04x01 - The Separation

[bunniefuu]

Good evening.

I'd like to call Italy.

Very well.

You may dial the number.

- Hello?
- Pietro, it's Elena.

- How are the girls?
- What do you care?

They're my daughters.

What do you want?

The French publishers want to do
more promotional events in Paris.

I thought I'd accept.

I'll be back for Christmas Eve.

You've already gone to France twice in two months

since you decided to destroy our family.

Don't bother to come back.

In those months, during my
escapes to France with Nino,

Dede and Elsa came to mind constantly,

as did Pietro,

but as if suspended in a parallel universe.

I'd had no news of them for some days,

and as I became aware of that I felt an intense nausea.

But as unbearable as it was,

I couldn't turn down the
invitation from the two publishers

who had believed in the book.

Putting off my return for a few
days wouldn't change much.

Or was I getting everything wrong?

I can't stay on the phone. Let's talk soon.

No, I can't tell you that.

Nino.

Sorry, I didn't hear you.

Were you on the phone with Eleonora?

Absolutely not.

Liar.

- It's the truth!
- You're a liar.

I swear it was that boring professor from Utrecht.

I think he was drunk, too. I
couldn't understand a word.

You were talking to Eleonora, I heard you.

You can't have heard me, because it's not true.

Do you believe me?

You have to trust me.

This is what I think:

our situation is complicated,

but we'll sort it out.

But to do that we can't keep running away,

Montpellier, Paris, then who knows what other city!

We have to face this situation head-on.

Me, Eleonora. And you, your husband.

You were stunning tonight.

- I had my eyes on you the whole time.
- Yes?

And I wasn't the only one.

Go to sleep.

Go to sleep.

Not talking to me now?

At least tell me why. Call me.

You're not picking up?

Are you offended with me?

You coming to Naples for Christmas?

This is Lila, again. You're getting on my nerves!

I've been calling you for a
month. What are you playing at?

- Hello?
- Mariarosa, it's me.

- What's up?
- You tell me, there's no one home.

- What time is it?
- It's 3:00 a.m.

- You just got back now?
- Yes, what's going on?

- Are the girls all right?
- Yes, calm down.

They're fine, they're in Turin with my parents.

Pietro told me they were
expecting me for Christmas dinner.

But he took them to Turin.

No, my mother came and picked them up.

Without telling me? How dare she?

She thought it was better to leave you and Pietro alone

to deal with the situation freely.

She thought? She doesn't decide!

You got back at three in the morning,

what kinda lousy Christmas would it have been?

There were delays because of the holidays.

- No need to justify yourself.
- I'm not!

You have the right and the
duty to keep studying, writing.

As for the rest, I can't give you any advice.

Don't forget about the presentation here in Milan.

The great Franco Mari will be
there too, he can't wait to see you.

Yes, yes.

Well, goodnight.

Bye.

Where have you been?

Why did you let your mother take the girls?

Did you hear me?

You were in France, for work.

I'd have made it in time, but the trains were late.

You're never here for your daughters.

Pietro, let's talk.

We need to reach an agreement.

What kind?

The girls will come live with me,

you'll see them on weekends.

I'll see them, where?

At my house.

And where's that?

I don't know, I'll decide.

Here

in Milan, in Naples.

In Naples?

I'll never let my daughters live with you in Naples!

I'll never accept that!

Calm down.

Calm down, Pietro.

I can't drive like this.

- Where do you need to go?
- To the train station.

What for?

To pick up your mother.

My mother?

- Someone had to tell her.
- It was up to me!

You would have lied like you did to me.

See? It's easy.

You're made for each other,
you like reading, studying.

You're clever.

But what good is it if you give up when it gets hard?

Think of the kids.

Dede's big now and it's not right to make her suffer.

Pietro, thank you for everything
you've done for my daughter,

but I'm not leaving until you forgive her.

I swear on my kids' lives I'm
not leaving until you make up!

Give each other a kiss.

Lenù, say you're sorry and admit you were wrong.

Lenù, come on!

Cut it out!

There's no point. I love someone else.

Shut up, you sl*t!

I can't take it with you anymore!

I can't take it anymore!

You wanna ruin your life chasing after a man

who's a bigger sh*t than his shitty father!

I thought it was Lila leading you down the wrong path,

but I was wrong, you're the shameless hussy!

You're a shameless hussy!

Without you, Lila's become a good person.

I shoulda broke your legs when you were little!

Your husband's worth his weight in gold!

He has you live in a beautiful house!

He gave you two kids!

And this is how you repay him? Cow!

I'm gonna k*ll you!

Stop it!

You're not my daughter anymore.

He's my son.

I hope Sarratore's son gives
you the clap and syphilis!

What did I do wrong to live to see this day?

Did I deserve this?

Lord, take me now!

Take me now!

Don't open the door.

I'm not asking you to let me in.

I just want to say I didn't want this.

It's too much.

Not even you deserve it.

I was ashamed of how I shoved her,

I was ashamed of her and of myself.

I wanted to apologize, to hug her.

But I feared she'd be convinced I'd given in.

She left without us speaking a word to each other.

She wished Pietro all the best

and urged him, until a moment before the train left,

to keep her informed about his
wounded hand and about the girls.

Hello?

Hi, Adele.

I'm coming to pick up my daughters tomorrow.

Elena, what a surprise. Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas.

Don't worry,

you can leave them with me for as long as you need...

Dede has school.

She could go to school here, there's one nearby...

No, I need to keep them with me.

Please, just think about it.

A separated woman with two
daughters and your ambitions

has to face reality

and decide what to give up.

I'll see you tomorrow.

Aren't you supposed to be in
Milan with Mariarosa tomorrow?

I'll take the first train on Friday, then.

b*tch!

I was born in a poor, run-down neighborhood,

very run-down.

Where men's fury, their violence,

was and is a daily occurrence.

I've seen a father throw his daughter out the window

only because she wanted to keep studying.

I've seen a woman hang herself

because she was widowed with two children to support.

I've seen bruises on a friend's face

because she'd married a man she didn't love.

A man who r*ped her on her wedding night.

And you?

What are you guilty of?

Of going away, of leaving everything?

Of learning the language of males

to have more success with your books?

I admire Elena precisely because
of her masculine capacities.

And I insist she keeps honing them

without losing herself in women's obligations.

Thanks.

You make revolution with what's at hand, don't you?

No one wants revolution anymore.

I wouldn't say that, Silvia.

She's right, though.

The revolutionary season is fading,

along with all the categories that guided it.

Mirko, Ester, dessert!

Franco, it's not like that.

In Italy the situation is very lively and combative.

You say that because you're lively and combative.

You're pleased with yourself.

Not at all, I'm depressed.

Depressed people don't write books.

Books are written by people who are happy,

who travel, who fall in love

and speak with the conviction
that words will fall into place.

It's comfortable not being challenged by anything.

No wound to get infected,

no cut that needs stitches,

no dark room that scares you.

In the end, the trick stops working.

Meaning?

Blah, blah, blah, Elena.

Words are losing their meaning.

It's for you.

Who is it?

Nino.

Hello?

- Hi.
- Hi.

Has something happened?

Yeah, I miss you like crazy.

Seeing as we have some free time,

why don't we go to the seaside?

Let's meet halfway, at Argentario, just you and I.

After what happened with your
mother, a break will do you good.

But when?

Tomorrow or the day after at the latest.

I have to go to Turin to pick up the girls, I can't.

I'll be busy soon at the university,
it'll be hard for me to get away.

Yes, I know.

I don't know what to do.

It's just two days, what's the big deal?

Don't you miss me anymore?

Don't you need me anymore?

You kidding me?

- I can't wait to hold you again.
- You sure?

Yes.

You seem so taken up by your things.

Nino, you're wrong.

Say it again.

You're wrong.

That Friday, I didn't go back for the girls

and Adele didn't seem at all surprised.

I realized my mother-in-law
had raised a real problem,

how could I keep my life with
Nino and my daughters together?

And so, I decided to entrust my daughters to Adele.

I went to visit them whenever I could.

When I spent time with Nino I wanted to be with them,

and when I was with Dede and Elsa I wanted to be with him.

In those years Nino and I were always on the move.

We wanted to be present, to observe, to study,

to understand, to reason, to bear witness

and above all, to love each other.

The wailing police sirens, the roadblocks,

the whir of helicopter blades,
people k*lled by the Red Brigades,

marked this chapter of our relationship.

Weeks, months,

a year and then a year and a half,

every public event took on
meaning only from that night

at my house in Florence when I joined Nino in his room.

That was when, we told each
other, our true life had begun.

And what we called true life

was that sense of miraculous
splendor that never left us

not even when everyday horrors played out around us.

{an8}Moro, leader of the Christian Democratic party

{an8}was kidnapped this morning
by a squad of t*rrorists...

Colleagues, precisely in this dramatic moment,

we must have the intellectual
honesty to remind ourselves

that the one who threw mud on the state,

who revealed its worst face,

and who also created the conditions
for the birth of the Red Brigades.

I'm sorry to say this given the situation he's in,

but it was Moro.

Concealing uncomfortable
truths for his corrupt party.

Indeed, identifying the party with the state itself!

What are you saying, that Moro's guilty?

No, don't make me say things I didn't say.

I say we must defend the institutions

not by hiding their misdeeds,
but by making them transparent,

with no omissions.

What side are you on?

I'm on the side of my head.

This isn't the time for discussions of this kind.

Then let's not hold conferences

because there'll always be another emergency.

Only Moro has understood the
processes of liberation of our time.

He recognized the strength of
the youth and feminist movements,

while even the Left abandoned us!

- And who said the contrary?
- You.

Not at all, I agree with you.

You're being pitiless about a
man whose life is in danger!

No, I have more pity than you.

Pietàs means to see reality and then to sense it.

I can leave, no problem.

How dare you say these things?

You were saying the same things two months ago.

You're mistaken, that wasn't me.

- You're getting it mixed up!
- You have a short memory.

Go ahead with your conference.

But don't fill your mouths with Gaetano Salvemini.

Read him first.

Deadly boring, the festival of hypocrisy!

- "What side are you on?"
- Did you like it?

Only we mattered

and every time it converged back to the two of us.

If we were together, no criticism could touch us.

On the contrary, we became conceited,

nothing made sense except our opinions.

We ran to dinners, to good food, to wine, to sex.

All we wanted was to hold
each other, cling to each other.

I have something to tell you.

From the look on your face it seems serious.

It's perhaps the most shameful
thing I've ever done in my life.

It's about the article I commissioned
from you at high school.

God.

You scared me.

What are you talking about?

The story about the clash with the religion teacher.

What did you do?

When I read it,

I couldn't believe someone could write in a way

that was so pleasing and intelligent.

I rewrote it so many times.

I even asked Lila to read it and help me.

I wanted to impress you.

I was upset that they didn't publish it.

I told you it was for lack of space, right?

Yes, I think so.

The truth is there was plenty of space.

Then why didn't they publish it?

Out of envy.

The editors were envious of me?

I was the one who was envious.

I read your pages and I threw them in the garbage,

I couldn't bear that you were so good.

There was no need to tell me about that episode,

and yet he did.

His need to be sincere

beyond any benefit, moved me.

From that moment on,

I felt I could always believe him.

And I could trust the idea that was growing inside me,

to get a house together

and finally unite our life with my daughters.

I love you.

I love you too, you know?

I have something to tell you, too.

Tell me.

Maybe it's just an idea.

But...?

Who's that?

Who knows we're here?

Only Adele.

Answer.

Hello?

Pietro!

Elena.

Hi.

How are you?

It could have been worse.

Elena, this is Doriana.

- Hello.
- Hello.

How did it happen?

I don't remember very well,

two guys came at me with a
stick and then a massive blow...

I think I fainted.

- Who were they?
- Fascists, violent guys.

Does it hurt?

I don't know what's in here but I've never felt better.

The doctor said you have to drink.

How are you?

Fine.

A little tired.

- Still traveling?
- Yes.

Papa! Are you all right?

Easy, he can't move.

Does it still hurt?

Good morning, Doriana.

- How are you?
- Fine.

Elena, you got here quickly.

Yes, I took the first train.

Dede, Elsa, say hello to Mamma.

Hi.

- Hi, Mamma.
- Hi.

Hi, Dede.

You've grown.

You've grown so much.

- Papa, I got an A in Italian.
- Well done!

I could have gotten an A+, but I went off topic.

It's all right.

- I made you a present.
- Really?

Grandma, where is it?

Darling, I'm sorry,

I think we left it at home.

I don't believe it, it took me days to make!

It was special for Papa!

Never mind, give it to him tomorrow.

Darling.

Who's coming with me to get chips?

- Me.
- Me, but I want a Coke too.

May I?

All right, but you have to share it.

I'll go too, I need a coffee.

Sit down.

She's very nice.

Are you in love?

I haven't been this happy in a long time.

Will she come to live with you?

It's too early to say.

But yes, maybe yes.

We have to think about the girls.

I want to go back to live in Naples.

- With Nino?
- Yes.

But he doesn't know yet.

- Has he left his wife?
- Yes.

He's living with a colleague near the university.

Like a student?

I want to go to Naples as soon as possible

and find an apartment for me and the girls.

All right.

I have some news.

Some wonderful news.

I'm going to find a big, new house, just for us,

with a room for playing and a room for sleeping.

And where will you find this new house?

I've spoken to Pietro.

What do you mean?

I'll be right back.

Until now I've left the girls with you out of necessity

and because Pietro needed to readjust,

but now that he has a life of
his own, things will change.

I also have the right to some stability.

And so?

I'm moving to Naples.

- I'll live there with my daughters.
- No, I don't trust you!

What does that mean?

I don't trust you with them.

You're too taken with yourself to take care of them.

You don't get to decide.

I don't want my granddaughters
to grow up in a city like Naples.

Do you realize what you're saying?

It's a violent, disorderly city,

you are always so excessive.

"You"? Who are you talking about?

About you, about all of you.

About your family, about your mother,

about the scenes you make.

Will you leave Dede and Elsa
with your mother when you travel?

- I'll leave them with whoever I want.
- No way!

I don't want Dede and Elsa to come into contact

with people who are out of control.

I thought you were the
mother figure I'd always needed.

I was wrong.

My mother is better than you.

Elena.

If you'd like to take a shower,

then we'll eat when Guido gets home.

All right.

I prepared the guest room for you.

I'll sleep with the girls.

A friend of yours has been calling.

Why did she call here?

Maybe she knows you drop in every now and then.

"Lila called. 081 226942."

- This goes here.
- No...

It's time for bed.

Goodnight, Mamma.

Goodnight.

- Goodnight, Grandpa.
- Goodnight, Mamma.

Goodnight, Grandpa.

What are the names of these two pretty young ladies?

Dede.

Elsa.

Grandpa wants to know your full name.

Dede Airota.

Elsa Airota.

Airota like who?

Like Papa.

And then?

Like Grandpa.

And what's Mamma's name?

Elena Greco.

And is your name Greco or Airota?

Airota.

That's right.

Goodnight, my dears.

How's it going with Nino Sarratore?

Was it worth it?

He's an intelligent man, he knows his stuff,

but he's erratic.

I don't like the things he's written recently.

After all, it's hard to find one's way

amid the chaos of the crisis in Italy,

especially for men like him who want to do things.

I'm going to work a bit.

But there's doing and doing.

Sarratore is an intelligence without traditions,

he'd rather make a good
impression on the powers that be

than stand up for an idea.

What does "Nino's an intelligence
without traditions" mean?

That he's a nobody.

And for people like that, becoming someone

is more important than anything else.

Consequently Mr. Sarratore is unreliable.

I'm also an intelligence without traditions.

Yes, and in fact...

What do you mean?

I entrusted a son to you and
you treated him dishonestly.

If you wanted another man why did you marry him?

- I didn't know I wanted another.
- You're lying.

Yes, I'm lying,

because you're forcing me
to give a linear explanation.

And linear explanations are almost always lies.

You've said bad things about Pietro too.

Actually, you've backed me
up against him. Were you lying?

No, I've always been on your side,

but within a pact you needed to respect.

- What was that?
- To stay with your husband, your girls.

But that's not how it went.

The pact is broken and it all changes.

Do as you please, Adele,

I am Elena Greco and my daughters are mine.

I don't give a damn about you Airotas.

It shows that you're Elena Greco.

It's all too evident.

But the girls are my son's daughters,

they've been living with us for two years

and we won't allow you to ruin them.

"Think of the harm you'll do to your kids,"

said Lila when I was leaving my family.

But what was bad for my
daughters, what was good for them?

And what was bad and good for me?

How did it correspond or diverge

from what was bad and good for them?

You're throwing away everything you are for Nino?

You're ruining your family for him?

Don't do it, Lenù.

He'll use you, he'll suck your blood,

he'll take away your will to
live and then he'll abandon you.

Why did you study so much?

Why did I waste my time imagining

you'd live a wonderful life for me, too?

I was wrong, you're just an idiot.

The trip to Naples seemed extremely long.

The more the train slowed
down, gliding into the urban space,

the more anxious exhaustion took hold of me.

It seemed the Naples I had ties to,

that I was returning to,

was now reduced to Nino.

What decision would we make,

since we had no clue about a
practical form of our relationship?

How would he react to the idea
of us all living together in Naples?

All I knew was I was burning with desire

and I couldn't wait to see him again.

You have a thought you're not telling me.

No, it's not true.

I want to know what it is.

- Is it a forbidden thought?
- No.

Then why won't you look at me?

Why won't you look at me?

I'm ready to move here with my daughters.

We'll be very happy.

Very happy.

I have a little money, Pietro
will help me with the girls,

and I'm about to sign the contract for the new book.

I'd like to find a big apartment with
lots of light and a view of the sea.

I've always missed the sea.

I'll start looking for a house at once.

We'll find it.

It'll be some pain in the neck, I'll go see.

Hello?

Can I call you back later?

What did I say? A pain in the neck from the university.

I forgot to tell you Lila called me.

She insists you get in touch,

she's been calling
continuously, even to Eleonora's.

In the end I met with her and told her to give it a rest.

You met with her?

I grabbed a coffee with her and Carmen.

Why didn't you tell me?

I didn't want to upset you, those two are messed up.

Lila only asked questions about you:

how you dress, if you've changed your hairstyle,

how you are when you speak in public.

That other lunatic wants
you to speak to Mrs. Galliani,

because Nadia has taken refuge in France

and maybe she has news of her brother Pasquale.

You never have a free moment, yet you found the time...

Are you jealous of those two?

No, I'm joking.

Only pains in the neck today.

I'll go see.

Hello?

I told you I'm busy right now.

We'll discuss it later.

I avoided calling Lila to tell her about my decision

to move back to Naples.

I didn't want her getting mixed up in my affairs.

Instead I called Carmen

who agreed to meet me at a bar in the center.

- Carmen.
- Lenù.

How nice, at last!

How are things?

My goodness, you're so beautiful.

And you look so well!

No, I'm always rushing, I neglect myself.

You look well.

No, I don't.

I have so many worries.

Let's have coffee and you can tell me about it.

I can't stay long, but we'll see each other soon.

Two coffees, please.

You're leaving so soon?

I'm going to see an apartment
in Via Petrarca with Nino.

Wait, Lila will be here soon.

Lila?

I thought it was just you and me.

I'll have coffee then I really
must go. Let's do it another time.

Lila's helping me a lot.

She'd do anything for Pasquale.

It's not fair that the rich always win.

Only poor people like us have to pay.

Lila helps everyone, she worries
about her friends, her family.

Even about Stefano.

She helped Antonio find a house
and made friends with his German wife.

Explain to me how I can help
you, 'cause I really gotta run.

Speak to the teacher, Nadia's mother.

I'm sure she knows something about my brother.

All right, I'll call her tomorrow.

You don't get it,

don't call her on the phone, on the
phone she won't tell you anything.

All right, I'll go and see her.

- Coffee's on me.
- Wait a bit longer.

Lila has something important to tell you.

You tell me.

It's not my place.

So, you've finally made up your mind?

Are you moving back to Naples?

Yes.

You still with him?

Lila, I love Nino

and he loves me.

If it hadn't been for him I
wouldn't have written the book,

I couldn't do it anymore.

He gave me the strength to start over.

So you're coming back to live here.

You tell Carmen and not me?

I would have told you.

Do your parents know?

No.

- Not even Elisa?
- No.

Your mother isn't well.

What's wrong?

A cough, but she won't go to the doctor.

I know.

Carmen says you have something important to tell me.

It's not something pleasant.

Let's hear it.

I asked Antonio as a favor to follow Nino.

In what sense?

- To see what he does.
- Why?

- For your sake.
- I'll take care of myself.

You're offended,

but you're wrong.

I know Nino better than you,

that's why I asked Antonio to follow him.

I'm not offended,

but hurry up.

Nino never left his wife.

He's still living with her.

They've just made him a director

of an important bank research institute

under the patronage of his father-in-law.

What's wrong?

You knew?

No.

If you don't believe me, go see him,

I'll repeat it to his face, word by word,

like I just told you.

I believe you.

If you go, I'm coming too.

We'll fix him up good.

We'll cut off his c*ck.

I'm sorry,

but now I really have to go.

Bye, Carmen. Bye, Lila.