!
I know that, rationally, the answer is that what was a monster to me
was a lot of other things to her.
She shared seven years of her life with him.
So if she's a bit upset seeing him dismembered on the sidewalk, I get it.
[Zero grunting]
Of course you get it, you absolute arsehole.
You're Jiminy Cricket. Thanks for the masterclass.
It still really pisses me off
that she's crying for that stinking bag of piss, okay?
Is that all right, or do I need your permission?
Hey, dude, you want a soft drink?
I'm not even sure, you know, if all that actually happened.
I think it did. It's already in the Rome news.
And Smeralda?
I've been calling her, but she doesn't pick up.
Seriously, guys, I don't understand how you can all be so calm about it.
I think it was the right thing.
I don't get how you can be like that. Somebody died today, okay?
Now, even if it was a direct result…
He was gonna die sooner or later anyway. No point in putting things off, is there?
[Zero] Honestly, I wasn't in the mood to investigate
where Secco's reasoning about life and death could lead,
but I didn't have time to ask because I heard that bell above the door.
Can't you see we're closed?
What on earth are you closed for, Wild Boar?
Love of my life! I thought you weren't reading my messages!
Love of my life! Love of my life! So much has happened.
I had nothing to do with it, I swear, but I think Tripwire is dead.
I swear I had nothing to do with it.
But the Tartallegra don't want the money any more!
I've no idea how it happened. We were told…
[Christine] Honey! Honey, wait. Slow down. Stop.
Sorry, sweetheart. I thought I would never see you again.
Explain it to me. What do you mean, they killed Tripwire? Who killed him?
[ominous music sting]
-Look, Wild Boar. But isn't that… -Stop talking, all right.
He's still holding the knife.
[Wild Boar] They're stopping people. We have to get out of here.
-It's closed off here. -[Zero] I'm still so shocked.
-Because I saw who was holding the knife. -Stay calm and drop the knife.
[Zero] I mean the actual, unequivocal definition of a murderer.
And of all the people I've met over the course of my life,
the very last one I would've ever thought could wear the mantle of a murderer
was Lorenzo Montini.
[echoing] Montini… Montini… Montini…
[low rumble]
[dog barking in distance]
EMERGENCY 24/7
Would you mind if I wait for him here?
You can wait in the waiting room, but I can't let you into theatre.
But wouldn't it be better if you went back home to rest?
I promise we'll call you if he wakes up.
What's the little one's name?
[Montini] Giulio. [voice breaking] His name's Giulio.
[Zero] Think of the fucking abyss we dumped him in to make him do this.
We were all trying to solve Wild Boar's shit first, then my shit.
And, meanwhile, he was there in front of us,
slipping further and further into hell,
and it was like we couldn't see him.
[tense music building]
-[Smeralda wailing] -[Zero] And in the end, he became hell.
[dramatic music playing]
[Montini sobbing]
[music fades]
But why would Montini do something like…
Honey pie, did you hear what I said? The debt with the Tartallegras is gone!
Honey, debts of that size don't just disappear, do they?
I don't know how on earth it happened, but it's like a miracle!
-[doorbell chimes] -[Christine sighs]
The Virgin Mary takes care of los milagros.
We take care of business.
[suspenseful music playing]
Sorry, but what's he got to do with it?
You honestly didn't know anything about any of this?
I don't understand. About what?
[Christine] Did you really not wonder about it
when the Tartallegra asked the Bangladeshi who had caused all this mess,
why no one actually thought to ask Carlito for the money,
since he was the middleman?
I did actually wonder about that, you know.
But I assumed they talked to him
and only wanted to know where it had all started.
Uh, no. Well, yes, but you're missing a clue.
Because they did go to Carlito.
[tense music building]
[Christine] And they said…
I gather you got our 99k frozen. You gotta give it back.
You're a driver, right?
What did you say to them?
That yes, soy a driver, but no soy a limo service.
I only drive Don Diego Coccodritto.
[Zero gasps]
Oh! Finally, a plot twist that makes some sense
out of this half-baked Cuban stud!
Good job, screenwriters. Nice one.
I was wondering why the Coccodrittos had nothing to do with this story so far.
[rock music playing]
[Zero] The Coccodrittos are the Tartallegras' competitors.
They have shared interests. Dealing, usury, slot machines, extortion…
But they're more creative,
'cause they're into florists and car dealerships.
But in another district.
I say competitors, not rivals 'cause there's mutual respect
and they never cross into each other's turfs.
They're the ones Lemur Friend buys her hash from, for example.
So that's why they didn't break your balls.
They didn't want to trigger a gang war.
The war was just about to start anyway.
Yes, Tripwire was coming here every day, acting all crazy!
[rock music playing]
[Lemur] He beat up Montini in the street. He was making a scene.
This kind of drama attracts the cops, and it's bad for business, you know?
[sirens wailing]
So we had to make a deal that worked for todos.
[music stops]
But what did you do, sweetheart?
I made them buy the debt, honey.
I don't understand, my love.
I'm saying they paid it off and settled our account with the Tartallegra.
But what does that mean?
That I don't owe the Tartallegra, but owe the Coccodritto?
[Christine] Yes. A bit more, but a bit less urgently.
What did you think? Debts like these don't just disappear.
I love you, sweetheart, but I really don't understand.
-What have we gained from this? -You got a month.
[Wild Boar] A month of what?
-What can I do with a month? -[Carlito] A month is a month.
So, you're saying we have an extra month?
I'm saying that in a month, I have to come back aquí.
[doorbell chimes]
[gulps]
I'm sorry, but if he's with the Coccodritto,
why did he involve Imram, who was a frontman for the Tartallegra?
I don't understand the link between them. It was just an elaborate
Keyser Söze-style setup.
They'd foreseen all the moves, like dominoes,
where it ended up with the Coccodritto family buying the debt.
Er, no, it's 'cause their children
go to school together.
And Carlito thought Aryan's parents could really do with the €2,000.
I take it all back.
Real life is always ever so appallingly scripted.
Lazy.
Well, guys, at least we gained an extra month.
We have a bit more time to come up with something.
-So what I think we should do… -[Christine] Zero…
[Zero] She said nothing more,
but there was a finality in those downcast eyes.
A look that signalled the end. No appeals. No recourse.
Closure.
At first, I thought that look marked the end of this whole sorry chapter.
That I had to accept it. It was over.
Months later, I realised it was, in fact,
the end of something that had defined us for 40 years.
That we could always be like The Goonies
if we kept the gang united.
'Cause as long as the gang was together, we could do anything.
We could even take on the whole world.
[solemn music playing]
[Armadillo] What's going on?
All through your emo moment, I was celebrating that it was over
and we were all getting the fuck out of here.
But why are they still here? Why?
I don't know. How do I ask them to go?
Oh my God, what a drag. What a drag!
[bottles clinking]
Uh, sorry, Sarah. I'm really trying to be sensitive here, but…
-Sensitive, my arse. -Shut it!
So, I was thinking, are you actually planning
on moving those little legs of yours towards the door at some point?
Yes, Zero, don't fret!
We're going to my mother's house, and she's really happy, okay?
But first, I've gotta do something. I'll come get her in 20, then we'll go.
If you want to tell her anything, I think this is your last chance, yeah?
Bye-bye. Bye. Bye-bye.
Dear, dear, she's crazy. Don't tell me you're actually listening to her?
-No, I dunno what she was getting at. -What do you think she meant?
Jump in there. Come on, he's dead. It's your turn now!
Oh, I really don't think this is the right time.
Of course it's not the right time,
'cause it's never the right time to do this kind of shit, is it, baldy?
What does "jump" even mean? What is this, the Ariccia Bridge?
These are serious matters.
You have to take things slowly. Very slowly!
-Well, exactly. -Look!
You date her for a bit, yeah, and see how it goes.
Don't get carried away by the urge to label things or define them.
Then, very slowly, when you've gotten to grips with it,
when you've had those seven or eight years to really get used to it,
if everything's still going well,
at that point, you can start to take stock of the situation and say,
"Look, to the outside world, it looks like we're together, we're an item".
It's a snapshot of the state of things. You can't decide that in advance, can you?
-But by that point, you are an item? -Precisely. At that point, you split up.
But didn't it just start?
Oh, no. That's what you call the seven-year itch.
By then, one of the two of you is fed up.
-So, what do I say to her? -Go, go. Play dumb.
Knock out a few little jokes. She said 20 minutes, didn't she?
And 20 minutes will fly by, then she'll fuck off.
[Macchiato whining gently]
[Zero sighs]
Uh, hello.
[hopeful music sting]
I really don't know what to say in these situations.
"How are you doing?" seems a bit stupid.
You don't have to say anything.
It's me who should thank you for the past few days.
I know they must've been terrible for you, but you've showed me a different world.
For the first time, I felt like I was living a normal life
with someone who actually cares about me.
I think that, over the years, I must've just got used to
living with a pressure cooker that could explode at any moment.
Look, I'm so sorry I didn't ask you to stay here the other day.
I didn't actually want to send you away.
It's not that I don't like you. Quite the opposite.
It's just that I'm no good at this stuff and don't know…
No, no, I'm not saying this because I want to move in with you.
I'm not, Zeh, okay?
The person I was with for seven years was stabbed to death this morning.
I'm not really in a place to move on yet, am I?
She's right. I dunno what it is, but I keep on forgetting that he's dead.
I can't get it into my head.
Anyway, that wasn't why I was saying it, you know?
It was just something nice that you gave me.
I don't know. It's just that I feel like I should've protected you more.
Or at least done something to make it even,
since you saved me when he was beating me up outside.
Look, never once in my life have I wanted to have someone to protect me, Zeh.
No, but you always liked the tough guys who were good at fighting.
Come on, let's not kid ourselves. I could never compete with that.
[chuckles] You really are such a dumbo.
I liked being with people who chose me,
who were absolutely sure they wanted to be with me.
With you, I always had to do everything.
You didn't put yourself out there or take any risks.
The others don't understand shit,
but are prepared to risk making a fool of themselves.
[Zero] I wanted to say, "That's not true".
"I was prepared to change all my plans when you reappeared".
Uh…
But then I felt Armadillo patting me on the shoulder, saying…
Don't answer! There are videos.
I request a short break from the interrogation, Your Honour.
[intercom ringing]
It doesn't matter, Zeh.
This wasn't the right time to talk about it anyway.
[sweeping instrumental music playing]
How did it go? Did you do what you had to do?
[sniffing]
Yeah, it took me a while 'cause there was an old man who didn't want to leave.
He just stayed there, like he was the guardian of decorum.
Seeing those words always made me a little anxious, to be honest.
It felt like a life sentence.
[spray hissing]
[Sarah] I prefer it now.
["Non Vi Riconosco Più" by Giancane playing]
PLEASE CAN WE BE LIKE COMETS.. ..FOREVER?
GREAT ROME MOTORWAY
[Zero] The following days felt weird, suspended in time.
What with the phone records, Smeralda's brothers,
and all the things we said without being careful,
would no one really come and ask us what the fuck we were doing?
But no. No one came.
The legend of Tripwire, a lifetime of barbarity,
the nightmare of at least three generations of kids,
filed away like a page in the Rome News section,
with the wrong surname and a graffiti scrawl on the wall.
To begin with, whenever I walked past it, it made me angry because I thought…
BYE MASSIMO GREAT LEADER!
"Leader? Yeah, right. Someone who beat up girls and bullied kids?"
Then I thought that so many of the streets in this city
are named after statesmen and warriors who dropped bombs on people,
killed families, men, women, children…
And no one takes their plaques down, do they?
It would seem a bit classist to me
if this objection only applied to Tripwire,
so we kept the graffiti too.
And at some point, we stopped thinking about it.
It became part of the urban decor.
-["Crazy Bound" playing] -♪ Set the darkness on fire ♪
♪ When you smile… ♪
[Zero] I know you didn't do it for us.
I don't know if you did it for yourself. I don't know if you had a choice or not.
But if you're there now,
it's 'cause facts are judged, not intentions.
But there are also other facts that are equally important,
even if they weren't discussed at the trial.
Like, if we're here, literally, I mean,
if we can continue living our lives
with all our arguments, all our anxieties, all our laughter,
it's thanks to you.
You're paying for something that allows us to keep living.
And we did nothing to deserve it. Quite the opposite.
In fact, we gave you nothing these past years,
and you didn't owe us anything.
Yet you gave us everything.
♪ Look at me now… ♪
My grandmother spent her life thanking St. Lucy,
who she believed saved her when she was dying in childbirth.
"Each of us has a saint in heaven", she always said,
"and you have to thank them every day that you're alive and healthy".
I never listened to her, but now I think she was right.
It's just that our saint isn't in heaven. Quite the opposite.
He's in the place on Earth that most resembles hell.
♪ Crazy town ♪
-He okay? -He's well.
A little better than last time. He's put on a bit of weight, even.
Did they allow him to have the letter?
Yes, he was happy and very touched.
He said he'll write back. You put your address in, didn't you, Zero?
Yeah, I did. It's at the bottom.
Did you give him the photo?
Yes, he says thank you,
'cause that was what worried him the most, you know?
[Montini sobs]
Because he knows I couldn't cope with him on my own,
and he's better off being with you.
Thank you for taking me to see him, even though you're leaving.
[sighs] Well, I had time, and I won't be away long.
I'll be back in three days. Shall we talk when I get back home?
All right, but be careful with all this travelling.
Get some rest every now and then, will you? Bye, Giulio!
-Sorry, can I ask you something? -Yeah?
Why does this dog have the name Giulio? It's a strange name for a dog.
Look here.
Who does he remind you of?
Oh God, I don't know.
The most handsome politician in all Italian history!
Oh no! You surely don't mean Rutelli? He was hot when he was young, but wasn't…
Giulio Andreotti!
[woman's voice] President?
President!
[footsteps approaching]
[Giulio snoring]
[car door opens]
So, you didn't manage in the end to convince that idiot to come? [tuts]
[Zero] Didn't have a hope.
Oh well, he does have a kid, so you can understand
why he can't leave him with that poor woman for three days, can't you?
Yes, I can, Sarah.
Yes. This is the great rational narrative.
The one we always build around Secco to justify his behaviour.
He's not the one who talks about having a kid.
It's what we say to make it more acceptable to us.
But actually, I'd also said something else to Secco.
And I didn't want to tell Sarah.
It was the last thing I said before saying goodbye.
I thought, "We're 40 years old".
"Maybe it's time we talked openly like two mature people".
So I said it.
Secco, you're a piece of shit now
with this kid thing that's ruined everything.
We can't do anything together any more. You basically killed our duo.
He answered me with the same maturity.
What the fuck are you talking about?
You started it, with this comic book thing and then Netflix.
You're the one who killed everything.
Me having a kid hasn't actually changed anything at all.
[Zero] But he didn't say it with a tone of resentment or sadness.
It was Secco's standard metallic tone.
[pensive music playing]
But for a second, it opened up this tiny crack,
and through it, I saw the last few years again.
All the stuff I got tangled up in because of work.
The good things and the bad.
And I realised that Secco was practically never there.
None of my old friends were there.
Because I didn't find the time or the space to keep them in my life.
Or maybe this is my great rational narrative.
The one I built to justify my behaviour.
And I also wondered, "What was Secco doing in those moments
when he was living outside of our relationship?"
And even if the answer was clearly, "He must've played poker",
"He must have got laid, too, if he had a kid",
I glimpsed that there was something terrible
lurking behind all these thoughts
that threatened to sweep away my entire great justificatory system.
When you see those clouds, you must stop. Dissect and deepen, be introspective.
Because those clouds reveal something about yourself.
That's how you grow.
When you're mature enough to look your demons in the face
and talk about them with others.
[Zero sighs]
That's why I plucked up the courage and…
Oh, go fuck yourself!
Well done.
Blow me!
You and your mother.
[plane engine whirring]
[baby crying]
-[woman snoring] -[baby crying]
-[woman groans] -[Zero grunts, sighs]
[rock music playing through headphones]
So, you still haven't told me how the fuck you are, Sarah.
Well, I'm fine. Of course, living with my mother is complicated.
We're always this close to appearing on the evening news.
But you managed to stand your ground with Stella.
You know I lost €50 on it? I bet you'd be back together in a week.
PAY UP
I lost as well. I bet on it too.
Well, it's been six months already. You must've broken the spell by now.
[Sarah growls, exhales sharply]
I haven't broken anything, Zero.
I think my problem is, it's all in my head.
We haven't communicated with each other in six months,
but a part of me still doesn't think we broke up.
It's like a moment in time when we're not talking to each other,
like we're on a little break or something.
But every time something happens to me,
my first and only thought is that I wanna tell her all about it.
I think, at first, that's pretty normal.
Is it normal to have a list in your head that you update all the time
with everything that happens in your life,
because I think "When I see her again, I can tell her everything,
and she won't have missed anything"?
Okay, I don't know if that's normal,
but you're still doing well not reaching out to her.
Yes, and every night, I look at myself in the mirror and say,
"Well done, you didn't fall for it again today" like some kinda junkie.
But that thought is always there,
like an app running in the background even if you're not using it.
And you know what the worst thing is?
No. This already seems pretty hardcore. I don't know if I want to go into it.
[Sarah] I can't process it in my head. Like, one day, I'll pick up the phone,
and I'll think she's still there waiting for me, you know?
Like, in my head, it's not possible that Stella is getting on with her life,
and she's found someone else, and she's having a baby.
Okay, let's not think about it now.
They'll never let her adopt in this country anyway, so there you go.
Really? [chuckles]
Thank goodness there are fascists out there
to stop my ex from finding happiness.
-[PA chimes] -[woman over PA] Attention…
[car horns honking]
[man over radio] Any driver in the vicinity of Trastevere?
Got an airport run.
Can Giulio handle such a long journey, Zero?
Well, he didn't go for a walk, but he's had a poop, he's eaten.
Now the little guy is gonna have a sleep in the car.
His life's his own!
["Old Havana" by Mario Rodriguez playing]
[sat nav] In 20 metres, your destination will be on the left.
["Old Havana" continues playing]
[inaudible]
We gotta send Secco a photo!
[clicks tongue] I think I will send him a video.
You piece of shit. Why aren't you here?
Yeah, like that fucker will get his act together.
Honey, do me a favour and get me another beer.
Look, how's it going? The past few months, no one's come looking, have they?
[Wild Boar] No, but every morning I think, "Today's the day they'll come",
and every night, I count my lucky stars that they didn't.
Maybe it would be better if they got it over with,
'cause living like this…
I'm recording this, so when they come, I'll play it back to you and say…
Excuse me. While you rip his nails out, can you make a little room?
I have a recording I would like to jog his memory with.
Enough of all this. Now, what about you and Smeralda?
Well, what about her?
Cut it out!
There's a guy who got himself locked up so you could get laid.
-And you're throwing it all away? -Why don't you go fuck yourself?
Are you serious? You haven't seen her again?
[PA system bongs]
[man over PA] Debora is lost.
Her grandfather Ugo is waiting for her in front of Joe Spit's.
Debora is lost.
Her grandfather Ugo is waiting for her in front of Joe Spit's.
[barking]
-[Macchiato barking] -[Giulio barking]
Giulio! Giulio!
Can you stop being a pain in the arse with other dogs, for Christ's sake?
Oh! Don't tell me that you have a dog? The end of the world is nigh!
Hey! You dumbarse!
Giulio, stop it!
[Smeralda] Macchiato, stop!
He's a poor little mutt. What did he do to deserve to be your dog?
-I bet he's the reincarnation of Priebke! -Who?
Priebke! The Nazi from the Ardeatine massacre.
I can't believe that you don't know such a commie basic!
I can't hear you. This thing is barking.
How are you?
-I'm great. -Oh, you're so annoying. Damn you!
Now, Zeh, don't be mean to him. He'll calm down in a bit.
I wasn't talking to him. I was talking to you.
"I'm great", you said just now. That sounds just so arrogant.
Maybe I'm not that great right now, and you throw your endorphins in my face!
Are you not doing too well, then?
I don't know, actually. I was just putting it out there.
Then take these endorphins and stop being such an arsehole.
Maybe he's barking because he wants to be like you!
It's his way of saying, "Look, Daddy, watch. I can be an arsehole too".
What do you mean, "Daddy"? That's so gross!
Would you believe it? He's stopped now.
Let's give it another go.
[Giulio grumbles]
[Macchiato grumbles]
-[both dogs barking] -[both grunting]
[Zero] Giulio! Giulio, come here!
Macchiato! Macchiato, stop now!
[groans] It's not working.
They fucking hate each other! We either let them at each other or go.
Why don't you take them for a nice walk in the park instead of the mall?
What the fuck's it to you?
Why don't you take your kid to the park? He looks like a Buddha!
-See how nice it is? -Yeah!
Why don't we meet up one time, minus the dogs?
What's the point of saying we'll always meet up again if we never actually do it?
Well, this time we will, I promise you.
Yeah, yeah. "I promise you, I promise you."
I promised, and I'll keep my word.
You'll be surprised, Smeralda.
Dad, can you read me this book?
Sonny, Daddy's gotta talk about something very important.
When Uncle Zero tells us if he got laid, I'll be right with you.
What are you reading to him?
I read him the same story every night without fail.
It's completely normal, they say,
but how can it be normal to want to hear the same story with the same words
every single day?
It's the Ludovico technique from A Clockwork Orange.
Either you have a cognitive problem or you're a lunatic.
Here, you read it to him. Be a good uncle, will ya?
The Three Little Pigs! Is this some kind of joke?
Come on, it's like teaching kids how to speculate in the property market.
Do you know this one?
Yeah, but I hate it.
You know the smart pig's in league with the Big Bad Wolf?
Think about it. Two hippie hogs lived in straw and wood huts.
The wolf comes, destroys their homes, and they're forced to go
to the real estate pig who builds stone houses.
He even makes them feel bad for having spent
all the money their mother left them, then he sells them the houses
and splits the money with the wolf.
No! Jimmy builds the stone house because he's a cautious pig.
[Zero] Yeah, right. Open your eyes. Wake up!
In the Brothers Grimm, he's a shit called Jimmy Caltagirone,
who throws an old man who lives in a balloon house out on the street.
POLICE
Uncle Zero, did you come to live here
because the wolf destroyed your house just like he destroyed our house?
Oh my God, is this the story you told him?
No, it's Christine. She identifies with stories that have pigs in.
She says we're underrepresented.
And I get it too. I really do.
It's hard when Peppa Pig and Babe are your only role models.
Don't forget the one in The Muppets.
Shh! Don't mention her, or we'll have a fight!
[electronic music playing]
Anyway, I'm just visiting you here in the middle of nowhere,
and no, I still have a house. I'm only stopping here for two days.
And is your house made of stone, Uncle Zero?
[Zero] At first, I thought, "How the fuck would I know?"
"They're '80s blocks, no doubt made of concrete".
"What do you wanna be when you grow up? A land surveyor?"
But then I understood.
Maybe, to his three-year-old eyes,
we seem like accomplished adults,
like we used to see 40-year-olds when we were kids.
People who must've had stone houses
because they seemed to be made of stone too.
Maybe he looks at us,
as the innocent little sausage mostly made of pork he is,
and sees us like this,
unshakable like the Easter Island heads.
[pensive music playing]
I wonder how he'll feel when he realises what we are really like.
Scattered after the shipwreck.
We don't even count the ones we lost along the way,
the ones who drowned,
the ones who swam to shore
and then crawled away to hide in the darkest corner of the night,
at the edge of the universe.
And the houses we live in aren't made of stone,
but they're not made of straw either.
They're made of all the garbage we've accumulated over the years.
Rotten wood, sheet metal, leftovers.
A whole mess held together with spit and Xanax.
With unpayable debts,
and promises made and given that no one ever keeps.
And inside, there's us.
Curled up and alone,
praying that the wolf doesn't come to blow our house down tonight.
[music fades]
Okay, but is your house at least made of wood?
Hold on, don't get hung up on the material.
It doesn't make the slightest fucking difference.
Ultimately, it's more important to live near others.
Then, when the walls shake, your house can lean on the one next to it, okay?
But where we live, there's no one next to us, though.
That's not true, piglet, because we're here with you now,
and we're also here when you don't see us, okay?
We're just taking a breather at the moment,
but then we'll fix everything.
Promise, will you?
[Giulio and Macchiato barking]
I promised, and I'll keep my word. You'll be surprised, Smeralda.
-[barking] -[barking]
Do you know why I can't say shit to you?
Because I'm like that too. I have the same thing.
And what is that?
♪ Here's the sun ♪
♪ So bow your heads… ♪
[Zero] She didn't answer, but I know what it was.
["Spitting off the Edge of the World" continues playing]
It's that thing that stays here inside you,
in the pit of your stomach.
Even when you're sure you've scraped it all away,
when you think it can't hurt you any more.
But there it is again, fucking you over.
♪ She's melting houses of gold… ♪
It kills you a thousand times over in a single lifetime.
The hope that this time it's the right one.
♪ We're spitting Off the edge of the world ♪
♪ Out in the night ♪
-♪ Never had no chance… ♪ -[phone buzzing]
WHEN I GET BACK SHALL WE GET ICE CREAM?
♪ Spitting off the edge of the world ♪
♪ Out comes the sun ♪
♪ Never had no chance ♪
♪ Nowhere to run ♪
♪ Mama, what have you done? ♪
MY 2 CENTS
♪ God caught me drinking The devil's brew… ♪
MUGS
DISHES
♪ He said, "It's not advised But it's up to you" ♪
♪ To drink the devil's brew… ♪
-Are you reopening? -Is the guy who ran it gonna come back?
♪ He said, "It's not advised"… ♪
Under new management, señor.
♪ "But it's up to you ♪
♪ We're spitting Off the edge of the world ♪
♪ Out in the night ♪
♪ Never had no chance ♪
♪ Nowhere to hide ♪
♪ Spitting off the edge of the world ♪
♪ Nowhere to run ♪
♪ Never had no chance ♪
♪ Out comes the sun ♪
♪ Spitting off the edge of the world ♪
♪ Winds from the sky ♪
♪ Never had no chance ♪
♪ Will watch us rise ♪
♪ Spitting off the edge of the world ♪
♪ Out in the night ♪
♪ Never had no chance ♪
♪ Nowhere to hide ♪
♪ Spitting off the edge of the world ♪
♪ Nowhere to run ♪
♪ Never had no chance ♪
♪ Out comes the sun ♪
♪ Spitting off the edge of the world ♪
♪ Winds from the sky ♪
♪ Never had no chance ♪
♪ Will watch us rise ♪
[music ends]