"TAKE A HIT, MAKE YOURSELF PRETTY, NO BETTER WAY TO START OVER,"
Shame on you!
What you publish is trash!
MILAN
This is not news, it's pornography!
What kind of mother are you? Shame on you!
The Italian Adelina Tattilo,
the controversial publisher of erotic magazine Playmen,
has been included by the UN
in the list of the world's 30 most influential women,
Tattilo, the only Italian to ever receive this recognition,
joins other women as illustrious as Indira Gandhi
and Simone de Beauvoir,
The decision split the public,
as some believe that Tattilo solely publishes pornography,
while others credit her with a minor revolution
in the customs and morals of our country,
INSPIRED BY A TRUE STORY
A FEW YEARS EARLIER
- Mom? - Yeah?
- Your ride for the party's here, - Good, Can you help me?
Will Bardot be there?
- Let's hope not, - Why?
- Too pretty? - No, honey, she's too expensive,
And your dad might have booked her a whole floor at the Excelsior,
But I'll get you an autograph,
- There she is! It's her! - Go!
- Mrs, Balsamo, a picture? - Good evening,
- Look this way! - Please,
- Stop insisting, miss, - I'm with Playmen's photographer Poggi,
- I checked, you're not on the list, - Check again!
- Just stop, - Hey!
What's going on?
She wants to get in, Mrs, Balsamo, She says she's with a photographer,
She's not on the list,
She's with me,
Mrs, Balsamo!
- Evening, Mrs, Balsamo, - Evening,
Well? Where were you?
I told the guy I was with you, He wouldn't let me in,
We'll have the whole evening and I'll be yours, I swear, Okay,
One at a time, please,
How did you convince Brigitte Bardot to pose for the magazine?
- Simple, I called her, - Mr, Balsamo,
They say you'd make the Pope strip, if he were a woman,
I don't know about that, but it'd be a great success,
Sir, how does it feel to be the one who gave Italy boobs?
I'll give Italy much more than boobs, Now, if you'll excuse me,,,
Let's not waste time, Please,
Excuse me, sir, one last question for the newspaper,
The time has come,
This is the reason why we're here,
A world premiere,
a Playmen exclusive,
the greatest movie star of all,
the divine B,B,,
Brigitte Bardot!
Olé!
Love me!
Saro, This time the Vatican will excommunicate us,
Good, If the Vatican gets pissed, we sell more copies,
Smile, Chartroux, You're so serious,
Look, thanks to this cover, we'll solve all our money issues,
And the other issue? Are you sure?
- It's already decided, It's done, - Will your wife handle it?
My wife has tough skin, Excuse me,
- Chartroux? - Yeah?
Come on!
Sir, just one question,
No, be kind, Later, I have to go now,
What will your husband come up with next?
A naked man on the cover?
Don't tell him or he'll really do it, He might even put himself on the cover,
- I think I saw Ralli at the bar earlier, - It was Ralli,
- I'll get a drink, - I'll go with you, I got thirsty,
- Serena never lets go of that leash, - And maybe you let go of it too soon,
Good evening, everyone,
We'll play a love song for you tonight,
A song I really care for,
I hope you'll like it,
They all claim to be outraged and then they're all here, you know?
Excuse me, What's wrong?
Why is she here?
I don't know, The singer got sick, or the Piper's staff replaced her,
No, please, Please,
Let's not fight, We're here to have fun and dance,
She's nothing to me now,
Do you believe me?
You're my goddess on top of the mountain,
T-shirt off,
Are you scared?
Look, the pictures are just for us,
No, I'm not scared of anything,
And you? Aren't you taking your shirt off?
Sorry, I'm tired,
THE VATICAN: DIVORCE CAN'T BE LEGALIZED
Come on! Come on, girls!
Perfect, yes,
Yeah, like that, Don't move,
Don't lose it, Okay,
Again, Yeah, Good, Parisa, give me that gaze,
Into the camera,
There we go, Good, That's it,
Luigi, hand me the 120,
Good,
Is the Ralli interview ready?
Villoresi's finishing it, He'll send it from Turin by hand,
- Because Saro didn't like the graphics, - We'll get right on it,
Where are we at with the shoot?
Sarti's working on it,
- Here he is, - So?
What do you mean "So?" It went well,
- Sarti, where are we at with the shoot? - Just finished, It's good,
We'll develop and see,
Okay, Excellent,
We're late with the centerfold,
Why don't we take some pictures of Berger and Gemma
on the set of When Women Had Tails?
Interesting, Bravo,
We can't afford Berger and Giuliano Gemma, We spent all of our money on Bardot,
Bianchi, it's an artistic choice, Nothing to do with sales,
Open up, please,
Nothing to do with you either, then, It's usually Saro's call,
You can't do whatever you want! I have a deal, you have to honor it,
- You know someone on set? - Yeah,
We're broke!
- Morning, Mrs, Balsamo, - Mrs, Balsamo,
- Have you seen my husband? - Not today,
Where's Chartroux?
In a meeting,
He'd rather not be interrupted,
Yeah,
- Mrs, Balsamo, can I help you? - I have a problem,
You can leave your expense report in Accounting,
It's about my husband, He's missing,
He told me he'd go to Paris,
- Maybe he didn't tell you, - He always does,
Simonetti, Vinciguerra, at the entrance! No one goes in or out,
Pascucci, Santini, down here,
- The rest, upstairs with me, - Excuse me,,,
It's the sixth time in a month, You might as well move in,
Search all the rooms,
Up here too,
Seize all the magazines you can find,
Argilli, check in there, Then back there,
Don't you have anything better to do than bother honest working people?
There's no one to arrest today anyway, Mr, Balsamo isn't here,
Hello, what's going on?
- Mrs, Adelina Tattilo, right? - Yeah,
This is an arrest warrant for you,
The charge is obscenity,
in respect to the pornographic magazines of Saro Balsamo Publishing,
- No, there must be a mistake, - There's no mistake,
- Follow us, - No,
Look, I'm sure there's a mistake,
Can you tell us where you're taking her?
Did they seize them?
Yes, they're taking all the copies in here,
POLICE
Why did you arrest me?
I don't work for the magazine, My husband's the publisher,
We believe you're the editor-in-chief,
starting a few days ago,
This signature here, It's yours, right?
Yes, it is,
I was expecting your husband,
but it's the same for us,
By the way, where is Mr, Balsamo?
He's abroad, Business trip,
Your husband made you editor-in-chief and left?
People are killing each other in the street, They shoot, plant bombs,
And your concern is arresting people whose only fault
is being a publisher?
You can address your grievances to the judge, during trial,
Mrs, Balsamo,
- Keep calm, - Calm? They put me on trial,
And you'll be convicted at first instance, That's how it goes,
It's article 528 of the penal code,
Whoever trades and distributes writings, images or other obscene items,
is sentenced to three months to three years imprisonment,
Imprisonment? My husband never went to prison,
In fact, it won't happen, We'll appeal, You'll be released immediately,
Our lawyer's on it right now,
- I told you, that's how it goes, - Okay,
Mrs, Balsamo, follow me,
- Where to? - What's going on?
The judge denied release pending trial,
They always granted it,
Tell my husband, Find him,
Look at that,
So chic,
Calm down,
Hey, shut up!
Come here, ma'am,
Take the bottom bunk, it's free,
Have a smoke,
Time goes by faster,
CORRECTIONAL FACILITY WOMEN'S SECTION
You were lucky that today's Friday, ma'am,
On a Saturday, they'd have never released us,
- Why? - No one's there to sign on Saturdays,
We're the only ones working here on Saturdays,
Sorry, I didn't even ask what it is that you do,
I'm a hooker,
Write that in your magazine, It's only us working,
Sweethearts!
- Mom! - Sweetie,
Did you go to school?
Hi,
Mom!
Why did they arrest you? Dad's fault, right?
He messed up again,
Take me home,
- Were you really in Paris? - Sweetie,
Yeah, with Dad,
A business thing,
Morning, ma'am,
- Morning, - Where's Dad?
Dad stayed in Paris, but he'll be back soon,
Go have breakfast, We have to get ready for school,
Let's go,
Why do you always defend him? You went to jail and he didn't even--
So much yummy stuff!
Come on honey, eat,
WITH YOU, TODAY AND FOREVER
- Let's use this one, - Yeah, nice and plain,
It's the last one he sent?
- Tell me where my husband is, - Mrs, Balsamo, I told you I don't know,
You do know,
As you knew he'd made me editor-in-chief,
Tell me what you know, or I'm going to the police,
Want me talking to them about my husband going missing?
- He's afraid he'll get arrested, - So he sent me to jail?
If they'd arrested him, with his record,
we would've never been granted bail,
Yeah, but they arrested me,
He's safe, What's he afraid of?
Of possible new charges,
What charges?
Playmen sells, But there are a lot of expenses,
Paper, print shops,
And then,,, Your husband's cars and villas,
I know my husband,
So your husband tried balancing the books in his own way,
and the DA started investigating,
What are we talking about?
Embezzlement, accounting fraud, misappropriation of funds,
Between your husband's expenses and the seizures impacting on sales,
if we don't get the new issue out, we'll shut down,
Where's he hiding?
I don't know,
What are you doing, ma'am?
That's your husband's stuff, Can I take care of that?
- What do you need? - I need to know where he is,
What are you doing here? What happened?
My husband's an asshole,
I'll put on my vestment,
He sent me to jail,
While he's still having fun with that girl,
I told you in high school you had to marry me,
What's so funny? It's your fault too, you know,
- My fault? - Yeah,
You told me to take him back,
You priests, with that absurd idea that families need to be saved,
But I'm done saving, I want a divorce,
Divorce isn't legal yet,
Who cares?
I'll inaugurate the law,
Do you still love him?
He's an asshole,
You already said that, It's not what I asked,
Will you absolve me?
For what?
- The divorce, - No, not for the divorce,
Just for the "asshole,"
Thirty Hail Marys,
Hello?
Hi, honey, It's me,
So this is where you're hiding,
I'm sorry, I wanted to tell you, I didn't think they'd send you to jail,
I don't care about jail,
- Why be angry? - You didn't mention going bankrupt,
Going bankrupt,,,
Know why we're struggling?
Of course,
Because of your megalomania,
No,
That journalist was right,
We gave Italy boobs,
And now Italians want more,
So that's the new editorial slant?
Have Chartroux publish them,
Are you insane? They'll lock us up and throw away the key,
Porn will save us, Trust me,
Like I trusted you with that singer?
I found your shirt,
with lipstick on it, in your desk,
What's so funny?
That lipstick is yours,
I wore that shirt at the party at the Piper,
We danced and we kissed,
I changed in my office before leaving,
- I like it when you're jealous, - Stop it,
Remember when we were kids?
When your mom,,, didn't want us to see each other,
So we wanted to break up,
and you came here,
You stepped on this ledge and you pulled out a 50-lire coin,
What did you say?
"Heads or tails,"
"If it's tails, we stay together and we get married,"
"If it's heads, I'll jump,"
It was heads, and you wanted to jump,
You started yelling,
"Say I'm the only one you love!"
"Say it!"
And what did I say?
"You're the only one I love,"
Come on, I was just a kid,
Nothing changed for me,
SARO BALSAMO PUBLISHING
Close it, Close the door,
I'm sorry, Mrs, Balsamo,
The light would overexpose the image and it would turn black,
What are you doing here so late?
Sarti asked me to develop some films for tomorrow morning,
Sarti is really good,
Actually these aren't Sarti's,
No?
They,,, They're mine,
I shot them in Mandrione,
And you develop them here?
Don't worry, I won't tell anyone,
Are these really yours? I mean, can we use them?
Yes,
Why?
Do you need anything?
Yes, My husband gave these to me,
He wants them published,
Saro said we can't spend money like we did with Bardot,
These are cheap, By one of our photographers,
Poggi,
- How did he get them? - I gave them to him,
I saw them, I liked them, and he liked them too,
Poggi will do the cover,
Let's show Italian women after the big star,
Mothers, wives, girlfriends and lovers,
Hookers too,
Social critique, then,
- We're a news outlet, - Then we need an angle,
- An idea for a proper report, - You're the creative ones,
Find one,
COVER PICTURE BY SARTI
COVER PICTURE BY POGGI
You make me spin You make me spin
As if I were a doll
Then you throw me down Then you throw me down
As if I were a doll
You're so good, Elsa,
More hot than good,
- Hotter than you, - Shut up or I won't let you in anymore,
You only think about yourself
- They want to publish my pictures? - Yes,
Which ones?
The ones I took, While you were singing,
And the other pictures?
No, those are ours,
They'll do a piece on the Mandrione, A sort of social critique report,
I'm in a rush, Elsa, They want to publish them right away,
They're giving you 120,000 lire,
Where do I sign?
Here,
It's a bit,,, Okay,
And,,,
Bye,
Who was that guy?
A guy, What do you care?
Nothing,
But I care about you,
I'll get back to work,
Here, The girl signed the contract,
Well done, Poggi,
Luigi!
Well done!
You finally got the cover,
Strokes of luck happen,
Don't flatter yourself,
- Nice, huh? - She's gorgeous,
Mariotti meant the picture,
Here's the author,
Well done, Poggi, Nice pictures,
Thank you,
May I?
"Street Girls,"
Nice title, A tribute to Neorealism,
Yeah,
We're thinking about interviewing Pasolini too,
- What do you think? - Well, you're the intellectual,
But I think it's a very good idea,
And I wanted to thank you
for trusting me with the cover,
You don't have to thank me, You have to thank Mrs, Balsamo,
Let's see if it's talent or if you just got lucky, like Sarti says,
Mario,
Saro's on the phone, for you,
It's 120,000 lire!
Who the fuck ever saw this kind of money?
We'll buy a ticket to London, We'll buy the other one in six months,
But we're going to London, you know?
Elsa,
What's wrong?
The bastard,
Your husband got in touch,
No "Good morning"?
He knew nothing about the Mandrione shots,
He'd rather publish pornographic pictures?
These are what Saro wanted to publish,
- I had no idea you were such a prude, - I'm no prude, but I'm not dumb either,
With those photos, they'd have sent us to jail,
The both of us, Not just for a day,
I know my husband,
He'd send anyone to jail for his ideas,
Or send us to bankruptcy,
Is that what you want? I thought you cared about this job, No?
- You fooled me, I hate you! - Elsa, don't yell,
I don't give a fuck that I'm--
- Elsa, don't yell, - I don't care!
- I hate you! - I work here,
- You played me, - Calm down,
- Lower your voice, - No!
I want my photos back!
- What's going on? - My photos or I'll wreak havoc!
- You signed a contract, - You said it was just the singing photos,
Miss, calm down, please,
Only when I have my photos back!
- Did you sign the contract? - Of course she did,
So the photos are ours,
We can do what we want with them,
If my father sees those photos, he'll kill me,
I'm very sorry, but you should've thought about that before doing a photo shoot,
It was no photo shoot, This asshole played me!
Please, miss, leave,
Leave or I'll call the cops!
Chartroux,
Chartroux, give her the photos, We can use others,
You can't change an issue that's at the print shop,
Or it won't get out at all, That girl signed, anyway,
- It's legal, - She didn't know what she was signing,
What do you want to save, the girl or the magazine?
SARO BALSAMO PUBLISHING
We don't fuck models in here, It's rule number one,
She wasn't a model, but a friend, She shot those pictures freely,
Friend or not is irrelevant, It's a matter of ethics, Okay?
Looking for me?
Yes, A friend in the police said they know we're about to publish,
They're waiting for us,
They'll seize all the magazines,
Then we'll publish when they can't do anything,
PRINT SHOP
- Thanks, Father, Beautiful service, - Thank you,
Can I have Playmen?
- Here you go, - Thanks,
Nice,
Let's go, Let's go, come on,
- Morning, - I'll take one,
What are you looking at?
We're looking at everything,
Everything,
THE GIRL FROM MANDRIONE
It's prosecutor Scordino, The clerk's office, please,
I know it's Saturday, So?
I want an order to seize!
Call someone, even if it's Saturday! Come on!
Four hundred thousand,
We distributed 400,000 copies all over Italy,
- They flew off the shelves in Rome, - Good,
Good job publishing on a Saturday,
Actually, it was a friend's idea,
From jail,
What do you mean?
She said only hookers work on Saturdays,
We seized very few copies,
The court order came in too late,
You hate the Vice Squad, right?
That beating cost you dearly,
Actually, it wasn't a beating,
Do you want to stop working on porn magazines,
hookers, and pansy clubs?
Then shut down Playmen,
And I'll talk to your superiors,
Why do you have it in for Playmen? There's worse around,
A breast today, a bottom tomorrow, Then? Then pornography will be everywhere,
Even in the hands of kids, De Cesari,
Hi,
It's hot in here,
I was clear,
Excuse me,
Director,
Leaving already?
Yes, I had to meet someone for work, but they didn't come,
I had to meet someone too,
Don't leave because of me,
Elsa,
You scared me,
- What do you want? - I saw the photos,
Not my fault, They stole them,
But you took them,
- I didn't think you were like that, - Let me go,
Let go,,,
Hey! What the fuck! Hey!
What?
What the fuck are you doing, huh?
First you act like a whore and then like a saint?
Are you ashamed?
Sit up straight, sweetie, Come on,
I'll be back,
Ma'am, should I cook for four, including your husband?
Hello?
You were good,
Saro,
Where are you?
- When will you be back? - I won't be back,
I'm going abroad, to France,
There's an arrest warrant, I'll go to prison if I stay,
How long will you be in France?
Six months, a year, I don't know, Whatever's needed,
What about the kids? Me?
You'll manage,
INTERNATIONAL DEPARTURES
- Any ideas for the centerfold? - No, I'd wait for Saro,
Actually, we won't wait for anyone,
I'm not the editor-in-chief only when I need to be arrested,
Mrs, Balsamo, your husband will give us instructions for the next--
Playmen is all I have left,
I won't sit at home waiting while he destroys it,
- That's not what I meant, - Wait,
Mrs, Balsamo, maybe you don't realize that this is a complex job,
Do you have the slightest idea
how we do a report, how many copies we print?
I'm a quick learner,
Since I'm the only shareholder here, I want to protect my investments,
I thought my husband told you everything,
Two years ago, during a critical time,
he transferred part of his shares to me,
So, technically, I'm your new boss,
Subtitle translation by: Paola Porciello