Original subtitles

- Murderer! - Shame on you!

You're a murderer!

Murderer!

- Murderer! - Shame on you!

Stop.

I want to look at them.

THE LAW ACCORDING TO LIDIA POËT

THE PIEDMONT GAZETTE MARGHERITA SANGIACOMO IN COURT TOMORROW

How should I dress for your ball?

Elegantly?

Like a jester?

You'd still be dressed better than me, Uncle.

Thank you, Jacopo. Your spirit is always appropriate.

The spirit blows where it will. Even the Gospel says so.

Mater certa, pater numquam.

Exactly!

What do you think?

Dangerous, the spirit.

Sometimes it drags us to dark places.

I get the impression you're blaming me for something.

- But I don't know what. - Yeah?

- No? - No.

I'm not blaming you for anything. I was reading about Margherita Sangiacomo.

I was distracted.

The trial begins today. That's right. What time is it?

Are you going to write that she's guilty, like everyone else?

- You don't think she is? - No.

I think everyone wants her imprisoned because they hate her.

And they hate her because she's a woman who studied, who graduated,

who did everything that a woman shouldn't do.

No. Miss Sangiacomo had a motive.

The professor had stolen the results of her research.

And she had access to the poison,

and she was the last to meet Prof. Braschi before he died.

Yes. All the professors in the department have access to the poison.

Listen. They have lunch together.

The custodian locks up, and the two of them are still there.

The professor is found dead

on Monday morning in his university office.

Now, who else could it have been?

We'll see.

- Where are you going? - Trials are public.

After having examined the prosecutor's papers

and in agreement with my client, Miss Margherita Sangiacomo,

the defense has made a decision

that I hope the court will take into account,

especially in light of her current health conditions.

She fell ill in prison.

That's why they released her on bail.

...admits her responsibility.

Quiet! Ladies and gentlemen!

- And asks-- - Please!

Ladies and gentlemen, silence, please!

And asks to be heard by the court.

My mother died when she was very young.

But not before telling me she didn't know who my father was.

To me, Prof. Braschi was like the father I had never known.

He allowed me to graduate

in a world in which a woman, generally,

isn't even permitted to pass middle school exams.

So no.

I am not admitting my responsibility. I am innocent.

And Mr. Coletti, Esquire no longer has my trust.

Your Honor,

this is just a strategy to postpone the trial.

The accused has the right to request a new lawyer.

But I will give her only three days.

Meanwhile, in accordance with article 205 of the Code of Criminal Procedure,

she will be lodged at the convent of Santa Severa in Turin.

This hearing is adjourned.

They thought I was faking it so as not to await trial in prison.

They said a high fever cannot reduce you to this state.

But that isn't why you came here.

No.

I know who you are.

I've followed your story.

Thank you, but I need someone who can enter the courtroom.

You know a public defender will never get you acquitted.

My brother will be in the courtroom.

You need someone who'll do all they can to make the jury believe you.

Do you think I'm a scapegoat?

Yes, probably.

Let's just say that I know the prosecutor's methods.

When he thinks he's found a culprit, he overlooks any other clues.

We can demonstrate this to the jury.

You want to put the prosecutor on trial?

No, I want to bring all Braschi's enemies into the courtroom.

But to do that, I need to know if you had a relationship.

When you were in university, did you have time for a relationship?

Braschi spent the day of his death at the university with you, right?

Not the whole day.

The custodian says he locked up at 7:00, and you two were still inside.

The time of death has been determined as 8:00 p.m.

I left right after lunch.

And he stayed there alone.

Why did the custodian lie?

I wouldn't know.

When you left the department, where did you go?

I came here.

Can anyone testify to that?

The mother superior could. But they say she's too involved.

I grew up in this convent

after my mother died.

Your father?

My mother was a prostitute.

I know where to start.

If you trust me, my brother will be very happy to take your case.

So, you think the mother superior is lying?

Even a nun can cover for someone.

That's why Coletti didn't use the alibi.

Fine. Maybe someone else saw her.

Maybe not because she was at the university.

That's not what she says, Enrico.

You're too involved.

And you've already condemned her, like everyone else.

Pass me those things.

These?

Braschi had stolen her research.

You think an accusation can be based on this?

- Don't forget the custodian. - Enrico?

He says they were alone.

We'll talk to the custodian. You'll see there's something in it.

Listen, Lidia. We aren't interested in this case.

We work together. We make decisions together.

We're making the wrong decision.

Dad, look how ridiculous this dress is.

You decide, darling.

Albertina.

I think it's nice.

I don't want to go to this ball.

Darling, it's your social debut.

She's scared of the attention, but we can help her.

Stop it.

Miss.

Anyone else here scared of being famous?

Again?

We're discussing our child.

And we are discussing an opportunity we can't miss.

And I'm begging you to let me breathe!

What opportunity would that be?

Margherita Sangiacomo.

She's in all the papers. She's without representation.

Breathed enough?

Enrico.

I agree with your sister.

What?

Dr. Sangiacomo arrived with Prof. Braschi

on Sunday morning at 11:00.

And by the time I finished at 19:00, she still hadn't left.

Now, I'm sorry, but I must also log your names.

Lidia Poët. Enrico Poët.

Excuse me. I'm busy.

- But what the hell-- - What are you doing?

It's the same crap Jacopo drinks to get over his hangover.

What's his name?

Read it in the book.

You didn't write it down? And you've already forgotten.

Does the prosecutor know about your passion for alcohol?

That could be a big problem, given your position.

No, for the whole time I was here,

Margherita Sangiacomo did not leave the department.

Fine. We'll discuss it in court.

We'll see if the jury believes the testimony of an alcoholic.

Have a nice day. Enrico, let's go.

No, wait.

I sometimes doze off.

And I cannot tell you

if the lady left that day or not.

But I remember something very clearly that may interest you.

That Sunday at lunch, someone else came,

and they had a nasty argument with Braschi.

- I heard the shouting from here. - Why didn't you record it?

Because he told me not to.

And when he gives an order, you know, he's very good at ensuring you obey.

I have no words. You're hopeless.

You couldn't even calculate the pH level of a weak acid!

Prof. Manganelli, hello.

Who are you?

Lidia Poët, assistant to the lawyer Enrico Poët.

Ferrero, throw away that crap and get to the lab. Now.

Daughter or wife?

Excuse me?

You and the lawyer share a surname.

I imagine a case of nepotism.

Enrico is my brother.

We're defending Margherita Sangiacomo. I just wanted to know

why you argued with Prof. Braschi on that Sunday three months ago.

Conflicting ideas.

We had a relationship of mutual respect.

What conflicting ideas?

Miss, half of Turin knows

that on that Sunday, from early afternoon to late night,

I was at the Whist Club.

If I had wanted to take advantage of my visit to poison Braschi,

he would've been dead long before 8:00 p.m.

Is that enough of an alibi?

I am not the person you're looking for.

And unlike your client,

I had no grudge against him.

What does that mean?

Margherita was ambitious.

And frustrated ambition breeds much resentment.

I imagine you know that.

Up yours!

When I read about Miss Sangiacomo, I immediately thought of you.

A woman, genius, graduate, and everyone wants to see her in prison.

- You should be careful. - I know.

In fact, Enrico says

that I'm too involved.

And what does Enrico say about your other involvement?

That Barberis...

There is no involvement, Andrea.

I take it back.

It's odd.

Yes?

The other night, I saw him leave the house late at night.

- Fine. I followed him. - You did?

Because I was suspicious. I was sure he was hiding something from me.

I followed him to an abandoned farmstead in the middle of nowhere.

- And? - And nothing.

He met a woman,

and they kissed.

A happy ending for him.

It's not like that. Something doesn't make sense.

Why meet a woman in a place that's so

sinister?

- I'm not convinced. - You aren't convinced.

You're not convincing me.

You aren't falling in love?

Andrea, I'm focused on my work, my career, and myself.

I'd never fall in love with what's-his-name, Jacopo.

No, I was just wondering if any doubts are creeping in for you.

The thought that work isn't as important

as, you know, family,

matrimony, children...

Like everyone else.

Those seem more like your thoughts than mine.

Mine?

I don't think so.

Not at all.

These thoughts are floating in the air.

Can you feel them?

Stupid thoughts in the air?

Is that smile because you saw me

or because I earned you a client?

No. I'm just smiling, that's all.

Waiting up for me?

You see, today I found your notes on the table,

and... I took the liberty of reading them.

No, you're joking.

No.

See, I even wrote down

some suggestions.

You studied law too?

No, not at all.

In fact, I understood very little of this long...

very long academic essay.

Exactly. You have no idea what it means

to write a brief for the Court of Cassation.

No, but I know there are seven judges,

that they're all men,

and that they don't want to be told what to think.

Least of all by a woman.

What would you want to hear?

A story, Lidia.

Your story.

I don't write novels, Jacopo.

And I won't tell my story to seven strangers.

- Good night. - Good night.

Here she is.

Teresa?

- What? - Sit down!

We're all here.

Marianna, you look great.

Cattani is the best tailor in Turin.

Think of the others.

No. I mean...

You're right, Uncle. I look like a lampshade.

No, Marianna. Your uncle...

Marianna, don't run. You'll rip it.

Moron.

Anyway, I found out that arsenic requires ten minutes to take effect.

Manganelli wasn't in the department at 6:00 p.m.

He has a solid alibi.

So let's officially remove him from our suspect list. Pass me the tea.

Sorry, Enrico. How much do you know about chemistry?

- The basics. - Exactly.

The basics aren't enough.

I can't give you that information. I'm sorry.

And the professor would never do something like that.

Nobody's accusing him.

Please leave. They might see us.

You're scared of him, right?

He can't wait to kick you out of the department.

Perhaps he thinks it would teach you a good life lesson.

I beg your pardon?

You have no idea how many professors like Manganelli I've met

who humiliate you,

thinking it's for your own good...

And you think you just have to take it.

But that's not how it is.

You don't have to.

After all, you are a free man. Or am I mistaken?

Vegetable carbon.

The only natural element capable of absorbing another element.

It retains the substance and releases it when it melts.

So, if I take poison along with vegetable carbon,

it will take effect after a few hours?

How many hours?

Two? Three?

Even more.

It depends on how much is taken.

Thank you.

Oh, by the way,

Manganelli underestimates you, you know?

Manganelli poisoned him at lunchtime.

Then he went to play whist as an alibi.

It works, right?

I don't know, Lidia.

If we take this to trial, they'll say Margherita could also have done it.

At that point, the custodian's testimony becomes useless to us.

But we are Margherita's lawyers.

I'm putting myself in the jury's shoes. Why get mad?

I don't understand whose side you're on.

The side of those who want to do a good job. You?

And I'm not?

I got an unfavorable testimony withdrawn.

I found another potential culprit, and I spoke to everyone.

What more can I do? Tell me.

You're asking for my advice? Are you feeling okay?

Enrico, please, don't joke. I'm serious.

So, first of all, forget about the vegetable carbon thing

because it weakens our strategy.

Secondly, people are convinced that Margherita is guilty.

Thirdly,

try to think like them,

and find something that might make you change your mind.

All right.

Just like that?

Hi.

Bye.

It's been three months. I can't remember if the gardener was there.

Margherita, make an effort. It's important.

Sometimes I sit outside to read.

If he was in the cloister,

maybe he saw me.

But I don't know if he'll remember.

Is there a way to reach this man?

The mother superior has a register.

We could ask her for the address.

Okay. Let's go.

"Professor takes own life. Antonio Borghese."

You're driving me crazy.

We may have found a witness, and you keep looking for other things.

Enrico, it's really odd to save an article from 17 years ago.

I worked it out.

The year Margherita's mother died.

Lidia, there's a dictionary behind you.

Try looking up the word "coincidence."

So, why did Margherita keep all those articles?

I don't know. I don't care.

Didn't you say you wanted to do a good job?

Are you already tired?

No. I'm not tired, Lidia.

It's just that it isn't my job to pry into my client's secrets.

So you don't want to know the truth.

I'm not the crown prosecutor, Lidia. I'm not interested in the truth.

We'll get Miss Sangiacomo acquitted, as you wanted.

And that's it.

No, you're right.

I'm too involved.

No, here it's racing, horses, agricultural problems.

Agricultural problems doesn't sound good.

Furniture.

Attila, excuse me.

I need the crime report.

May I step in?

Good.

"Another prostitute found dead near the faculty of chemistry."

The third in a month.

Does it mention the name?

No. But it's obvious something was going on in that faculty.

Pass me the others.

"TN."

"TN."

Ring a bell?

He signed them all.

All.

Can you fill me in?

Tarcisio Nava was the first editor-in-chief here.

Oh, okay. Can we talk to him?

He's dead.

So?

According to him, there was a group of professors conducting experiments

that were borderline illegal.

And these girls were their guinea pigs.

Come in.

Lidia.

How can you breathe in here?

I didn't ask you to come in.

I wanted to apologize for the way I commented on your writing.

It wasn't kind.

No.

Kind, no.

But honest.

I appreciated it.

And thank you for today anyway.

I'll leave you to your work.

Jacopo.

Yes?

I don't know if you want to help me with my appeal.

Because I'm still not convinced by the tone I'm using.

Yes. Of course.

See, I erased

the points where I seemed too angry.

But now it sounds too servile.

So I erase, rewrite, get even angrier...

and I get confused.

Confusion is the noblest of feelings.

Shakespeare?

No, it's mine.

In fact, I take that as a nice compliment.

All right.

Wouldn't this be a bit stupid?

I've never said I was intelligent.

It happened.

Have I become one of your official lovers?

All right.

I want the official treatment, then.

Will you take me to the farmhouse too?

I'm joking.

I don't...

I'm thirsty.

Jacopo, I'm sorry.

I followed you the other night. Even I don't know why.

And I saw you with that girl.

I'm sorry.

No, don't worry.

She's one of many. I don't...

Wait.

Maybe it's best if you go and sleep in your room.

You really want me to go?

- Good night. - Good night.

All right. I promise that in court, I won't make any reference to your

habits.

But you have to help me.

I imagine you've been doing this job for a long time, right?

I want to know if you remember anything about Borghese,

his suicide, his relationship with Braschi.

It's a complicated story.

It will take time.

Enrico.

I have to talk to Margherita.

You aren't her lawyer. They won't let you.

- Careful, or I'll do it my way! - No! God forbid!

Wait here. Leave it to me.

Sit down.

CHEMISTRY PROFESSOR TAKES OWN LIFE

THE DESPERATE ACT OF PROF. ANTONIO BORGHESE

Braschi and Borghese founded a research group.

They were testing a drug against scarlet fever.

And the guinea pigs were poor girls, workers with no families.

And especially prostitutes.

Many of them died.

- I don't know what you're talking about. - Your mother was one of them.

Borghese killed himself out of guilt.

The group dissolved.

- Nobody heard any more about it. - Are we getting to the point?

Tell the truth.

Don't settle for only making Braschi pay for it.

I haven't made anyone pay.

Don't take me for a fool!

You wanted vengeance from the start.

And now, thanks to me, you'll be acquitted.

I'm not going back to prison.

If you tell the truth, Margherita,

they'll launch an investigation, and everyone involved will pay.

Without the truth, you'll never have justice.

The truth is that Braschi died at 6:00 p.m.,

and I was in my room from 3:00 p.m. onwards.

And there's a reliable witness to this.

True.

But it's also true that vegetable carbon is the only substance in nature

that's capable of absorbing another substance.

Right, Doctor?

This is between me and you.

I won't tell anyone.

Even if you decide not to talk.

If someone killed your whole family out of the blue,

how would you feel?

Alone in the world.

I know.

I know.

Do you confirm that from the time of 3:00 p.m. on that Sunday,

Miss Margherita Sangiacomo was in the convent?

I confirm it.

Your Honor,

I am forced to retract my previous testimony.

Silence!

I, therefore, conclude

that your relationship with Prof. Braschi was cordial.

And that you did not kill him because you had no motive to kill him.

Right?

Yes. I confirm that.

I have no other questions.

Miss, you may go.

One night when I was seven,

my mother came home with tears in her eyes.

She was crying with joy.

She told me we could finally move out of the Porta Nuova hostel

and into a real home.

Then, after a year, we moved.

But she was unwell. She kept fainting.

And I felt bad for her.

And there's nothing more terrible for a child

than to hope their mother goes back to working the street

just so she doesn't look so pale and weak.

And then, after she died, I found out

about Liliana, who worked at the Murazzi,

and Agata, who worked at the station.

Your Honor, we don't understand the point.

The point is that

I killed Braschi, Mr. Prosecutor.

He used those women as guinea pigs.

And he let them die like animals.

Miss, you do realize the seriousness of this declaration?

Yes, I do.

Braschi had accomplices.

And I hope that now

they'll pay for their crimes.

- You should pay! - You're the one who should pay!

Murderer!

It has been said

that collective wisdom has always prevented women

from donning the robe.

But hasn't this collective wisdom

been an accomplice to slavery for centuries?

And what fate awaits a people

that does not have the courage to admit its mistakes?

Subtitle translation by: Jaclyn McLoughlin