All language subtitles for Sette canne, un vestito (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1949)

SEVEN REEDS, ONE SUIT

This is the tale of Rayon.

It is a modern tale, written using the magic
formula found in books on industrial chemistry.

Millions and millions of reeds...

... grow alongside the long stretch of
road that runs from Venice to Trieste.

Huge stretches: green in the summer sun,
blonde in the autumn.

Though they have a springtime name:
"Arundo Donax".

With the arrival of winter, the millions
of reeds are cut down, tied up...

... and taken to a majestic building,
with all the air of a mysterious castle.

Once inside, dull machinery takes hold
of them and chops them up.

Immense crucibles swallow the reeds up
and boil them until the fibre is broken down.

After 24 hours, a valve opens and the
boiled reed rushes out into great baths.

Once in the baths, this substance is
chilled using violent jets of water.

It is then passed on to be washed,
where it loses all semblance of its former self.

And on to be thickened where all residual water
is left behind so that it becomes a thick paste.

During this voyage the reed becomes cellulose,
but this won't do, it's still too dirty.

It then passes through chlorination tanks,
before falling into another set of bathes.

It comes out white and pure.

But there is one last transformation
it must undergo, from paste to sheets.

A transformation that occurs in
what they call a continuous machine.

The sheet is passed on to a drying kiln,
from which it exits with the form of white paper.

It is cut, packed, and sent to another castle.

Here, expert hands insert it into steel presses.

They soak it in diluted caustic soda.

And send it down to be disintegrated.

The paper has become similar to sawdust,
and is left to sit a while in maturation rooms.

It is then exposed to chemicals
that helps realise our miracle.

It enters great drums, in which a
fetid liquid, carbon disulfide...

... gets into the fibres and changes the
substance into sodium cellulose xanthate.

The xanthate passes into great vertical tanks
where it is mixed with a brine solution...

... and becomes a dense and viscous liquid,
of a lovely orange colour. It is now viscose.

Now, the tale reaches its climactic stage.

The viscose is sent through steel tubes
to other, more delicate machines.

It is forced through a slender glass pipe,
culminating in a precious exit...

... made of gold and platinum, with 36 tiny holes,
from which the viscose emerges.

Once in contact with coagulant acid,
the viscose then becomes a shiny, solid thread.

Thread that is then wrapped around
a rotating wheel.

After 7 hours, the ball of thread,
the so-called "bun", is ready.

Each holds a good 23 km of thread.

Covered by a stocking, the bun is
then sent to be cleaned and whitened.

After this, it is wound into a final ball,
holding around 100km of thread.

The miracle is complete:
the cellulose has been transformed into silk.

Or flakes, light and soft like snow.

Seven reeds, enough for one suit.

The genius of science, power of machines,
intelligent and tireless work by technicians...

... has transformed these muddy marshland
reeds into multicoloured and elegant fabrics.