04x09 - The Disappearance

[bunniefuu]

What are you doing here?

Is Imma home?

Tina!

Are you a ballerina?

Imma.

Get ready first, then you can play.

Yes, just a minute.

Sweetheart, let's go wash up, get dressed.

Then you can play with Tina.

- Why?
- Because.

I don't want to see Papa.

You're hurting me!

Can I do her hair?

I want braids like hers.

All right.

Nino never came to the neighborhood,

he saw his daughter very little.

Usually I took her to a restaurant or a café

so he could meet with her for a few minutes.

That day he finally said he'd come by.

I didn't care about him anymore,

but I didn't want him to find me neglected and aged.

I was afraid Lila would show up.

And I knew how, if she wanted to,

she was capable of focusing a man's attention on her.

I was agitated and at the same time lethargic.

I'd written a letter to Nino

listing the problems I thought
were affecting our daughter's life.

I sent it and waited to hear from him.

That didn't happen,

so I decided to call him and I realized how hard it was

to get in touch with a member of parliament.

Girls, he's here!

Strangely punctual.

Hi, Lenù.

For once.

So, was I clear? Don't chat with me.

Don't joke with Dede and Elsa.

Focus on Imma.

If you like, I won't speak to you at all.

Just do what I wrote in my letter.

Did you read it?

Read what?

My letter.

- What letter?
- I wrote to you a month ago.

I didn't receive anything, where did you send it?

Forget it.

Anyway, Imma needs a father.

Yeah...

If you saw how fond she is of Enzo,

how she seeks Pietro's attention
when he visits Dede and Elsa.

I can imagine.

It would be nice if you came by at least once a week.

I'll try, but I'm so busy right now.

You'll find the time from now on.

I promise I will.

Where's little Imma?

I want to give her three kisses and a little bite.

You're so pretty!

What fabulous braids!

Who did your hair?

I did.

- And who are you?
- Tina. Lila's daughter.

Nice to meet you. I'm Nino.

Nice to meet you.

Hi, Nino!

Girls!

How you've grown!

- You look great.
- Thank you.

Now, I have something for you, too.

- This is for you.
- Thank you.

- This is for you.
- Thank you.

- Do you like it?
- Fantastic.

But now...

there are surprises for Imma!

Come here.

Let's see.

The first present

is this.

Let's see.

They're felt tip pens, they'll even write on fabric.

Show me.

Nice.

There are two more little presents for Imma!

It's mine!

Let's see.

What are they? Colored erasers?

Do you like them, sweetheart?

Yes.

Let's see this one.

A pencil case for a princess!

Tina.

Come to Auntie.

Dede, hand me my jacket.

Hold on.

We forgot the present for Tina.

See?

Here there's a wonderful pen for you.

- Thank you.
- Do you like it?

Would you like me to write my name?

- You know how to write your name?
- Yes.

She's just like her mother. Let's see.

Here.

She's so clever.

But I think Imma's also clever at writing her name.

Let's see.

I was sure she was very clever.

Shall we go see the most beautiful car in the world?

Yes.

Let's go!

- We're coming too.
- Sure.

We're going downstairs, okay?

Don't be long, then we'll have lunch.

Which one of you can guess the color of the car?

Whoever guesses wins a prize.

Had Nino kept chasing after Lila?

And did Lila still secretly like Nino?

Lila imagined her daughter
beside that tall, thin man,

thinking if things had gone differently

Tina could have been his daughter.

Who knows how often Lila had recognized

Nino's features in Imma.

As he had just recognized in Tina Lila's features.

Nino!

Nino!

Why are you being carried? You're a big girl.

Looking out the window

and seeing clouds underneath... what a feeling!

It's ready. The girls have to eat.

We'll go now.

- I've never taken a plane.
- You must.

Where's Tina?

With Dede and Elsa.

No, she's not with them.

She was here.

Kids are like that.

Once I couldn't find Gennaro,

I went to the school and he wasn't there.

I was terrified!

But he was on the stradone.

- Girls, have you seen Tina?
- No.

How did the search go last night, signora?

We looked for her all night,
all over the neighborhood.

Her father was beside himself.

Some say they saw her with a man near the tunnel,

others saw her at the gardens with another man.

Someone else saw her chasing a ball

and they heard a loud bang when a truck came.

Then the truck headed toward the stradone.

And they took the little girl away.

For over a week, little Nunzia
Scanno has been missing.

She is four years old and everyone calls her Tina.

Men, women, and children continue to search for her.

They don't trust the investigators,
who have questioned family members.

The first to be interrogated
was Tina's mother's ex-husband,

Stefano Carracci.

Just after his release, he suffered a heart attack.

The girl's uncle, Rino Cerullo, was also detained.

Although in the past he was involved

in drug dealing, theft, extortion,

it seems he has nothing to do
with the little girl's disappearance.

Additionally, the girl's
brother, a presumed junkie,

was questioned, but immediately released.

A great effort to cooperate with the search

has been undertaken by the
brothers Michele and Marcello Solara,

businessmen born and bred in the neighborhood,

owners of a renowned pastry
shop and other businesses,

known in the national news

after the investigation published in L'Espresso

by the writer Elena Greco, also born and bred...

Are we disturbing you?

Hi, Enzù.

What do you want?

We're here on behalf of everyone.

Everyone who?

The neighborhood people.

Everyone here likes you.

We're doing everything possible to bring Tina home.

Yesterday, we went to check the gypsy camp,

every hut and caravan.

You know, no one can bullshit us.

We'll find out everything.

When we heard that a truck was scrapped in a hurry,

we went to every scrapyard.

Stop it!

You took Tina!

You made her disappear because you want everything,

even a share in our company and we never gave it to you.

Now you have the nerve to show your f*cking faces here?

- What are you saying?
- How does that even occur to you?

Go away.

Don't ever come here again.

Don't get worked up, we're here to help.

We can understand the pain you feel.

No, you can't understand it.

Nobody can understand it.

Now go away.

You hear me?

Enzo, stop it.

Stop it, they're leaving now.

We can understand what you feel.

If they'd taken Silvio I woulda gone crazy like you.

Even worse.

Don't worry, we'll bring the girl to you.

Lila never hinted at the Solaras' involvement.

Instead, for quite a while,

she thought Tina had been taken by some client of hers,

who knew how much Basic Sight was worth

and wanted money in exchange for the girl.

A few weeks later, things got even worse.

One morning someone else went missing.

Nunzia said that Rino hadn't come home to sleep

and that Pinuccia was scouring
the neighborhood for him.

No one knew anything,

no one was looking for him, except her.

No one bothered to look for a junkie.

They asked Gennarino if he had news of his uncle

and he put up resistance.

It wasn't until the next day
that he decided to cooperate.

He refused to allow Lila and Enzo
to accompany him on the search,

but he resigned himself to his father coming.

I can't breathe.

You were an as*h*le as a kid and you still are.

You deserved to die like this!

You deserved it!

Look, this is how you'll end up!

Whaddaya want from me?

You think you're better than him, or me?

Now you act like a father?

The thought of being your son disgusts me!

You know what?

From today on, the only ones
I respect in the neighborhood

are Mamma and Enzo.

You deserve to be k*lled.

Now!

Bunch of assholes!

And even dead you won't find peace!

They won't even let you into hell!

With her brother's death,

Lila went, in a short time, from
being a mother who aroused pity

to a madwoman who sowed terror.

And just as had happened to
Melina during our childhood,

she was increasingly shunned as
if just seeing her brought bad luck.

The certainty that Tina was
still alive totally absorbed her

and that, in my view, drove her toward Imma.

She always wanted Imma with
her. I even let her sleep over.

I don't understand, where is she now?

I don't know.

She'll be back soon.

But when?

Are you lonely?

I don't know who to play with.

Nor do I.

When is she coming back?

Mind your business!

Be quiet now!

Drink!

Good morning.

Did she sleep on her own?

Yes.

Early this morning she called me to go pee

and she came to sleep with us.

Did she wake Enzo?

No worries.

Well, thanks.

Bye.

Bye.

I'd forgiven Lila for her excesses,

but I couldn't accept this.

She treated Imma as harshly as she treated us adults

and showed increasingly
less interest in Dede and Elsa.

She called them "the young
misses" with explicit sarcasm.

My daughters also changed their attitude toward her.

In their eyes Tina's disappearance

erased Lila's authority.

- What are you after?
- A little wine.

- Mamma, I'm 16 years old.
- Can I have some too?

I've had it with you two.

- Then why did you have us?
- Sometimes I wonder that too.

Aunt Lila definitely didn't want another child.

Why do you say that?

- She never shed a tear.
- Tears aren't grief.

But without tears, what
guarantees that the grief is there?

It's there and often it's an even greater grief.

You want to know what I think?

Let's hear it.

She lost Tina on purpose and
now she wants to lose Gennaro too.

Not to mention Enzo. See how she treats him?

How do you get certain ideas? Don't say that again!

You disgust me!

You turn my stomach! Get outta here!

I disgust you? You disgust me too!

We have to do something.

Mamma, please!

We have to call the police or she'll k*ll him!

Aunt Lila is right to beat him up.

He gets into all sorts of trouble to buy heroin.

You're identical to her.

Dede, please don't go!

Lila!

- Lenù, whaddaya want?
- You're overdoing it.

Dede wants to call the police.

Go back inside.

And tell your daughters they can cover their ears.

Since he's been on drugs, he's become a savage.

They hate you at school
because you don't show respect.

Who should I respect?

You're bad!

Stop it!

You're saying horrible things!

Go to your room.

I don't want to hear you anymore.

Right, you don't want to see or hear.

You know she ditches school all the time?

She forges your signature.

You b*tch!

Stop swearing!

Go to your room!

Where are you going?

Things got worse every day.

Come.

After my last work trip to Milan,

I decided I wouldn't ask Lila
to look after my girls anymore.

Go home, right now!

Well? I said we're going home.

- Why?
- It's dangerous outside.

What? Are you crazy?

I said we have to go!

Mamma entrusted me with my sisters, I decide.

I don't give a f*ck, when your
mother's not here I'm your mother.

A sh*t mother.

You lost your daughter and you didn't cry.

What are you doing?

I said we're going home!

You didn't just talk back,
you said something terrible.

Aunt Lila's out of her mind.

She thinks you have to barricade
yourself at home to avoid danger.

We didn't go out for ten days.

She didn't even go grocery shopping.

We ate frozen food all the time.

I don't like frozen food.

Lila hasn't gone crazy,

maybe she overdid it but she wanted to protect you.

In a place called Chernobyl

a nuclear power plant has exploded.

The radiation can reach us.

She wouldn't even let us turn on the television.

Why didn't she tell us what was going on?

- I don't know.
- Can't you see she's crazy?

She never spoke, she treated us worse than Gennaro.

Aunt Lila would have done the same with Tina.

Just think what t*rture it must
have been looking after you

and imagining her daughter somewhere

and no one's looking after her.

Come.

Can we sleep with you?

All right.

- Have you brushed your teeth?
- Yes.

I don't believe you,

but it doesn't matter.

I thought I'd stock the fridge with frozen food too,

so, if I'm running late, they
can make their own dinner.

Frozen food's expensive.

By the way, how much do I owe you?

When you earn more than me, we'll discuss it.

Do you still enjoy your work?

I've never enjoyed it.

I remember you used to really enjoy it.

No, you don't remember right.

Enzo enjoyed it and I made myself enjoy it too.

I've always done that,

even with the shoes.

I didn't give a f*ck about the shoes.

It was Rino's idea

and I wanted to help him 'cause he was good at it,

much better than my father.

He really could have become famous.

Rich and famous, like the designer Ferragamo.

If you don't like this work, find something else to do.

I'm fine like this.

Besides, Enzo's head is in the clouds,

if I don't help him, we'll close down.

You both have to get over your grief.

What grief, Lenù?

We have to get over our anger.

Then get over your anger.

We're trying.

Try with greater conviction.

Tina doesn't deserve this.

Leave Tina alone.

Think of your own daughters.

- I do.
- Not enough.

Did you tell the girls I haven't shed a tear for Tina?

Stop it!

Do you think I'd say something like that?

Dede called me a sh*t mother.

She's just a kid.

A rude kid.

What the f*ck do you want, Lenù?

I'm like this because I lost my daughter.

Maybe she's alive, maybe she's dead,

but I can't handle either of those possibilities.

Because if she's alive, she's alive far from me,

in a place where horrendous things happen,

which I can clearly see.

They're in front of my eyes day and night.

But if she's dead,

then I'm dead too.

Dead inside.

It's more unbearable than real death,

which is death without feeling,

while this death forces you
to feel everything every day.

Waking up,

washing yourself, getting
dressed, eating, working,

talking to you,

who doesn't understand

or who doesn't want to understand.

With you, who just seeing you
all dolled up, fresh from the salon,

with your daughters who do well at school,

who always do everything perfectly,

who aren't broken down by this sh*thole,

in fact, it agrees with them,

it makes them even more confident and entitled,

even more certain they have
a right to take everything...

it makes my blood boil.

So, go away.

Go away, leave me alone.

Tina was supposed to be better than all of you,

but they took her away.

And I can't take it anymore.

She never said anything like that,

she never spoke about Tina,

but she often spoke about Rino.

She attributed all the merit of
the shoe business to her brother,

in order to keep alive and compact the figure of the boy

who'd defended her from their violent father.

I knew that people organize
their memory to suit themselves.

I felt that, if she decided to,

she would have extracted from
the tangled mass of her brain

words of that kind.

Sometimes, I thought she had
unutterable thoughts in her mind,

that I wasn't even able to imagine.

Remember when, here in this street,

I'd carry her on my shoulders?

If I could take on some of your grief, I would.

Thank you, Lenù.

You already do a lot.

Thank you for all you do for us,

but you have to be patient with Lila.

You know her better than me,

sooner or later she'll recover.

Lenù, listen,

I'm going to Avellino on Friday.

I have to stay a couple of
days with an old aunt who's ill.

- Can you keep her company?
- Yes, of course.

Lenù.

How are you?

Hello.

Hi, Lenù.

Guess what we're doing.

We're going to the library
and then to eat. Care to join us?

Here you are! I couldn't find you.

Let's go to the library.

No, we have to go. Another time, gladly.

I'm counting on it, Lenù.

So you can tell the kids what to read.

You and your daughters are an example to us.

Studying makes you good.

But if you don't study, you don't read,

like Lila and all the rest of us did,

you stay bad.

Being bad is an awful thing, right?

Right?

Damn!

- It's broken.
- Doesn't matter.

I'll take care of it, I'll take it to the jeweler.

I said it doesn't matter.

Absolutely not, it's my duty. I'll
get it back to you as good as new.

Let's go, Silvio's gotta eat.

Go to eat? No way.

To the library.

You're even worse at defending yourself now.

You'll never see that bracelet again.

Lila!

Did you hear the wind?

Yes.

If it blows any harder the
neighborhood will fall down.

Just kidding!

I have eggplant in the oven,
meatballs and escarole pizza.

Come and have dinner with us.

No, bring me some dinner here.

I don't want to come to your place.

Your daughters get on my nerves.

Lila!

I'm in the bathroom, come.

At first Dede resembled you.

Now she's starting to look just like her father.

With Elsa it's the opposite, she
resembled her father, now you.

A desire, a fantasy

circulates faster than blood.

I don't understand.

Remember when I thought Gennaro was Nino's son?

Yes.

I really believed it.

The boy looked just like him.

His spitting image.

Do you mean...

a desire can be so strong it
seems it's already come true?

No.

I mean that for a few years

Gennaro really was Nino's son.

Don't exaggerate.

Am I exaggerating?

Don't make fun of me.

When my hip hurts, I limp a bit.

You don't have anything that hurts.

You invented your limp so your
mother wouldn't die completely.

And in the end you limp for real.

Nothing wrong with that.

I observe you.

You've stopped being a daughter
and you've become a mother.

I only have a little pain.

Do you think

when Tina's 42 she'll be like this?

Probably.

Do you understand what I'm saying?

I truly raised a child of Nino's.

Just as you did with Imma.

For a long time I didn't see anything of Nino in Imma,

no deep resemblance,

except for her coloring.

Then the other day she ran her hand through her hair...

Here.

A gesture I've seen her father do a thousand times.

I don't think Imma imitated him.

I don't know where it came from.

Talking to you helps me.

You make me think.

I'm trying to write, but I can't get my bearings.

I write down a few pages, I'm satisfied,

then the next day I reread them and I'm lost.

I don't know where to start.

You help me make connections between distant things.

Knowing you need me, makes me feel better.

Mamma!

I can't find the thermometer.

Dede says she's got a fever.

Coming.

If you need anything, call me, anytime.

It only took half a sentence from Lila

and my brain was activated, freeing my intelligence.

By now I knew I could do well especially when,

even with just a few disjointed words,

she assured the more secure part of me

that I was in the right.

I wrote about my hip, about my mother.

I told myself being an adult was this:

recognizing that I needed Lila's nudges.

I was me and precisely for that reason

I could make room for her inside me

and give her a shape that would hold.

But she didn't want to be herself,

so she couldn't do the same.

Good morning.

I wrote until late.

Coffee's ready.

Thank you.

- How are you?
- Good. No fever this morning.

Good.

- Imma has a cough.
- I heard.

You don't have a fever. How do you feel?

My throat's really sore.

Show me.

Open up.

More.

Yeah, it's a little red.

I'll take Lila her breakfast
and then we'll rinse your throat.

Stop picking the sugar off!

Who is it at this hour?

A person can't even sleep anymore!

I brought you breakfast.

What for?

I didn't sleep all night.

My guts are coming out of my belly.

Why are you standing there? Come in!

I brought you some cake.

I'd better make you a chamomile.

Anyway, I ate the same things as you

and I'm fine.

Then what's wrong with me?

I don't know.

Your period?

When I get my period I'm never like this.

Later, I'll get you something from the pharmacy.

Now calm down.

Don't you have anything at home?

No, just aspirin.

Dede and Elsa don't have anything?

No, they don't need it.

That's right...

Forgive me, you're all perfect,

you don't need anything.

- You want to fight?
- No, you do!

Saying I have period pain!

Drink your chamomile.

I'll go to the pharmacy and be right back.

Hi, Lenù.

Carmen.

I've wanted to tell you something for ages.

I didn't want to sue you.

Forgive me.

The Solaras forced me, I'd never have done it.

Let's not talk about it anymore.

What's going on?

- Let's go see.
- It's dangerous!

Come!

- Carmen!
- I'm coming.

Clear the area, move!

Where are their wives?

One ran away immediately leaving her kids.

The other picked up her kid and who knows where she is.

- Who shot them?
- Who knows.

A guy dressed in black shot
them and calmly got into a red Ford.

- Did you see him?
- No, I heard about it.

- Did you see anything?
- No.

Move away, please.

Yeah.

Lila!

They've k*lled the Solaras.

Now, in front of the church.

Tina came out of my belly again

and she's taking revenge on everyone.

She k*lled them.