b*ttlefield (2024)

[bunniefuu]

BATTLEGROUND

YEAR OF THE VICTORY

Look.

Look at this hand.

You won't believe it

but this hand saved me.

I was a goner, I was already dead.

Dead under a pile of bodies!

What a stroke of luck!

But this hand suddenly

came to life and leapt out,

and I thank it because it saved me.

It saved my life, right?

You get me?

I didn't get a thing.

But it's all clear.

Run, they're coming!

They're going into the houses!

They'll hurt you!

They steal everything! They'll ruin you!

Run for it!

What's he saying?

Worn down by defeatism,

humiliated by politics,

ignored by Italians

who couldn't care less about this w*r.

Is there anyone who welcomes them?

Who greets them?

They're wounded or misfits.

Losers aren't celebrated.

Have you grown wise?

With a little effort

you understand things.

You've misunderstood me, as usual.

- Do you still enjoy the work you do?

- No.

I can discharge you

whenever I like, even tomorrow.

And I could have you arrested

for saying that.

For the new arrivals

the same rule applies:

don't take pity on them.

Those who come here

can be heroes or cowards.

We are obliged

to treat everyone the same,

but our duty is

to send them all to the front

as soon as possible, holding a g*n.

Who's this? I think I know him.

Petrella Gabriele.

Petrella Gabriele, for me your cured.

Tomorrow you'll return to your brigade.

My brigade doesn't exist anymore.

We'll find you another one.

When he got here

he could barely breathe.

Give him three days' rest

then free the bed

for someone who needs it.

Excuse me.

We have a seriously wounded man.

Shaving wound.

Prepare the operating room,

we have to save this officer's life.

Your full name, private.

Where are you from?

Tolmino, Pezzo?

I don't remember.

They were sh**ting at me

and I fell.

Then I woke up

inside a truck

of the 47th Brigade.

Feel anything?

No.

Not even a dog

deserves a splint like this.

Fix it.

Remove the shrapnel.

Clean thoroughly.

g*nsh*t wound to the left foot.

Entry and exit wound.

- Where are your boots?

- Under the bed.

You only have these?

Why is there no hole in the left one?

Do you go into battle barefoot?

But he didn't do it to himself,

or he'd have scorch marks

around the entry hole.

Take note: the so-called potato trick.

The faker cuts a tuber in half,

presses half against his skin

and shoots.

The potato absorbs the burn

and it looks like

he was shot from Vienna.

Now you choose,

either I send you

to the military court...

or we treat you

and you go back to the front.

Why are you still here?

Didn't his leg get better?

He broke his hand.

- How did you do it?

- On the lathe, captain, sir.

Were you on leave?

It's forbidden to work.

I wasn't working,

I was helping my father.

I'll report him.

Go ahead, do your duty, if you must.

You can also fight without a hand,

you can throw bombs, sink a dagger in.

Am I right, private?

For me you're cured.

Doctor,

I can't go to the front like this!

I'm an invalid!

I'm an invalid.

I'm an invalid, doctor!

Your full name, private.

Tummino Vincenzo, di Giovanni.

What happened?

A b*mb exploded 10 feet away from me.

A fragment went into my eye,

I can't see anymore.

Tummino Vincenzo is fit

to return to duty tomorrow.

But I can't see with just one eye.

I can't see!

Aim with the right.

How can I sh**t? I'm half blind.

Doctor.

Doctor, if I go back there

they'll k*ll me like a pigeon.

They'll slaughter me.

I can't go back, I'm half blind.

I can't see anymore.

What work did you do?

I worked the land.

How old are you?

- What month is this?

- March.

Then at Christmas I'll be 19.

What are you doing here?

I slipped away from the hospital.

I've been roaming around

like a fool for two hours.

Sit down.

Speak.

I can't take anymore.

They always use the same tricks,

they share them with each other.

The front line doctors

pretend not to see it.

This bad habit should have been

stamped out immediately.

The first self-harmer should have been

ex*cuted on the spot.

Immediately.

We waste time and effort

on these disgusting curs,

while the real wounded die in our hands.

When the w*r ends

the honest and valorous men

will all be dead.

And only the shrewd

will be left to make Italy.

"Foxes all end up in the fur store,

my mother used to say.

It's not true, many survive.

Too many.

Those who don't want a g*n,

can have a plow.

People can be very useful with a plow,

even while others are fighting.

Drop it, I don't feel like arguing.

Forgive me for always being late.

I sleep badly.

A stint in the trenches

would do you good.

Maybe you're wasted in the hospital,

you'd be more useful

where doctors are needed.

Yes, sure,

I don't even know how to hold a scalpel.

I passed the exam thanks to you.

Because you're temperamental,

you thought you were better

than the professors.

I was better than the professors.

Anyway, the Austrians have taken

all of our field hospitals.

Where will you send me?

Where they're still fighting.

Where there's someone...

Who never surrenders.

I could leave tomorrow.

Would you really?

I'm a soldier.

I obey orders.

You can forward the request

to headquarters.

I can decide on my own.

All the better. I'm ready.

What if they k*ll me?

Where's the fun

in playing against yourself?

It's that I always win.

Try it.

Doctor, getting movie night ready?

Yes, go to bed,

the movie's about to start...

The w*r does nothing good,

but at least it brought us together.

I start duty tomorrow,

but I don't know if it's a good thing.

How are you?

That's a forbidden question.

That was our pact, remember?

Been working here long?

No more Paris, no more biology?

No more nothing.

But at least I didn't end up

at the front.

Stefano took care of that.

His father.

Stefano's here too?

Do you work together?

I'm glad.

He, not so much.

But we support each other,

like we did back in the day.

Did you graduate?

Forbidden question.

Can I hug you at least?

No.

Mil hug you.

Where are you taking me

at this time of night?

You're not scared, are you?

A brave guy like you.

I'd even go to hell for my own good.

Then get a move on.

It's for your own good.

Wait here.

I'm here.

Tummino.

How long since you've had leave?

Leave?

As if!

They don't give leave to us Sicilians.

And you know why?

Because Sicily's far away.

And it's big, too.

If they let us go there,

they'll never get us back.

How do you feel? Your eye?

How am I supposed to feel?

I can't see anymore, I lost this eye.

Lie down.

What are you going to do to me?

We'll take care of the other eye.

I'll give you an injection,

you'll get an infection

which will be the clap,

the pecker disease.

Doctors will examine you,

they'll ask a ton of questions.

Say you went with a woman,

one of those you pay.

A wh*re?

But what if I can't see anymore?

You'd rather go to w*r?

w*r's w*r,

if you don't run away, it buries you.

Where are you from, private?

From a mountain

that has a difficult name.

I don't remember it.

Monte Prassolan.

The 149th Infantry.

You've done yourself proud.

I don't know,

because I passed out.

You repelled the enemy, did you know?

No, captain.

It was an action of great valor.

You'll get a medal.

Can you fix my face?

You'll be more handsome than before.

What are you doing?

Instillations with Dakin's solution.

It's not your job,

that's for the doctors.

All right.

Are you new?

Where do you come from?

It's not important.

The anatomy exam.

Four of them got together

to examine you.

They even asked things

that weren't in the books,

but you answered everything,

almost defying them.

You forced them to give you

the highest score.

"We can't give

the highest score to a woman,"

that's what they said.

Forgive me for before,

I thought you were someone else,

I didn't recognize you.

It happens.

Why did you leave university?

I got my head straight.

He hasn't eaten or drunk for three days.

He even tried to cut himself

with a razor.

We don't care about him,

but he could hurt others.

There he is.

- What's his name?

- Fiorillo Vincenzo.

Vincenzo.

What's going on?

The Krauts.

They're here.

They're hiding.

They pretend they're Italian.

They're all quiet,

they don't breath a word.

At the front, I saw them.

They take the uniforms off our dead

and put them on

to blend in, get it?

Among the wounded.

And they get brought here.

At night,

when no one sees them,

the Krauts get off their beds,

wander around the wards and k*ll us.

They shove a cushion over our faces,

like this!

In the morning you find the dead

and think it was their wounds

but instead it was the Krauts.

They come and get you

while you're sleeping like a baby.

They're not Christians, they're devils!

First they nab us and then you.

Yes, you'll die too!

You'll all die!

Come out.

Come with me.

He's putting on the usual act.

You know what they call them?

Whackos at w*r.

"You blow this ash

and save so many from the burning lava,

we are repentant,

we no longer want to sin.

There, we are repentant..."

I brought your things.

You lost them.

Is he your kid?

How old is he, a year?

I'll leave them here,

under the pillow.

Are you scared?

It happens to all soldiers

who go to w*r.

I'm scared too.

But there are no Krauts here.

There are no enemies in these beds.

Only the desperate.

The wretched.

Like me and you.

Try to stay calm.

I'll help you to get home.

- What's his name?

- Ricciardi Fabio.

You're fine, you leave tomorrow.

Doctor, I have a request.

Look at me.

I'm cured, see?

Will you let me go?

- Home?

- No, I've got no one left.

I want to go back to the front,

my comrades are there.

They're my blood.

They should all have this spirit.

I'll try to send you off.

Thank you, doctor.

You smoking?

Where do you think you are?

What's his name?

Segala Leonardo.

For me he's cured, he can leave now!

Rigoli Mauro.

How are you today?

I don't feel well.

Let me go home.

Let me go to my mommy, I beg you.

I can't take this w*r anymore.

Hang in there.

This one arrives with a lesion

in the left eye,

but the right one is fine,

so I send him back to the front.

But the next day, look what happens,

blind in the other one too.

- He did it to himself.

- It looks like an infection.

Yes, a gonorrhea infection.

Did you go with wh*res?

Me? As if.

They came to me.

Bum.

Where are you from, private?

From Fiumara, doctor.

And where's that?

In Puglia.

By the sea.

When the w*r's over you must come visit.

How old are you?

Twenty-one.

When I got married, I was sixteen.

Maria and I have had three kids,

one a year.

Well done.

How are they?

We trust in providence, doctor.

Divine providence.

They need their father.

That's why you gotta help me.

You won't hear anymore, from either ear.

But it won't last.

Aren't I going back to the front?

They don't want deaf people there.

Will it hurt?

Yes.

Hurry up, then.

There were three of them.

One of them

stabbed his knife into my arm.

I took my bayonet

and stabbed him in the chest.

And the others too, I k*lled all three.

Now they're food for worms,

and I'm going home.

You're going to lose the arm.

You know that, right?

This arm's no good for anything.

It's the left.

The leg has to be amputated.

What kind of life's that?

As a gimp.

But you won't return to the front line.

That's what they said

to my brother and then...

He didn't care if he died,

he was happy to go to heaven.

But if there is a God,

we wouldn't have this mess here.

You decide.

What's it called, what I got on my leg?

Gangrene.

It can k*ll you.

Better k*lled than crippled.

Anyway, I'll find a brother in hell.

It's never happened before.

Usually, we bring them here

and they're up for anything.

This boy preferred w*r.

That's where he wanted to return to.

I'm tired,

I need to sleep.

And so do you.

Lock up when you leave.

I found the door unlocked.

I was just leaving.

Is this your operating room?

It's my punishment.

Or maybe it's just what you want.

So you can be at peace

with your secrets.

Every so often, I play with bacteria.

That's your job,

not disinfecting wounds.

And not here,

in this attic.

You don't cure patients here,

you k*ll them.

Stefano told me about you.

Really?

What did he say?

Not telling.

Want me to help you?

Doctor.

How do I feel?

You still don't feel well.

When will you tell me I feel well?

Soon.

We can't send them

to the front in this state.

Excuse me, are you that doctor?

Come here, I need to talk to you.

Which doctor?

Are you the doctor

that sends people home?

Will you do me this favor too?

Of course.

How can I help you?

If you don't know...

It doesn't matter if it hurts,

you can even cut off my hand.

The main thing

is that you don't send me back

to the front.

You know what they call me?

They call you

the holy hand.

No, the real name.

You have to say the name.

I don't know it.

But you can help me, right?

My niece sends them to you.

She's so sad.

Her groom is leaving

for the front in an hour.

What an honor to have you here!

I couldn't do it.

Do what?

Get married and go to w*r.

But they're not like us.

You mean they're ignorant?

Luckily for them.

Where's Anna?

Maybe she doesn't like weddings.

Stefano wants to dance with you.

You know what he's like, he's so shy.

You ask him.

Are you all right?

You know who did it.

Did what?

What's going on in the hospital.

Don't get mixed up in that,

it doesn't concern you.

Really?

Someone's making the patients worse

to keep them from the front,

someone who doesn't care

if they cr*pple them,

mutilate them and ruin their lives.

Better w*r, then.

Certain death and amen.

w*r is a duty.

No one wants them to die.

Fighting is necessary.

We'll discuss this another time.

- Come to the party.

- I'm fine here. I want to be alone.

You think I'm the villain?

I'm sure of it.

Did you tell Stefano?

He'd laugh in my face,

he loves you too much.

- You report me, then.

- Someone will, sooner or later.

Let go.

Where are you, nurse?

You leaving me on my own?

Help me, nurse, don't abandon me.

How can I catch the train?

I can't see, have you forgotten?

Nurse, where are you?

Don't leave me alone.

You're the nurse, right?

Thank you.

God bless you.

You're a good Christian.

Listen to this weird story.

I was returning to my village

and in the distance, I saw everyone,

my father and my cousin

who were milling wheat,

the little ones who were playing,

my mother and Aunt Rosa

who were making dried tomatoes.

I couldn't wait to hug them.

But when I approached,

they couldn't see me anymore,

they were all blind.

They didn't see me, or recognize me.

Luckily I only dreamed that.

When I woke up, I was suddenly afraid.

I was afraid.

They were blind, I wasn't.

Know what I mean?

I can't wait to go back home,

to see them for real,

my father, my mother.

God willing, thanking Him.

- Tummino Vincenzo...

- Tummino.

It's pronounced Tummino.

You had one good eye,

then that got damaged too,

but from one day to the next, it healed.

What would I know?

I don't understand these things.

- What?

- I don't understand these things.

Who helped you?

His Almightyness.

- Who?

- Lord God.

First he blinded me

and then he gave me the grace.

The Lord God gives too many graces,

all in this hospital.

But if he doesn't give them, who should?

Are you laughing?

Forgive me.

Do you realize what you're risking?

You want to put me in jail?

They wanted to put

a buddy of mine in jail, too.

But not right away,

later.

First he had to finish fighting.

That's what they told him.

Then a Kraut came along

and shot him in the head.

And freed him.

He set him free, doctor.

He freed him.

Faith, bravery

and the unshakeable tenacity

of our armies

have never failed,

not even in the direst moments.

But the events of the w*r

are growing more pressing,

becoming insidious.

It's a moment when destiny

will be decided

and that's why we'll be spared nothing.

Today more than ever,

those who shirk their duty...

...jeopardize the destiny

of the Fatherland.

Lousy fakers!

Even worse than the enemy,

given how they insult

the blood of their comrades,

their own brothers.

From now on,

whoever is suspected of self-mutilation

or even just self-harm,

shall be considered part of a conspiracy

against the Italian Royal Army

and shall receive the maximum penalty

under the military code of w*r!

Tummino Vincenzo, 19 years old.

Tummino.

Born in Santa Maria di Licodia,

in the province of Catania,

soldier of the 284th Infantry.

You are condemned to death

by this military w*r court

to be ex*cuted by firing squad

for the crime of conspiracy,

qualified desertion

and voluntary mutilation

with permanent disability.

Forward, march!

Platoon, halt!

Forward, left, forward!

You are absolved of your sins.

In the name of Father,

the Son and the Holy Spirit.

First row, kneel.

Ready!

Aim!

Fire!

Lower weapons!

Left side, left!

Forward, march!

Platoon, halt!

Forward right, right!

At ease!

They won.

Now there's one less criminal

in the world.

I didn't know it would end like that.

You thought they'd give him a medal?

They shot him in front of everyone

to make an example of him.

Don't try to avoid the w*r,

we'll k*ll you if the enemy doesn't.

But deserting is treason.

Then I should have been in his place.

Are you crying?

Go and cry somewhere else.

Why did you help the cowards,

the deserters,

those who leave others to die

in their place?

The first time I saved a poor wretch.

I couldn't even understand

what he said to me.

Only soldiers understand each other,

even when they come from far away.

When I operate, my hands shake.

Then I | look at them

and I think I'm snatching them

from a great injustice.

Now, please leave.

Go away.

Where're you going?

The child's not well,

he has a high fever.

He could die.

Go to the hospital.

We already went,

but they sent us away,

it was full of people.

They don't treat children here,

they treat soldiers.

Listen to these people,

they're sick, they all have a cough.

We're men, children, women.

Go away!

I'm not moving!

You have to let us in!

m*rder*r!

You're a m*rder*r!

A m*rder*r!

Worse than a m*rder*r.

m*rder*r.

Let go of me.

Don't push.

Move.

Don't push.

Let go of me.

Stop it.

Stay here.

Forgive me, doctor,

for making you come here.

You should have called me earlier.

I didn't want to disturb you.

Let me die.

Let me die.

No one's dying here.

I want to show you the ones

who arrived last night.

Even more have come in.

Some of them died immediately,

we had to put them in here

with the others,

because there's no more room

in the hospital.

But the infectious

shouldn't be with the wounded.

A deep breath.

Breathe out.

Silent lungs.

Like stone.

How old is he?

Nineteen.

This disease prefers the young,

like the Fatherland.

I don't care for the sarcasm.

I need a written order, general, sir.

I can't give you one.

In certain cases it's not opportune

to leave traces.

I've never found myself

in a similar situation.

You'll have to sort it out yourself

captain.

How's your father?

You can ask him for help.

He's a very boring man,

but full of initiative.

He writes me a letter every day

with advice on everything.

Are you like him? I hope not.

I'm afraid it will reach the newspapers.

Our newspapers only write

what needs to be known.

It's pointless inventing dangers

that don't exist.

In fact, people know nothing about it,

but soldiers talk.

Let them talk.

I can confirm that something odd

is happening in the hospital.

I don't only get the wounded,

more soldiers are ill with fevers,

coughs and acute pneumonia.

Seasonal ailments

from the cold, scarce rations.

There are those who recover

and those who die.

What's that got to do with the army?

We risk losing the w*r.

For a cough.

Captain, you look rather weary.

Your father's right,

you work too much.

Give him my best regards.

General.

The soldiers who die from that ailment,

what do we do with them?

You already know, captain.

Keep me out of this business.

I made plenty.

But watch out, it's hot.

Thank you.

Good evening, doctor.

May I?

Don't you recognize me?

Yes.

You look well.

How did you get out of the asylum?

Because I'm not crazy.

You saved me.

I pray every day for God

to grant you health and good luck.

How come an important doctor like you

comes here to eat?

Is the food good?

Doctor, I can't forget

that nice present you gave me.

And to return the favor,

I'd like to give you

a nice present, too.

I don't follow you, I'm sorry.

You don't? I'll explain.

Look out there.

They don't want to go to w*r either.

They want to go home and they'll pay.

They'll pay well.

No, I'm sorry.

Can I give you some advice?

Take advantage of it.

Doctor.

Let him be, he's just a loser.

He carries his misery around.

Lieutenant Sartori.

You lost something.

Where are you going

without your documents?

You need to be more careful.

Too many things

are getting lost these days.

Rough night, huh?

Thank you. May I?

Get in. We'll give you a ride.

No, I'm going to the other side of town.

We know where you live.

The brigades advanced

with daring and magnificent spirit

towards the Strosstruppen,

the Austrian select corps,

who were swiftly

overpowered by our soldiers,

as the enemy,

having beaten a hasty

albeit miserable retreat,

left in our hands

supplies and six cannons

and horses and prisoners."

The end.

How well they write.

It seems to see things

through our eyes.

Newspapers are the mirror of the world,

they tell us everything

there is to know.

Not quite everything.

There are so many things

the newspapers don't talk about.

For example,

there's this sort of plague,

a fever that in Spain

even infected the king.

Here no one's talking about it.

I wonder why.

Maybe the enemy is losing the w*r

and is using the bacillus

as the ultimate weapon.

But the bacillus doesn't discriminate.

It could infect anyone.

What do we know?

Maybe they have a cure.

Then let's hope they win the w*r.

That way they might teach us a lesson.

So you admit it, the bacillus exists.

You don't know how to cure it?

You don't die from the bacillus

but from pneumonia.

That's what we can't cure.

Let's drop talk of disease,

we're at the table.

I remember your mother,

she was a very special woman.

How old were you when that man

left you on the street?

I don't remember,

madam.

Of course.

You were too young.

Nothing's worse than a man

who abandons his family,

because it's always

the children who pay.

If you'll excuse us.

She's arrogant.

Disrespectful.

But I just wanted to show her

some...

sympathy.

I can't stand my mother.

But it won't be necessary for you.

At the table I kept quiet

because you defended yourself.

In your place I wouldn't have known

how to do better.

Last night I dreamed about Giulio.

I dreamed that he was dead.

You know what that means?

That you've lengthened his life.

It's not like him

to disappear like this.

You know where he is.

I feel fine, let me out of here.

You wouldn't have a piece of bread?

Lieutenant, sir, excuse me.

This is no place for you.

Come with me, please.

They put you in with the sick.

I'll make them pay.

Welcome.

Why did you bring me here?

I saved your life,

someone like you

should be shot without trial.

On what charges?

Treason, betrayal?

You pick.

I could have reported you,

but I chose to keep quiet.

I don't want any favors.

I'm not protecting you,

what you did is aberrant.

But now I need you.

Have you seen the soldiers?

I had to lock them all up in here

because they risked infecting

the whole hospital.

Fever makes you sick but you don't die,

while everyone is dying from this one.

What can I do about it?

I remember what you wrote

about Pfeiffer's bacillus.

A scourge from thirty years ago

that k*lled like this one.

Back then, it was the elderly who died,

young people recovered.

Today, the opposite's happening.

The kids from back then

are today's elderly.

- And they get inoculated.

- Old people are dying too.

Pfeiffer's bacillus has nothing

to do with this epidemic.

Only you can understand

anything about it.

I had everything you might need

prepared for you,

a proper laboratory.

How long will you give me?

A day? A week?

A year?

How long?

I don't expect miracles,

I just want to have a clear conscience.

You don't care how our soldiers die,

a g*nsh*t or a fever

it's all the same to you.

The epidemic is a misfortune,

the w*r is a duty.

You haven't spoken like a doctor

for a while.

I obey circumstances.

You've always liked commanding.

When the w*r is over,

you'll find a nice position

among the lawmakers.

Then you'll really start

to ply your trade.

A necessary job.

And I'd like you by my side.

I really wouldn't know how to help you.

Do you remember the biologist?

The one who discovered

that stuff about mold.

Professor Tiberio?

Him.

He nearly got there.

He said that inside mold

there's a primary source

that can k*ll bacteria.

But he was a poor country doctor like me

and no one paid any attention to him.

But no one's ever verified it.

He was crazy.

Maybe he wasn't crazy.

Forget it.

Let's go.

I won't leave these poor souls.

They sent you here to die with them,

you know that?

Write how I talk.

A cinch.

Dear father,

and dear mother,

I think that you are all well.

This greatly consoles me.

I too...

I am in good health.

Give this letter

to the priest

so he can read it out on Sunday at Mass.

When we were little

he taught us to Say...

our prayers, but he was wrong.

He should have taught us to blaspheme.

I blaspheme

every blessed day

at what I see around me.

Will they bury me in hallowed ground?

How do you feel?

I'm thirsty.

I'll go get you something.

Who knows how to read?

High Command, 3 November.

Our troops have occupied Trento

and landed in Trieste.

The Italian tricolor flag

flies over Castello del Buonconsiglio

and Torre di San Giusto.

Front ranks of the cavalry

have entered Udine. Diaz."

Yesterday Italy lived its greatest day.

Doctor.

Could you give me your paper?

Can you read?

They didn't learn me to,

but I wanna take it home,

as a keepsake.

Excellency.

Excellency...

Doctora.

Doctora, is it true that here

only little girls die?

No one's dying here.

IN WORLD w*r I,

INCLUDING MILITARY AND CIVILIANS,

MORE THAN 16 MILLION PEOPLE

LOST THEIR LIVES.

OVER 650 THOUSAND ITALIAN SOLDIERS DIED.

THE VICTIMS OF THE SPANISH FLU

ARE ESTIMATED AT 40 MILLION WORLDWIDE.

IN ITALY AT LEAS600 THOUSAND DIED FROM IT.

BATTLEGROUND