Original subtitles

PART FOUR

Quarter to 12 and still no Don Trajella.

Maybe he's sick.

Sure.

Drunk on Christmas Eve!

Go look for him.

Hurry, Don Trajella!

Everyone's waiting for you!

- I'm coming. - Let's go!

Come on, Don Trajella, hurry up!

Brothers and sisters...

Dear brothers and sisters...

What's he saying?

He's drunk.

Brothers and sisters...

I had come here as your pastor

to speak to my flock

on this holy day.

I had prepared a beautiful sermon.

Allow me to say, in all humility.

I'd written it down so I could read it,

since my memory is weak.

I put it in my pocket, but now I can't find it.

I've lost it and...

I can't remember anything.

What should I do?

What can I say to you, the faithful,

waiting to hear my words?

Poor me.

Words fail me.

This is scandalous!

A sacrilege in the house of God!

Dear Jesus, this is the reward for my sins.

Help me!

Deliver me from this error.

Now we'll see what happens.

It's a miracle!

A miracle!

Jesus heard my prayers!

Here we are.

These are the words of one of you.

A son of this town.

The best and most faithful of my lambs.

Sacrilege! Drunk in church on Christmas Eve!

Wait! Wait!

"Christmas is drawing near,

and my thoughts fly to Gagliano,

and all my friends

and fellow citizens,

who I can picture gathered in our humble church,

to hear the Holy Mass."

"Here we fight to bring our sacred religion

to these infidels.

We fight to convert these pagans to the true faith.

And bring to them

peace and eternal bliss."

I can't accept

the reasons he gives in this letter.

That we're fighting to bring our religion to those people.

- The Abyssinians are Christians! - They're black!

They believe in God!

There's little difference

between our religion and theirs.

Yes...

We're fighting because we want more land to farm.

Because we need it.

In any case, I would like Christmas to be a day of peace and serenity...

for all,

even our enemies.

Enough! You've gone too far! Let's go!

Subversive talk in church is intolerable!

But...

We must examine our consciences.

We must ask ourselves if we have done our duty,

and listened with a pure heart

to the word of God.

But you are evil.

You're sinners.

You never come to church.

You never say your prayers.

You sing dirty songs.

You curse.

You don't baptize your children.

You never go to confession.

You never receive communion.

You have no respect

for God's servants.

You do not render unto God

the things that are God's.

This is why you have no peace.

Pax in terra,

hominibus male voluntatis.

You don't know Latin.

What does it mean?

It means that this day,

on Christmas Eve,

you should have given your pastor a kid goat,

according to custom.

But you didn't...

because you don't believe.

You have no good will.

So you will not receive God's blessing.

Think about it.

Think.

And bring your pastor that goat.

Pay the debts you owe him on his land since last year.

If you want the Lord

to be merciful,

and put His hand on your heads,

and peace in your hearts.

But most of all, if you want peace to return to the world

and an end to this war, which fills us with fear,

for the fate of your loved ones,

and for the fate of our beloved country.

Go back to Gaglianello!

I'm not letting you back in Gagliano, ever!

Pretty black Abyssinian girl

the awaited hour is near...

Come in, it's open.

Come in.

Sit down for a minute.

I'm in a hurry. My brother's very ill.

We live in Pantano.

I have a horse for you outside.

But Matera sent orders that I can't practice.

Go to one of the local doctors.

I've got no choice.

Only you can save him.

Wait a moment.

Let's go to the mayor.

Matera's orders are absolute.

No room for doubt.

Have a seat.

Coffee?

First, let's solve this problem.

Matera doesn't know what a blessing you are.

They believe anonymous letters.

With time, they'll change their minds.

We have no time.

My brother's dying.

So what's your decision?

I can't take this responsibility.

I have too many enemies.

If word gets out, I'll lose my job.

Go to one of the local doctors.

- But they're good for nothing. - He's right.

Uncle's too old. And forget about the other one.

And in this weather, with no roads, they won't go.

I see.

I'll go look for him.

Don Carlo, I'll take responsibility.

I have a statement from the other doctors,

- saying they're ill. - Alright. I'm coming.

Does he need the hospital?

It's advanced peritonitis.

Taking him to Matera...

would be useless. He wouldn't make it.

I'll give him a shot to ease the pain.

Here...

Boil the syringe.

The Body of Christ.

Amen.

What brings you here?

A man died in Pantano tonight.

I couldn't do anything for him.

They don't even call me for the dead.

I'll ring the bell for him.

See where they've sent me?

I'm exiled, like you.

Who took my place? Have you met him?

Don't forget to come visit me.

I'm counting on it.

I'll give you back your book.

Keep it. As a memento.

Now I must ring the bell.

Don Carlo's a good man!

A good man! Everyone knows!

He's the only one who helps us!

A good doctor. The others are quacks!

Luigi, what are you afraid of?

Send in the Carabinieri! That'll get rid of them!

Nothing could be done to save him.

You're just saying that to keep the peace.

I'm not.

He couldn't be saved.

What if it happens again,

but the person can be saved? What then?

We're ready to sign a petition! We want you as doctor!

Well, that you can do.

Now...

Go tell the people in the piazza.

Tell them what you've decided, and make them go home.

Otherwise, the carabinieri will start shooting.

This is definitely something that can be done.

He's a good man who was helping us!

Go home...

The doctor says everyone's got to go home.

Calm down.

Go home, or the carabinieri will come and start shooting.

I'll take care of it.

Make way for me!

That one's me, and the other is Gibilisco.

Ignore them.

Stop everything!

You can't treat the sick! Rome doesn't authorize it!

They're your doctors.

Be gone!

Scoundrels, I'll make you pay!

I promise!

Now I'll show you

how to do an operation.

Here's the heart!

The operation was a success!

Who played me?

I did.

What part did you play?

You did what?

What?

I played the sick man.

What should I do with this stuff?

Throw it in the Bersagliere's ditch!

Time to take your medicine.

Just a spoonful, for your aunt.

Come on, just a drop.

Do it for Papa.

I wouldn't think of it.

The law is the same for everyone.

Including the mayor's daughter.

Is that what you want me to say?

Alright.

Another spoonful.

- Just a little. - I don't want it.

- Good for you. - One for me.

- One for you. - What does he say?

"The law is the same for everyone."

Tell him he has to come!

I'm the authority here!

So I'm above the law!

Go!

Did you take your medicine?

Good girl. My Annuccia.

I'll see his daughter only if I can treat the whole town.

Tell him.

I'll tell him.

First my daughter, then we'll see!

Cosimino!

Tell him it's alright.

He can treat her and anyone else.

Alright.

Bravo, Don Carlo!

- What happened? - The bells are ringing!

Hear the bells in town? What's happening?

Black Shirts...

of the Revolution!

Men and women of Italy!

Italians...

and friends of Italy...

beyond the mountains and beyond the seas!

Listen!

Marshal Badoglio...

sends us this telegram...

Today...

May 5th...

at 4 pm...

at the head of our victorious troops...

I entered Addis Ababa!

I announce...

to the Italian people...

and to the world...

that the war is over!

Officers of the armed forces of the State...

in Africa and in Italy...

Black Shirts and all Italians...

We Italians...

have created with our blood an empire!

We shall make it fertile with the sweat of our brows!

And we shall defend it against anyone with our army!

Ricci, Antonio.

Pardoned.

You're free.

Madonia, Carmela...

Free, finally.

Lo Russo, Vincenzo...

Rossini, Mario.

Good luck.

Good luck, professor.

Levi, Carlo.

Even Don Carlo, see?

- Sign here. - It's over.

- Congratulations, good luck. - I'm very happy for you.

So suddenly...

Is it over?

And those two? No amnesty?

They're communists. Do I have to explain?

Go home now. It's raining.

Have a safe trip and come back.

Goodbye, Rocco.

- Travel safe. - Go home, it's raining.

Carmelino, goodbye. Take him home. He'll get wet.

Who knows what I was expecting from this city,

this world,

its interests, activities, hopes.

It doesn't touch me at all.

And it won't, if you continue like this.

You're going about it all wrong.

Isolating yourself, not seeing your friends. Why?

They're constantly looking for you.

You all need to sit down and talk.

I know.

But something's changed.

Nothing I can do about it.

The language they use is so...

Maybe because now I hear them with a peasant's ear.

Peasants aren't the only people in the world.

What do we mean by "peasants"?

I use it for anyone who

does things,

loves it, and wants nothing more.

Everyone who produces.

Are factory workers peasants, too?

Of course.

And the others?

The others?

Remember Gagliano's mayor, Don Luigi?

The others are like him, little Luigis.

The petty bourgeoisie in all its variations,

species, sub-species.

Even our government is structured like Luigi.

Then there are too many Luigis.

- They'll always be around. - No.

They have a slim majority.

About 51 percent.

Because every little Luigi

needs someone who produces to survive,

to feed on and exploit.

So they're careful to have enough peasants.

What are you?

An intellectual, progressive.

Not a little Luigi, at least for now.

Gramsci's a peasant.

Gobetti, Rossi, and Salvemini are peasants.

See what I'm saying?

And women?

Real women, not phonies. So are they.

Sometimes I think women, by nature,

are more "peasant" than men.

So am I a peasant?

Of course.

Apparently,

15 years of Fascism has made us forget the Southern Question.

I disagree.

People discuss it.

But with the usual Southern pessimism and sense of victimhood.

After all, the problem is economic, technical.

Land reclamation, irrigation, public works, industrialization,

schools, hospitals. We know what needs to be done.

All good things.

But they don't solve the problem.

Domestic colonization of the South might make a slight difference but...

it would turn the South into a colony.

Let's be honest.

The South is a dead weight,

with its traditional servitude to the Bourbon kings.

It can't be fixed with a magic wand.

It'll take a gradual change,

through top-down measures...

With a plan.

And of course, more democracy.

Especially with more democracy.

Fascism made the situation worse,

deepening the servitude of the South.

In order to free the South from its servitude,

we need to free all Italy of Fascism.

But...

In a petty bourgeois country like Italy,

the lower classes, urban and rural, are infected by this ideology,

and it's likely,

unfortunately,

that the post-Fascist governments

even the most extreme and supposedly revolutionary

will enact a slow revolution

with acts of violence

and re-create the same petty bourgeois ideology,

perpetuating,

and maybe worsening, with new names and new flags,

the eternal Fascism of Italy.

Without a peasant revolution, Italy will never have a true revolution,

and vice versa.

You forget that the Southern Question

is a perfect example of capitalist oppression

that will be resolved by the dictatorship of the proletariat.

They're unconscious worshipers of a State

that transcends the individual and the population,

tyrannical and paternalistic.

Dictatorship or democracy,

it is always unitary,

centralized and remote.

Very remote.

Making it impossible for politicians and peasants

to understand and be understood.

What do you think?

I think...

The State is not what you think.

It's the main obstacle to getting things done.

The State can't solve the Southern Question

because what we call the "Southern Problem"

is nothing more than the "State Problem."

Between any type of State

and the peasants, there will always be an abyss...

that can be closed

if we create a type of State that also belongs to the peasants.

As long as Rome rules over Matera, Matera will be lawless and despairing,

while Rome will be despairing

and tyrannical.

When you speak of States, dear Carlo,

you act like they're all the same, fascist, liberal, communist.

There's a big difference.

So why are so many of us in jail? Not to mention your own exile?

Which is why we have to re-think

the very basis

of our idea of the State...

And our concept of the individual at its basis.

The abstract, legal notion of the individual

has to be replaced by a new concept expressing a living reality.

The individual is not a closed-off entity.

The individual is a link,

a meeting place of many relationships.

For both to exist, the individual and the State must coincide.

This political reversal

is the only way

to break the vicious cycle

of Fascism and anti-Fascism.

That's anarchy.

How can your utopia become a reality?

We each have to regain our autonomy.

But one moment.

The autonomy of the rural world

can't exist without the autonomy of the factory,

of the school, the city,

of every form of social life.

These are the things I feel I've learned

in a year of life underground.