Knowledge lies in nostalgia,
He who has not lost himself possesses not,
Would you like tea or coffee?
Tea, please,
- A pizza, - Perfect, A beer?
Wine?
Water's fine, thank you,
intercom broken
Who is it?
I'm looking for Mrs, Lasco,
She's not here anymore, Who are you?
I'm her son,
I usually write to my mother at this address,
She lives on the ground floor, she's always at home,
Goodbye,
Felice!
Mom,
Didn't your neighbor tell you I was coming?
Felice,,, I've gotten old,
Felice,
Why are you here? Who are those people in our house?
Where's the "portable" I sent you?
We spoke a few times,
The telephone? It's broken,
And did you read my letters?
I can't see anymore, I get my neighbor to read them to me,
When was the last one?
You could've asked your neighbor to get the phone repaired,
Who are those people in our house?
I don't know, Oreste put them there,
What's Oreste got to do with it? Did he take our house?
He gave me some money too,
I should hope so!
Our house,,,
in exchange for this?
It has everything I need,
gas, bathroom,
air from the alley,
But it's dark,
I can't see, for me it's fine like this,
You could see Capodimonte from our place,
He offered me a lot of money, what was I supposed to do?
I shouldn't have let him have it?
You didn't need it,
The money's there, in the drawer,
Those were the good old days, there was work,
As seamstresses we had no rivals,
I was ten when your mom taught me everything,
She was the number one,
But after your dad died,
she never came down to the workshop, she worked from home,
Remember?
Now the work's dried up,
It's all over,
The communists wiped us out,
So, it was better when you started working as a kid, with no set hours?
Breathing glue?
Yeah, but then the work dried up,
Now the Chinese got all the work
and the neighborhood's run by criminals,
We had 'em back then too, God forbid,
but now there's only criminals,
Am I right, Teresa?
She's not with it anymore,
I can't find a,,,
A sponge,
Look over there,
Need anything else?
Yes, I need some lingerie,
What?
Underwear,
Ladies' underwear?
I have a lot of pretty things, Is it for your wife?
No, it's for my mother, an elderly lady,
Very small,
In the name of Allah,
Are you undressed?
Who's gotta get undressed?
I'm here,
I can't see you, get undressed,
Are you crazy? In front of you?
Pretend I'm a little boy,
Yes and I used to wash you,
Now it's me washing you,
I used to wash you,
I'm still your little boy,
You have to wash, Mom,
It's sanitary, you know?
I don't go to La Sanità anymore,
I'm always home,
Not La Sanità, What is it called?
For your health,
You understand?
Better?
Come,
But it was built from a storeroom apartment,,,
It's very modern, it's better than a penthouse,
Didn't you ask for an apartment without stairs?
Good evening,
Good evening, Mr, Lasco,
- After you, - Thank you,
Mom?
Mom, go to bed,
Where are you going?
Back to the hotel, I'll see you tomorrow,
Come on, I'll give you a hand,
Feli', why don't you have kids?
I don't know, I just don't,
If I could I'd take a votive cushion for you to the Fontanelle cemetery,
If you treat the dead well, they help you,
In the city where I live there's a huge cemetery
where people live among the graves, they do everything,
They sell, they buy,
They get married,
In the end, Cairo's not so different from here,
Why did you never want to come?
Let's not think about it, go to sleep,
Lie down,
Come,
Pull up my pillow,
Close it!
What are you doing here? Beat it!
I didn't want to celebrate this Mass,
but these ladies here, do you see them?
They told me today is Sunday
and on Sunday they're entitled to the Eucharist,
It's true, you're right,
But this is a cursed Sunday,
And this Mass, in our church,
I don't want to celebrate it!
I don't want to normalize what happened,
I don't want to have to digest it personally,
in solitude,
We mustn't smother social fires,
we must light them!
Although this seems
to frighten the upper echelons,
You need to know that yesterday
the police chief of Naples refused us permission
to celebrate this Mass in the open,
Very well, Mr, Police Chief, we're doing it anyway!
And I want to take full responsibility,
because I have not disobeyed,
I have obeyed an inner voice,
someone inside me
who tells me I am an idiot
if I think of that boy
mown down by other boys,
As if death were a game!
Or a party, or a collective performance,
With your presence here this morning,
you are heeding the voice inside you,
you are giving a slap to the Camorra!
We must be like rays of sunshine
that fall continuously,
every day, on trash
and in spite of it they never get dirty,
I believe in one God, Father Almighty,
creator of Heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible,
I believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only begotten son of God,,,
You're either with us or with him,
As I live and breathe, you're Felice Lasco!
As I live and breathe, you really are Felice Lasco,
Yes, I,,,
I'm sorry, I don't remember you,
I used to bring the boxes of leather for your mother,
Raffaele, don't you remember me?
Well, I was a handsome guy, women tormented me,
- But why do you talk funny? - I've lived abroad for 40 years,
- Vincenzo, - You moved?
Yeah, is that all right?
I'll have a couple of meatballs and some friarielli,
Shall we drink wine?
I don't drink, but if you want to,,,
A quarter liter, we'll keep it light,
Right away,
Feli', I was madly in love with your mother,
She was so beautiful, always elegant, a real lady,
And I'll tell you this,
I tried to come when you and her husband weren't there,
but every so often you'd pop up, you were unpredictable,
You came in, you went out,
So we talked about sport, about motorcycles,
Like we were the same age!
No, thanks,
Let's be clear, I always behaved like a gentleman,
I admired her
and admiring her, I also admired you,
I would a adopted you, I would a protected you like a father,
I would a liked that so much,
How come you don't remember me?
I don't remember a lot of things,
I'm so sorry I don't remember you, sir,
- Don't be so formal! - I'm sorry I don't remember you,
When I was a boy, I was a troublemaker,
My mother suffered, do you remember?
You were kids,
You, who?
You and your friends,
Do you remember this one kid who was always with me?
I have a good memory, but it was many years ago,
Never mind,
Did you know my uncle Costantino?
No,
My mother's cousin, he was a bachelor, no kids,
He worked in Lebanon,
he had a construction company,
He offered me a job and I accepted,
You wanted to leave home, right?
My mother's husband was a stranger,
I remember that,
Feli',,,
It's beautiful,
Beautiful!
Thank you,
I love you,
Come back soon, my love,
We commit unto You, Lord, the faithful soul of our sister Teresa,
because, having left this world, she lives in You,
In Your clemency, cleanse the sins she committed
in the fragility of the human condition
and grant her forgiveness and peace,
- For Christ, our Lord, - Amen,
- May the Lord be with you, - And with your spirit,
May God Almighty bless you,
The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
Come whenever you want, every day,
If I'm not here, there's Giuseppe,
Thank you, have a good day,
May I?
I wanted to thank you for the things you said,
You knew my mother well,
I met her when I arrived in this parish,
She couldn't move around so well anymore, so I'd visit her,
She often spoke about you, you're Felice, right?
Her only son,
Your story is interesting,
You left, you encountered other worlds,
That's what I always tell the kids,
In fact, if you're staying for a few days,
come by, I'll introduce them to you,
They'd be happy to hear your story,
I'd like to leave an offering for the church,
You can give it to Antonio,
- Thank you, - And you,
Felice,,,
From today your mother will live in you, Welcome her,
May God have mercy,
And welcome you into heaven,
Thank you, darling, for pushing me to return to Naples,
As always,
you're able to understand things before they happen,
If my mother had died without me seeing her for the last time,,,
I'm sorry I never met her,
She would have liked you,
I'd like to bring you to Naples with me,
You always said
that it'd be better for you never to return to Naples
and now you don't want to leave,
You've got nostalgia,
Maybe,
It must all be different from when you were a boy,
No, incredibly, it's all the same,
I can't believe it either,
Bye,
- He's first! - He's in the lead!
You're the best! You're number one!
Told you I was gonna win!
- You're a god, - I told you we'd cream 'em!
Gimme that!
You're the usual asshole!
I don't wanna smoke,
You're my son,
watch yourself,
You're not like him,
Here's the papers, She's a bit old, but she's a fine bike,
Feli'!
Don Luigi,
I thought you'd left,
I'm staying, I want to buy a house,
I want to bring Arlette here, my wife,
Cool! Come,
I let them vent here,
Felice, have a drink,
Are you at your mother's place?
Not the one where you went to visit her,
I rented a different house,
It's right there, at the end of that street,
Just as well, that house was awful,
A Sri Lankan family lived there before your mother,
Nine of them in 30 square meters
and I helped them to find a better place,
It was my fault my mother ended up there,
Never mind about past faults,
- You need to think about now, - It's not easy,
Your mother will have understood why you stayed away,
My mother,,,
What is it?
Nothing,
All right,
When you want to talk,,,
I'm here,
Assunta, don't you have your keys?
It's Felice, Raffaele!
Can I come up?
- Am I disturbing you? - Not at all,
Come in,
- This is my workshop, - Good morning,
To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?
Remember when I said I was a troublemaker,
that I made my mother suffer?
Of course I do,
Don't exaggerate, you were a good kid,
I asked you if a particular boy came to mind,
among those I always hung out with,
And so?
It's strange you don't remember him, we were really,,,
brothers, his name was Oreste,
Oreste Spasiano,
Badman?
What?
Listen, go somewhere else,
Go eat lunch, it'll see you later,
I didn't know him when he was a boy,
Or at least, I don't remember him,
We gotta be careful with Badman,
His clan is the worst in La Sanità,
Drugs, racketeering, usury, prostitution, fencing, The lot!
Where does he live?
What,,,
What does he look like?
Feli'! Forget him,
I feel I need to see him,
Why?
Because we were very good friends, That's why,
What can I say?
He's handsome, athletic, a bit like you,
He lives in the heart of La Sanità,
which building exactly, no one knows,
You can't get near him without protection,
You can't just say, "Excuse me, where does Badman live?"
It's my sister,
Assunta!
Here, there's heaps,
- If your friend wants to stay,,, - We'll see,
All right, Raffae', I'm off,
Goodbye,
If you'd like to stay and eat with me,,,
This is the smell of the meatballs my mother made,
I'll set the table,
Thank you, really,
I have to go, One last thing,
Is he married? Does he have kids?
No, he has no family, he lives on his own,
He takes the women he wants from among his prostitutes,
I don't know what you want to talk to Spasiano about,
but he's a blindly violent man,
He doesn't scare me,
Raffae',,,
I wouldn't have minded you as a father,
Then listen to me,
I'm telling you as a father,
who's forcing you to stay here?
Your mother's dead,
Go back to your country,
What was that?
This is my country,
Who was it?
The guys from Antesaecula,
Why did they do it?
I whistled at this girl and they beat the shit outta me,
Can you ride?
What do you wanna do?
The usual asshole, they'll kill us both,
C'mon, don't be a pain in the ass, Go!
- Is it them? - Yeah,
No, leave this to me, you're the boss,
Well?
I can't ask you to confess me,
I know,
I noticed you didn't cross yourself at your mother's funeral,
But you can talk to me,
Come with me,
Felice,,,
let it out,
Speak,
I'll listen to you as if I were in confession,
When I was a boy, there was,,,
a carpentry shop, not far from here,
Feli', there's nothing in there,
There are watches in the living room,
I could feel my heart was still,
distant, as if,,,
as if it weren't inside me anymore,
That body lying,,,
on the floor,
Those big, wide eyes,
Empty,
And that pool of blood that was slowly spreading
under his head,
I was fifteen and everything turned to shit,
I didn't write to him, I didn't look for him,
I didn't see him anymore, a month later I left,
I went to Beirut with my uncle,
I never came back to Naples,
I didn't betray him!
It was Oreste Spasiano,
You know Spasiano arms boys who kill people in La Sanità?
You know he's my number one enemy?
Who is Oreste Spasiano to you?
He's my best friend, he's a brother,
Get out of here, go away!
Please, leave!
May God the merciful have pity on you
and may he forgive all your sins,
Here it is,
PERFECT CRIME IN LA SANITÀ
COSTAGLIOLA CASE STILL NO CULPRIT
- Don Luigi wants to talk to you, - To me?
Close the door,
I told you I would listen as if we were in confession
and now you and I are bound by a pact,
You won't let me say anything and now your secret's mine too,
I'm not afraid of the truth, but I don't want to report Oreste,
I came to you because I need not to be alone,
Of course, you're scared shit less to face him,
But if you don't want protection from the state,
here you ask for it from bosses, not priests,
He had them burn my motorcycle
and they even came into my house, Look,
DISAPPEAR
But I don't want to disappear,
I want to see him,
Don't think ill of me,
You need to see me as one of your kids,
They can make different choices, they can be saved,
if they make it,
but they can never betray each other,
Oreste's like me,
Feli', you're crazy,
Instead, you need to leave,
Disappear, like Badman wrote,
We know how they end up: either dead or in jail,
Then I'll call you myself
to ask you to come back,
You're in danger,
If you spoke the case could be reopened,
Heavens, if only! We'd get rid of him,
- I don't want to turn him in, - I know!
I'm as guilty as he is,
I was his accomplice and I never said no to him,
We have to talk,
We have a lot of things to clear up, we were friends,
But especially,,,
of the two of us, only I was saved,
You're mistaken,
Hearts harden in time,
No, not ours,
I'll tell you one last time,
leave,
So why do you stay here?
Let's meet here tomorrow morning at ten, after Mass,
Make sure you're free,
You'll spend the whole day with me,
Thank you,
We're going this way,
You, put your helmet on!
How are you doing?
We're going to a dealer's house,
Actually, the whole family helps out with the business,
men, women, adults and kids, even the grandma,
Seems a bit much, right?
Notice the smell as we go in,
It's like going into a ground almond factory,
- Who is it? - Don Luigi,
May I?
Come in,
- Can I make you a coffee? - No, we just had one,
- Little one! - Take a seat,
Thank you,
Michele, you're here?
Why don't you come to music class anymore?
- Don Luigi,,, - Hold on,
I want to hear it from him,
Don't you wanna be in the orchestra? Do you wanna change instruments?
- No,,, - Then why?
You were one of the most gifted, we all expected great things from you,
Did your dad tell you to stop?
You know who the music school is named after?
- Of course, - St, Vincent,
Here in La Sanità we hold St, Vincent as if he were Jesus Christ,
We trust St, Vincent, right?
Wait,
I haven't introduced my friend Felice Lasco yet,
He's from La Sanità but you won't remember him,
he's been overseas for 40 years,
He's an important person, he's built up a company there,
Now he'll make a nice donation to the music school,
- Right, Felice? - Of course!
His mother didn't want him to leave,
she said he had to help around the house,
If he had listened to his mother,
now he'd be a nobody,
just another guy hanging out on the street,
He's someone who's very dear to me, Felice, this is Antonio,
Don't worry,
Sit down,
- I like the violin, - I know,
You know how much a violin costs?
I got you one on loan, free of charge, it won't cost you a cent,
I can't come, I have to help out at home,
Don't worry, I'll send him tomorrow,
That's what I like to hear,
Do we want to say a prayer for your dead?
Absolutely,
You come too,
I'd like to introduce you to my dear friend, Felice Lasco,
He's staying in La Sanità for a while,
Get me? Keep an eye out,
I'll see you soon,
This too is done,
Anna is a mother of eight children,
Felice Lasco, here he is,
Don Luigi's here!
Good evening, Patrizia, see you upstairs?
Vincenzo, good evening,
Good evening, Don Luigi,
- Don Luigi! - And this is Adele,
This girl is my jewel in the crown,
Degree in art history summa cum laude,
Pleasure,
Have her show you the catacombs, she'll open your eyes,
- Don Luigi, good evening, - Nunzia,
- I made pasta e fagioli, - You needn't have gone to the trouble,
I need to talk to your whole family, even those downstairs,
Sit down, we'll call them all later,
Come!
Could I have a little chili?
Maria, go and get it,
When I was a boy the catacombs were closed, I've never seen them,
With Don Luigi we're fighting a huge battle to manage them,
but they're obstructing us,
Don Luigi thinks we can make money with visitors,
I'd like to open a pizzeria,
Not even mummies would eat your pizza!
Hire an Egyptian pizzaiolo, they're better than Neapolitans,
I think your palate's changed living abroad,
It's true, they say they're masters,
- So in Cairo we go out for pizza, - But you don't get wine!
- Anyone want cutlets? - Don't bother, or we'll die here,
I went to Lebanon, to Beirut, when I was your age,
then later I went to South Africa
and then at your age
I went to Cairo, in Egypt, where I live,
I have a construction company, I'm married,
I don't have a harem!
I have just one wife,
Did you hear what an adventurous life he's had?
His mom, Teresa, always talked about him,
He's a person of value and I was pleased to introduce him to you,
Dear, departed Teresa was our best seamstress,
A real lady,
I made her suffer a lot,
because I was friends with Oreste Spasiano,
She wasn't happy about that,
We stole, we mugged people, we were always together,
but I haven't seen him since I've been here, really,
But someone set fire to my motorcycle,
a motorcycle I bought, like that,
out of nostalgia,
I always enjoyed riding a motorcycle,
Actually, I think we ran into each other once,
Near here, at Antesaecula, my mother was still alive,
I'm not sure it was him, but I felt my chest,,,
Don't you feel well?
No, forgive me,
I lost the thread,
Why would Badman have it in for you after all these years?
There's no reason,
Sometimes distant memories are like ghosts,
Lasco, you talk too much, you gotta learn to be quiet,
I disappeared without saying goodbye to him, I've never contacted him,
Don't overreact,
No, I'm not overreacting,
But now I want to come back to live in Naples, I want to buy,,,
Ladies and gentlemen, it's late,
I have to say Mass at seven in the morning,
You've met Felice, he's a good man,
At times he talks more than necessary,
All the years away have ignited his imagination
making his adolescence seem like a Western!
He doesn't realize that he is giving too much importance
to a small-time neighborhood boss
we call Badman,
He's not a big boss, he's a chicken thief
that none of us should be afraid of,
You should be afraid of me and Rosaria, who pray every morning,
Should I get one for you too?
No, thanks,
What did you call Spasiano?
"Asshole"?
That word is a mirror,
You're the asshole,
Come here,
Punch it,
Let it out,
Harder,
Good,
Punch,
Go,
Let it out,
Between the city above and the one below there's only a few meters,
Go,
Her name's Cerula,
It's from the fifth century, she's an African woman,
Do you remember me?
No,
I'm an old friend of Oreste's,
I know, let's move away from here,
I have to see him,
Wherever he wants, on his terms,
It can't be done?
Be here at this hour on Sunday,
Next Sunday,
What happened?
- He's furious, shouting, - We've never seen him like this,
He'll make it,
He's like you, he doesn't back down,
Me?
You still here? Go where I told you,
- Should I go get my scooter? - Yes,
Don Luigi?
- I have something to tell you, - It's not a good day, see you tomorrow,
Feli', they sent me a Tunisian boy,
he just got off the boat, we can't understand a word,
Want to see if you can manage? Adele!
Show him!
Do your best!
- Where is he? - Through there,
Peace be with you,
And with you,
Where are you from?
Tunisia,
My name's Felice,
Ahmed,
Where are you taking me?
Go in,
Sit down,
Why do you only show up now?
You've been hanging around La Sanità for months,
meeting up with strangers,
You even bought a clapped-out motorcycle,
You wanted to revive the past?
You go around catacombs and churches, you talk to priests,
So?
What do you want?
I only wanted to tell you that I'm back,
You came back to make trouble,
You don't feel well?
You gonna throw up?
Don't worry, I won't kill you,
Feli',,,
Listen, I'm gonna tell you this
in French,
We both ended up in a fuckin' cul-de-sac,
You're not seen in a good light here,
I'd like to save you, but you're pigheaded
and you don't want to leave this neighborhood, this city,
But can't you hear everyone telling you?
Go away,
You can ask me anything,
but not to go away,
I want to come back here to live,
See? There's nothing I can do,
You don't want to understand,
Feli', your mouth's too big for Badman's liking,
I haven't said anything,
Really?
I don't believe you,
There's only one thing you can do:
dis-ap-pear,
Go back to Africa, leave these fucking alleys behind,
If the cops nab you, you'll practically do a life sentence,
given your age,
You killed that poor old man
and ran away, like a wuss,
I didn't even touch him,
It's your fault it happened, you consumed my life,
Now you're saying that I killed Costagliola?
And who ran away, me?
I stayed here, Let's see what the cops say,
- Go and tell them, - Oreste, cut the bullshit,
I was born here and I want to die here,
We can arrange that,
Was it my fault the old guy was at home?
Was it my fault he picked up a gun?
There was no time to think, I picked up the statuette and hit him,
We both know it,
I talked shit, but you kept quiet,
Nothing, not even a word, I killed a man without wanting to,
And you didn't give a shit,
I was dead to you,
Two deaths,
me and Costagliola,
You behaved like a coward,
You disappeared,
you took refuge in Africa and forgot all about me,
A postcard,,,
a phone call,,,
nothing,
I disgusted you,
You don't know, but I stopped talking,
I stopped eating,
My mother was beside herself, I didn't tell her anything,
My uncle, I don't know how, figured it out
and gave me the third degree,
"Did you kill him?" And me: "I don't know,,, maybe,"
And he got mad: "Maybe? Say it wasn't you!"
"Mr, I Dunno", you've always been like that,
I was guilty too, so I told him,
The next day he took me and put me on a plane,
"There's no better cure than work to avoid the madhouse",
that's what he said,
And that's what happened,
Your family wasn't shitty like mine,
We're two strangers, Feli',
In fact,,,
we're two shitheads who hate each other,
I don't hate you,
It's true, I didn't write to you, But why don't you get it?
I was fifteen years old!
I found myself working in Africa, I didn't understand a thing!
That was forty years ago,
I'm a different person,
Now you wanna tell me what you went through?
I don't give a fuck what you went through,
A different person?
And me? What am I?
You have a wife, a house, a job, a language, a god,
I don't have anyone,
I'm the king of that trash down there,
but it's as if I'm in prison,
If you don't leave,
you and I will begin a game,
You enter my kingdom, I enter yours,
And we'll see who finds their way out,
You've always liked joking 'cause you're an asshole,
Why this war for no reason? It's me and you,
You're right,
It's in the past,
And the past doesn't exist,
Now go away,
Gegè!
Take my friend down to La Sanità,
Don Luigi's waiting for him,
What were you thinking, not telling me and acting alone?
I had already taken the step, maybe I was wrong,
I couldn't wait any longer,
What did he say? At least he didn't kill you,
I don't know what to say exactly,
- Maybe he threatened me, - What does "maybe" mean?
I don't know, he doesn't look well,
he lives like a wretch, he wants me to leave, period,
And what did you tell him?
I want to hear about you, not about him,
That my life's going to be here again,
that I'm not leaving,
- And him? - He understood,
Okay,
But listen to me,
It's best if you don't go around by yourself for a while,
Maria's here!
- Did you bring the speaker? - Yeah,
- Where do I put it? - On the table,
Maria, put on the song I sent you,
- Do you know it? - Yes, I know this song,
Then go!
Darling, look!
I'd like to close my eyes,,,
open them and find you in front of me,
What are you eating today?
- Are they the hard ones? - Yes,
I'll take four,
Today I can wire the money for the deposit,
Perfect,
It's a good deal, houses in Moiariello are affordable right now,
but soon the prices will go up,
- Can we sign as soon as possible? - Of course,
I prefer to pay everything in a lump sum,
- It's been a pleasure, - All mine,
FIND YOUR NEXT FLIGHT
I'm going to Naples!
Be careful kids, it's dangerous there, come over this side,
Ahmed, come,
- Let's fix this one too, - All right, but I'll do it later,
Feli'!
- It's you! - Sorry I'm late,
If Don Luigi hears you went out alone he'll kill me,
As if! I go out alone every day,
That's enough now,
Let's hurry, it's gonna rain,
Be quiet!
- Don Luigi, - Feli'!
- Can I ask you a favor? - What is it?
Tomorrow I want to go and pick up my wife at the airport like a local,
by car, not like a tourist,
Can we find someone who'll lend me one?
Let's go grab her,
Tiziana!
Can you lend your car to him tomorrow?
Yes,
- What time do you need it? - At nine thirty,
- Figure it out between you, - See you in the morning,
Thanks,
Thank you,
Feli',
translation Susan Adler