Original subtitles

God isn't for you Lenny.

God is for men who have no use for freedom.

You're wrong about abortion.

You're spreading a sorrow you don't even understand.

And that's the worst thing a human being can do.

You've made the kind of mistake that should be avoided at all cost:

introducing concepts that taken by themselves are true.

but which when lumped together, constitute a system that's overly rigid.

When it comes to abortion, rigidity is the only option.

there's no getting around it.

It's a crime

forbidden and punished in the book of Exodus, Chapter 21, verses 22-25.

You know that.

"22:

"When men have a fight and injured a pregnant woman

"and she suffers a miscarriage but no further injury

"the guilty one shall be fined

"as much as the woman's husband demands

"and he shall pay in the presence of the judges.

"23: But if injury ensues

"you shall pay life for life.

"24: eye for eye, tooth for tooth

"hand for hand, foot for foot.

"25: burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe."

The church has always maintain this tradition and

it is only modern laxity that wishes to turn sins into rights.

Not to encourage them.

No one is actually in favor of abortion - but to

undermine the the principle of authority.

Oh, come on Lenny.

You know these verses are a little more complicated than that:

yes the litigant pays damages in case of an abortion

or suffers death

if the woman dies in the course of losing the baby

but that's not what it is about

this is about compassion.

Empathy.

Bouvier? Are you seriously going to waste my time

with Bouvier's nonsense?

Post-revolutionary France?

Or the bullshit of St. Alphonsus?

It isn't bullshit, Lenny:

that abortion is a "grave moral disorder" is not open for debate;

that's what St. John Paul II said

and those three words

grave, moral and disorder

are based on papal infallibility.

And yet

in 1591

Pope Gregory XIV

with the Sedes Apostolica bull

restricted excommunication to the abortion of an ensouled fetus

introducing a distinction

that argues against lumping together

desperate situations.

I'm sick and tired of distinctions.

Even for St. Thomas Aquinas

and right up until the middle of the nineteenth century

abortion was set to take place only after the ensoulment of the fetus

and that occurs in the third month of pregnancy.

Science is the gift of God

and God taught us that ovulation is spontaneous.

Ask a woman about that:

back when it was still believed that there were two kinds of insemination

- male insemination involving sperm, female insemination involving eggs -

it was considered a sin not to give a woman pleasure.

But then, when it was discovered that ovulation was spontaneous

the cost was several billion female orgasms.

But it made the psychoanalysts rich.

The one profession that involves no work

and a great deal of money that we let slip through our fingers.

I implore you, Lenny

reconsider your position on abortion.

Tough in principle

soft in practice.

Abortion is saying no to life.

Who gives a damn about life?

life is not some stupid centerpiece on the side table of nothingness.

Life is meant to be used

and to be used well, to love and be loved.

And let me remind you what St. Alphonsus said about abortion:

in an abortion

everyone is guilty, except for the woman.

And what if that wasn't only true of abortion?

What if in the things of life

everyone is guilty except for the woman.

Are you talking about your mother?

Who else would I be talking about!

What is happening to me today?

At ten o'clock, Robert Lee, the new chairman of the Tea Party;

at 11:15, a brief meeting with the chancellor of Stanford University.

At one o'clock, lunch with the governor to fine-tune plans for the evening's events.

How long has it been since you've seen your father?

He's no longer my father, he's only my governor. - Don't you miss him?

He doesn't miss me, I don't miss him.

I miss everyone.

But more than anyone else, the person I miss is

Mr. Jack Walser

he was the superintendent of the building where we lived

before the Lord called me to Him.

He had divided the tenants into two categories

the "natives" and the "nomads"

One day

Jack rang our door bell

at ten in the morning

confident that Lucy and I would be at school, but

that day we were in bed sick with a fever

happy to be safe at home.

Through the bedroom door

I saw my mother offer him a cup of coffee, which

Jack drank it standing up

because he didn't want to get the chair wet with his rain-drenched clothes.

No doubt, there was something bad he'd come to say, something important

And then, Mr. Walser announced to my mother

that the landlords had decided to

implement a substantial rent hike with

with a caress.

Yeah.

With a caress

That...

...never really happened.

But that still came close to

brushing against my mother's drab hair

to my hair

and Lucy's

and the hair of our father

lying in a hotel somewhere in the city with his lover in his arms.

Listening to the rain

the way we were.

We "nomads" moved out the apartment at night

so we wouldn't be seen by the...

the "natives".

But at the bottom of the stairs Mr. Walser was waiting

and he shook our hands

one by one

and he said something to me that I've never understood, which is why I still remember it.

He said to me

"Always get a seat at the back of the train

because it's safer.

Why does our Spanish prosecutor not go home to his Pope?

I couldn't say.

What does he do here?

He walks, he drinks, he sleeps

he drinks, he walks, he drinks.

Ah, he's battling against death

which is the least interesting of any of the battles we have ever summoned to fight.

It's too late.

It's too late for what?

For everything, Your Eminence.

Hello, Pete.

Have you five minutes for me?

Sure, Father Gutierrez.

I was just wondering if you'd had a chance to think it over.

Yeah

I've thought it over.

And I decided to not gonna press charges against Archbishop Kurtwell.

Why, why not?

None of the others filed charges, but at least they got plenty of cash.

You didn't even get that.

Have you ever asked yourself why they took the money and I didn't?

No, I haven't. Why didn't you?

Because I have my dignity.

Fine.

So...

...if you have so much dignity

file charges against that man. That man...

...is evil incarnate.

Why are you crying now?

Pete, you know I'm right.

Bernardo. Can I call you Bernardo?

Yes, of course you can.

Forget about me.

Hi Freddy.

Ciao Bernardo.

How is training coming along?

I've been gradually intensifying.

Nice.

Did you think over my proposal?

What proposal?

What do you mean, what proposal?

The idea of you

giving me a hand in nailing Kurtwell.

That worm just drools when he sees you.

Not me.

I drool when I see you, Bernardo.

All you'd have to do is go out with him one night.

You could just stop before things went too far.

And in the meantime I'd find a hiding place and take pictures.

Freddie.

Freddie.

You're my last hope.

Bernardo, you are gonna leave here when you're done.

But I have to spend the rest of my life here, do you understand?

I can't afford to cross a man like Kurtwell.

He's one of the most powerful men in Queens.

You can understand that, right?

Don't resent me for it, Bernardo.

I never resent anyone.

That's my main problem.

Hello Freddy.

What do you want, Freddy?

Just tell me what you want and you'll have it.

I want to become a great tennis player and win the Grand Slam.

Fine.

Then you'll have it.

Get out of here, asshole.

But...

They told me the date.

It's for next week.

It's just one day of the year, Rose

an ordinary date.

They're going to empty me out, Bernardo.

They've given me a 60 percent chance of dying

40 percent chance of living.

And If I refuse

I can't even begin to guess my life expectancy.

But I'm not gonna refuse

because I need to start running in this hotel again

and I can't keep doing it from here

through six silent security monitors.

Isn't it nice to live

silent and flat on your back?

No, it's horrible.

We all deserve the right to start over, Bernardo.

But you know what the funny thing is?

What is it?

How I'll leave this place.

How will you leave?

Through there.

They're going to have to tear out the wall

turn it all into one gigantic window

and out I'll go

dangling in mid-air

lifted by a crane.

It'll be a spectacular sight.

I'll be so ashamed.

I have to go now.

I'm going to write to the Pope.

It sounds so surreal, when you put it that way.

I'd like to put together a press release

categorically denying the rumors about murky relations between you and Kurtwell.

A press release that states loud and clear:

this Pope is blackmail proof.

If, as you say, this Pope is blackmail proof

then there's no need to say so.

That's the point, Holy Father.

On a strictly confidential basis, I need to know myself:

can Kurtwell blackmail you in any way?

Lenny.

You think you're the hinge.

But you're the door.

I love you all!

Where have Esther, Peter, and little Pius gone?

To Ostia.

They live in a house by the beach.

Peter is a private security guard now.

Weren't they happy here?

Holy Father

life in the Vatican is not much fun for young people.

Holy Father

Yes?

Everyone here says that you are

a saint.

Calumny!

Show me where you live.

When you want to

you can come home.

But I haven't accomplished anything with Kurtwell.

Doesn't matter. Come home.

I'll be waiting.

Archbishop, your diocese is currently undertaking numerous projects

aimed and revitalize the neighbourhood. Can you give us more details about that?

Well, we have put a lot of money and time

over the years into this neighbourhood

and I think that through sports, well

we'll be able to make contact with the youth in the area and

and to help instil in them some of the values consistent with Christian life.

Among the many sports projects that your diocese supports

many involved tennis. Why tennis specifically?

Well, I love tennis.

It's been a lifelong passion of mine

and you probably didn't know but this area is very famous for tennis for a long time.

And I think that tennis just offers a chance for excellent instruction of a man soul.

The elements of tennis are concentration, self-worth

and a lot of things that go in to making a great tennis-player.

And you know... It's the responsibility of the Church to help these children to grow up.

Yes, I'd be glad to.

Okay.

What's your name?

David.

David what?

Just David.

Why are you following me?

I used to skate

only on the weekends.

And only with my family.

Then one night we were having dinner

and my daughter

Kate, who was twelve at the time

says that that meal

was like being in a shark tank.

That's what my wife and I had become

a shark tank.

Now

I skate alone

even during the week, but...

it's not the same anymore.

Tanistone

is my last name.

And it was my mother's last name too.

Why are you following me?

Haven't you discovered it yet?

You're the missing link between me and the source of all my problems.

What's going on?

Why are you and the Holy Father so determined to get me?

Because for years you were so determined to get all those innocent children.

That is libellous slander

and I could bring you up on charges tomorrow morning.

You don't have any solid evidence against me.

What else do you want?

What does Pius XIII want from me?

The Holy Father wants from you a statement that resembles the truth.

The truth is I know Lenny Belardo very well.

We shared power in New York for years.

And the truth is that he has always envied me.

He envies me my charisma, because he lacked that quality.

That is the one and only statement that resembles the truth.

Be reasonable, please.

The Pope has no reason to envy a sick old priest

who's devastated by very grave accusations.

Your thesis doesn't hold together.

Let me reveal something to you, Father Gutierrez:

You don't matter.

Not at all. You can stay in Queens until the day I die, and it won't change a thing.

The Pope can't get to the bottom of things with me and he knows it perfectly well.

Because it would lead to pure pandemonium.

I pity you, Gutierrez

you're just a bit player

in a cheap piece of amateur theatricals organized by your Pope.

David?

Is Kurtwell your father?

Do you remember that girl that was skating, this evening?

That was a moment.

Because only you and I saw it, out of the whole world.

I felt close to you.

I sensed that your despair was the same as mine.

That was the moment I thought to myself:

I trust this man.

♪ Baby I don't know

♪ Just why I love you so ♪

Yes, I thought

here's a good man.

And I'm a good man too, so...

I'll tell that good man the things he wants to know.

Yes.

Kurtwell

is

my father.

But

that's not the point.

The point is

the horror.

♪ Baby I don't know

♪ Just why I love you so

♪ Maybe it's just the way

♪ That God made me this day ♪

I'm not afraid of dying

but because I suffer from vertigo

I'm afraid of being swung out of this place through that hole

and been dangled in mid-air.

Don't worry.

I'll be there to comfort you.

Then I'll go back to Rome.

You're going back to Rome?

Yes. I'm done with my work here.

You come say goodbye to me now.

But I'm not leaving yet.

No, no, you come say goodbye to me now.

Breathe, Bernardo, I'm the one who's going to die.

Rose, please... - Bernado. We're breathing the same air.

All of you, leave now.

No, not you, Lenny.

Tell it to me.

Just this one time.

Let me die knowing I didn't believe in God in vain.

Tell it to me, Lenny.

All right.

Let's go say hello to Billy.

I'd rather not. I'm scared.

But we must. Billy is a friend of yours.

His mother is dying. He needs the comfort you can give him.

Thanks for coming, Sister Mary.

Please.

Billy, your friends are here.

Come, let me get you something.

Sister Mary, can I go see Billy's mother for a minute?

I'd like to pray beside her.

Of course.

Lord, we must talk about Billy's mother now.

We must talk, You and I.

And no one else can hear.

Billy's mother is still alive.

Your mother is still alive too.

And you'll find her.

Now...

at last...

time to die.

♪ And so laughs the colander

♪ They domesticated and nailed up

♪ Like a hung haunted beast held boast in his time

♪ Taxidermed for a mankind to pet

♪ And so laughs the colander

♪ And so laughs the colander

♪ And so laughs the colander

♪ So you dip your scarves in iron

♪ These are troubled times and so

♪ So you dip your scarves in iron

♪ These are troubled times and so

Bring me back.

Bring me back.

To what do I owe the honor of your presence?

I have orders to accompany you to the Vatican

where you'll be given a fair trial.

We have a flight for Rome tomorrow afternoon.

It'll only be a big waste of time.

For me and for you.

You don't have any solid evidence, you and your Pope.

None.

Only the demented ravings of a lunatic

who goes around with orange hair.

No one will believe you. No one.

We don't just have that testimony.

Really? What else do you think you have?

This is Kurtwell.

Hello, Lenny.

Even though you let it ring and ring

I know that you were waiting for my call.

Do you really want me to come to Rome

to be subjected to a trial and found guilty?

I'm afraid it's absolutely necessary.

Then one second after I land in Rome

you are gonna see all the things I have on you

in all the newspapers of the world.

Go right ahead.

The world would probably like it.

The world is always ready for love.

This is Archbishop Kurtwell. Is this a bad time?

That depends.

I have some confidential information about the Pope.

And I have proof.

To be perfectly frank, it's more than information.

These are ticking time bombs.

In that case, this is a very good time, especially for a journalist.

What's the subject?

I'm not talking about it on the phone.

You see the kind of thing we're talking about here?

Letters that our Pope wrote to his Californian girlfriend over the years.

We have a Pope with a very active emotional life.

Where did you find them?

I took over a position that was previously held by Belardo

and took over his desk.

Belardo made the error of leaving these letters at the back of a drawer.

Did you read them all?

Only the pertinent passages. The steamier ones.

The ones that prove that Belardo has had a woman for years.

You should have read them all, and with care.

In this last one, he states he'll never send these letters to that woman

because he's married to God.

Do you have any evidence that they were ever mailed?

Any envelopes with canceled stamps?

No.

No, I don't.

Well, in that case, my good Archbishop Kurtwell

you don't have any news for me.

No bomb. No scandal.

A stack of love letters that were never mailed isn't news.

It's strictly literature.

Pack the bags. Call the chauffeur.

You no longer have a car.

I put in a request to have it confiscated.

The Cardinal Secretary of State accepted my request.

We're going to take the train to the airport.

On one condition.

What condition?

That we sit in the last car in the train.

It's the safest.

♪ What I would do to take away this fear of being loved

♪ Allegiance to the pain

♪ Now I'm fucked up and I'm missing you

♪ He'll never be like you

♪ I would give anything to change this fickle-minded heart

♪ That loves fake shiny things

♪ Now I'm fucked up and I'm missing you

♪ I'll never be like you

♪ I'm only human. Can't you see?

♪ I made, I made a mistake

♪ Please just look me in my face

♪ Tell me everything's okay

♪ 'Cause I got it, ooh

♪ I'll never be like you ♪

What is more beautiful, my love?

Love lost or love found?

Don't laugh at me, my love.

I know it, I'm awkward and naive when it comes to love

and I ask questions straight out of a pop song.

This doubt overwhelms me and undermines me, my love.

To find...

Hey Daniel.

...or to lose?

How do I look?

All around me, people don't stop yearning.

Did they lose or did they find? I can't say.

An orphan has no way of knowing.

An orphan lacks a first love.

The love for his mama and papa.

That's the source of his awkwardness, his naiveté.

You said to me, on that deserted beach in California

"you can touch my legs."

But I didn't do it.

There, my love, is love lost.

That's why I never stopped wondering, since that day

where you've been

and where you are now.

And you, shining gleam of my misspent youth

did you lose or did you find?

I don't know. And I'll never know.

I can't even remember your name, my love.

And I don't have the answer.

But this is how I like to imagine it, the answer.

In the end, my love, we have no choice.

We have to find.

All right, love bugs.

Mommy is gonna show you something that you didn't know mommy can do.

♪ I'm only human. Can't you see?

♪ I made, I made a mistake

♪ Please just look me in my face

♪ Tell me everything's okay

♪ 'Cause I got it, ooh

♪ I'll never be like you

♪ Baby, baby, please believe me

♪ C'mon, take it easy

♪ Please don't ever leave me

♪ Oh, never be like you ♪