Noi credevamo (We Believed) (2010) Movie Script
Put them all there!
Captain, we found this one.
Shout: "Long Live the King".
Hang him! Burn everything!
CILENTO,
KINGDOM OF THE TWO SICILIES
Lazy bums! Get moving!
- Where are you going?
- Runnin', pa.
Mom!
There are men on the beach.
- What do they want?
- They want you.
- Who are they?
- The Capozzolis.
The Capozzoli brothers? Good lord!
I need the overseer, where is he?
In the olive grove.
Get your father, Salvatore.
Wait here.
Lady Maria, you're giving
all this money to them?
- Let me do this, Saverio.
- As you wish.
Farewell, Lady Maria, and thank you.
If the soldiers burn our town too?
They won't,
no one knows we're here.
Excuse me, sir, Lawyer Cucco is here
with Doctor Pinto.
- Where are the Capozzolis?
- They've vanished.
If the police find it and read
our signatures, we're done for!
That proclamation is too extreme,
I told you.
Asking for a Constitution
and aid from France,
you can't do that!
We have to take a step at a time.
We never should have trusted them.
We'll meet this evening
at the usual place.
No, with all the gendarmes around,
the rectory isn't safe anymore.
Come on in.
When my father died,
this door was painted black,
since then it's not been opened.
Today Mom unlocked it
and said: "Go in".
Look!
Salt.
Give it here, it's French.
The Travels of Pythagoras.
A philosopher from here.
Zeno was from here.
The sect used to meet here.
- Now where?
- I don't know.
I do: at the rectory.
Why don't we go too?
They're not there now,
they're not meeting for a while.
But there's something you can do.
What?
Go and get the proclamation.
The one read to the people.
If the police find it,
the sect is done.
Why him?
He's one of them, we aren't.
Sarraino won't give it to us.
Say the Capozzolis sent you.
But it's not true.
The proclamation has to be burned.
So, you got the courage or not?
- Yeah.
- It's for tonight.
But the town was just burned down.
- See, you're scared!
- I'm not.
I'll go tonight.
I told you over and over
not to hang around those two.
Know who the men in the boat were?
Bandits, murderers and brigands.
People who had to hide...
No, they're Carbonaris, Jacobins...
You're wretched!
You don't understand a thing.
You just parrot the words.
You're in with the gentry.
You take after 'em!
They're Jacobins in Paris
but here...
Let me bite my tongue.
No, actually...
I'll show you.
Come with me.
Take yourjacket.
- Evenin'.
- Evenin'.
Go inside.
Keep moving.
Lift that stone.
Lift it!
See where a part of the oil goes?
- Where?
- Take a good look.
Understand?
The gentry steal from farmers
even the miserable amount of oil
they sweat a day's work for.
But since I run the olive press
and I'm their right-hand man,
our family gets some.
- Not true.
- Smarten up!
The gentry, those Jacobins,
are people who rob the poor!
You've studied,
because we're rich now.
But your father was born a peasant,
never forget that.
Watch it.
If you talk about this secret,
I'll kill you.
Quiet, come in.
Take this paper.
Wait outside, I'll bring you a gun.
"This impoverished people,"
"moved by harsh,
positive desperation,"
"is here today to ask"
"the good government
of the Constitution of France..."
If anyone sees you, shoot.
Leave by the lower path.
Hide that paper.
Ready!
Aim!
Fire!
Chop the others off too,
for all the towns around here.
Let it be a warning to them!
This is how they'll end up...
all the King's enemies!
Long Live the King!
I give my name to Giovine Italia,
an association of men
holding the same faith,
and I swear to consecrate myself
to constitute a nation, Italy
which is One, Independent,
Free, a Republic,
and to carry out
the instructions given to me
in the spirit of Giovine Italia,
by men like myself,
who represent the union of brothers,
and to keep its secrets,
even at the cost of my life.
I do so swear, invoking upon me,
the wrath of God,
the abomination of men,
the infamy of perjury
if I betray all or part of my oath.
I give my name to Giovine Italia,
an association of men
holding the same faith...
I give my name to Giovine Italia,
an association of men
holding the same faith...
Ladies and gentlemen,
may we have silence, please.
PARIS
Thank you.
Vincenzo Bellini has been engaged
by the Paris Opera House.
The French may be forgiven
their volubility.
Now they will tire
of Constitutional Monarchy,
as they did of Absolute Monarchy
and then the Republic in all forms,
then the Empire, then the Monarchy...
For us Italians, it is not amusing.
Our liberation depends
on the French nation.
One day it will see
it is unworthy of such a mission
and will change its ways.
It will be what it should have been
and what we hope it will be.
Never fear, as always,
France will come to Italy's aid.
Marquis,
France has only aided us
when our ruin forestalled its own.
We have no debts of gratitude.
And we'll not accept
a graciously granted freedom.
What a sharp tongue!
Let's now hear our friend's music.
She's an extremely
seductive creature.
You can hope for a gallant adventure,
but don't fall in love.
She's seductive, but denies herself
at the crucial moment.
Might she have syphilis?
With the lives she and her husband
led, it's the least to expect!
It's time, let's go.
Here you are, Baron!
Princess, these are my friends.
We're friends of Mr...
Filippo Strozzi.
Let's speak Italian then.
Your Mr. Strozzi imbues us with hope
that one day
we'll be part of the same nation,
we who speak the same language.
It's precisely this
we love about him, isn't it?
The inspired faith of Mazzini.
Most of Europe's police forces
know that Filippo Strozzi
is Mazzini's code name.
You run no risk in this house,
nor does he.
Tell me.
Three years ago
you generously financed
the attempted insurrection
of the Sect of True Italians.
- And I should finance
this idea of Mazzini's too. - Yes.
Wasn't that defeat enough?
The True Italians are a sect
of rogues, we despise them.
They are ridiculous
compared to Mazzini's plan!
Sects, secret societies,
conventicles don't aid our cause.
There are few of you and
you're quarrelsome, ponder it well.
The most important thing
is to have faith.
- In God?
- In the people!
Do you know any plebeians,
apart your farmers and servants,
who certainly won't
open their hearts to you?
You have the look of gentry,
you own lands.
Yes, especially olive groves.
Our friend is in Giovine Italia
and he's a peasant's son.
We'll be giving him
the money we collect in France.
I see, wait a moment.
Shut up, those are secrets.
Here, read this.
This was put on the facade
of my building in Milan.
Even if I wanted to, I'm unable
to give you any money.
The Austrian governor hinders
the access to my patrimony.
You must regain possession,
for yourself
and for our cause.
I have no faith in this expedition.
But I'll have you meet
someone who can help you.
Not to please Mazzini,
who spreads bad rumors about me,
but for the passion
I read in your eyes.
Come with me, I'll introduce you
to Marquis Rosales.
Paris, huh?
- What do you do in Paris?
- We work with a physician.
- Why are you going to Turin?
- We're looking for squill.
It's an herb needed
for an expensive medicine.
The purest anywhere is near Turin.
Let's go.
Two, three, four, five,
six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
TURIN
- Salvatore, Rosa's coming up.
- Alright.
Did you get it all?
- All set, you'll sew that yourselves?
- Sure.
Get moving.
Salvatore, how do you like it here?
- Not bad.
- And Rosa?
She's getting used to it,
she may have a job with a milliner.
Then she might like this.
It's a gift from Paris.
Thank you, Angelo.
It's very elegant.
I don't know...
There.
Never forget,
we're brothers.
How've you dressed my Salvatore?
Looks like a ladies' man, huh?
- Did I cut the squill right?
- Yes.
We prepared it like you said.
- The doctor in Paris will be glad.
- I'll set the table.
- Don't, we're leaving right away.
- Won't you stay a while?
- I made 'cavatielli' pasta.
- Stay a bit longer.
No, the council thinks it's not wise,
we'll go to the designated Inn
and leave tomorrow at dawn.
- Martyrdom.
- Resurrection.
Mr. Tambasco,
this brother comes from Parma,
his name's Antonio Gallenga,
but we'll call him Procida,
listen to him carefully.
He wants to make an attempt
on the Savoy King's life.
Carlo Alberto?
He can't deceive liberals,
and then hunt and execute them.
Carlo Alberto must die
and I'll die with him.
There's no other way to get close
and stab him in the heart.
I've studied my plan well.
- What does Mazzini say?
- I met him in Geneva.
He gave me the name of Procida.
He got me a false passport
to get to Turin
and he put me in contact
with your council as my base.
- What should I do?
- Procida needs a weapon.
- He wants to stab him.
- In fact, he needs a dagger.
It's impossible to get a weapon
in Turin at the moment.
What should I do?
Steal a knife from a kitchen?
I said it was impossible in Turin.
Go to Mazzini in Geneva
and he'll give you a dagger.
- Why doesn't he go?
- He's too well-known.
Besides, the council
wants a third brother
to receive what will become a seal.
You've just arrived,
the police don't know you.
- But I still have to receive...
- Trust.
Carlo Alberto's death
will fire our uprising,
all our efforts will be given
an extraordinary boost.
This is your passport,
you'll leave tomorrow.
It's an outrage.
They're ridiculing the King!
The King in a brothel...
This play is immoral!
Just like "Hernani"!
We want verses, not this trash!
They're interrupting again?
With the excuse of Classicism,
they want to stop all progress!
Here's the real poetry.
Wig-wearers!
Close the curtain!
- Brigands!
- Yes, and proud of it.
Call the gendarmes!
Let them continue!
Let them act!
Respect the actors' work.
Stop!
Let them act!
GENEVA
Have a seat, Tambasco.
Would you like tea?
No, thank you,
I must leave right away.
So,
how are preparations
going in Turin?
Sir,
there are few of us,
and the police are everywhere.
Sometimes I'm afraid
to talk to the other brothers,
I'm not sure I can trust them.
Don't worry, the councils
are under my authority.
Keep fear under control,
it can be dangerous.
Look at Procida.
Men like him should give us courage.
When my fraternal friend here
presented his project to me,
I objected, argued.
I tried all I could to dissuade him.
But that boy isn't afraid of dying.
He is one whose determination stands
between God and conscience,
and whom Providence puts
on earth to teach despots
their power can end
by the hand of a single man.
I suffer thinking
of our friend's sacrifice,
but I know, in this way,
he'll begin a second life,
not only in Heaven,
but also among men.
He knows this
and it is a thought
which will comfort him as he dies.
Ours is a rough road.
You know,
they jailed my dearest friend
to force him to betray me.
He said nothing
and as soon as he was alone
he broke a piece of metal
from the door,
sharpened it and cut his jugular.
The guards found him
in a pool of blood.
He died despairing of men
and without being stirred
to revenge by any word of mine.
His corpse is always before my eyes.
Go, my friend,
the road is rough,
but the reward is bright.
May God be with you.
May I see it?
- It's barely sketched.
- Please.
You really don't deserve it.
For my playing?
For the way ideas play in your head.
No one has ever drawn my portrait.
The expedition to Savoy will fail,
Mazzini recruits rich middle-class.
Class conflict is necessary.
Mazzini wants no terror or blood.
But he had two spies murdered!
They were surely plebeians,
Mazzini doesn't spill blue blood.
Why do you insist with this story?
We know the police spread this rumor.
He didn't have those spies killed.
What harm would it have been?
It's a crime against all law.
The law? I damn the law.
Laws on property, who cares?
We don't own anything!
Laws on justice? To defend what?
Laws on freedom?
Without work, tomorrow we're dead.
Revolution or nothing.
Domenico, there's
no equality without revolution!
So what about fraternity, freedom?
A betrayer is no brother.
Our political and moral creed...
I'd almost say a religious creed,
is expressed in just one word.
Equality!
Equality of political rights.
Our final and permanent objective:
equality of social condition.
That's our battle.
We could experiment,
unite the farmers
to cultivate farmland together.
They haven't enough brains
for these experiments!
Alright, but for all
the problems brought to bear
on the farmers of lower Lombardy,
the landowner could be of help,
looking into
what happens on his land!
Examining renters contracts
to obtain more regard for the poor.
Possessing lands
can't include such hassles!
It must!
Are landowners limited only
to the possession of State bonds?
"May the spice of our kindness"
"be not such grave torments,"
"but mild distain and mild refusal,"
"fights and wars to be followed,"
"restoring the heart,"
"by either peace or respite."
Thank you for staying
with me so late.
I was very depressed.
I understand you.
If men of such distinction
are indifferent to the farmers...
One must live among the farmers,
something none of them do.
The inert find it hard
to lift a finger
and inertia is a filthy sore!
When Angelo and I arrived in Paris,
the revolution felt in the air.
There was a fervor, an excitement...
I don't know why,
but weeks are passing, months
and the goal seems more distant.
We aren't made for deceit
and truth at the same time.
Little by little we tire
of the cold we find
in what appears to be ardent
and bright.
The fault is within ourselves,
but we don't realize it.
In calling illusion, truth
and truth, illusion,
we let ourselves be transported
by the stream without looking back.
I'll let you rest, you must be tired.
- Good night, Cristina.
- Good night.
See if he's in there.
- Well?
- He's not.
Let's go.
- Well?
- He's not inside.
In fact, the hearth is cold.
Did you look in the barn?
- Nothing.
- Let's look in the hay loft.
Damned Gallenga!
Where can he be?
- He must be around here.
- He knew he shouldn't be seen.
Call him!
I have something to tell you.
I'm expecting a baby.
I have to talk to you.
Not even my wife
should know these things,
but I can't stand it anymore,
I have to tell someone.
One, two, three, four, five,
six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
With this, it's 30,000.
So you met Mazzini?
Quiet!
He's a very rigorous man,
but we can't talk here,
Rosa mustn't know.
Salvatore, are you scared?
No, I would be if we were
attacking the ships in Genoa,
or going to fight at the border.
- There'll be fighting in Turin too.
- It'll never happen.
No fighting either in Genoa
or at the border.
First, we were supposed to leave
in October, to do a blitz.
Then in November, then December,
meantime the General
was gambling
the expedition money away.
This is February,
the police knows everything by now,
there are spies everywhere,
anyone can betray you.
And then there's Gallenga.
Mazzini was convinced
he'd kill Carlo Alberto.
How did it go?
Gallenga shuffled around,
saying he had to perfect the plan,
meantime he went around
boasting what he was planning.
- Quiet!
- So the plan became known.
The council got him
a house in the country
where he stayed a few weeks
and then disappeared.
Everybody's disappearing,
of the 1 ,200 who should be
in the expedition,
there's now less than half.
- What are you saying?
The Swiss police caught the Poles
and seized the weapons
and the German volunteers were
broken up before they could unite.
- How do you know all this?
- I told you, it's all out!
- There are spies everywhere!
- The spies talk to you?
The spies spread the news they want.
It must be a tactic, they're
hiding daylight, it's all false.
I don't believe it!
We have to wait and see.
We'll see.
Let's pass down under here.
Hold it.
Here are the weapons.
Are they all there?
What, don't you trust me?
Want to count them?
No, let's get out of here.
He was very touched
while telling me his story.
Just listen to it,
it's such an incredible story.
If you want some more, sir...
This story is really incredible,
no jokes.
- As soon as he goes out...
- Where is he going?
It's you? You scared me.
Tomorrow we burn Savoy and the fire
will spread to all of Europe!
- You're drunk.
- I'm drunk with joy.
Kiss me.
Where are you?
Come here!
Let's stay together!
Sir.
General Ramorino
said the expedition is over.
He's given orders to the troops
to break up and go home.
Where is he?
I must speak to him.
He left over an hour ago.
Damn him!
Do you intend to give me
the amount I ask, or not?
I don't intend to.
Princess,
you have an income
of 600,000 lire at your disposal.
Where did you get
this ridiculous information?
From my maid?
I won't give you anything, Angelo,
your insurrection failed.
Doesn't your father send you money
from the income of your land?
If you think you can arm these men,
pay from your own pocket.
My father stopped sending me money,
his excuse is
the crops got destroyed.
But I'm not going back.
And you won't help me.
The Belgiojoso school!
- What do you mean?
- There's immorality in Milan.
The Belgiojoso school's responsible.
You people from Lombardy
don't have the Republic at heart.
The truth is,
I strive for a government
guided by a beggar's son,
I strive for democracy,
the only one worth
risking a revolution for.
But to found a democratic government,
wanting it isn't enough,
the people must be ready.
Educating a people
isn't done in a day!
It takes time and energy.
But you and those bloodthirsty ones
seducing you
insist on a dagger to free
a people who'll never follow you
because they don't understand you!
- No!
The first effect
of the revolution
will be to split wealth
in equal parts for all.
Although ignorant, they'll rise up,
at least out of selfishness.
And then what will they do
with this revolution?
You can't tell a people
you're free,
you must say: "Here are the boundaries
between slavery and freedom."
You have to spread light
in their minds.
Make them aware
of their rights and duties.
Princess...
do you think you know
more than Charles Teste,
Voyer d'Argenson, Auguste Blanqui?
I have no definite certainties,
Mr. Angelo Cammarota.
When I use the word "believe"
I'm expressing hope.
But I can't stand you an instant more
repeating the words of that Bernard
and of his teachers,
as if they were...
I despise you, Angelo.
But be aware
that these friends of yours
undermined the expedition
through doubt and sarcasm.
Traitors undermined it!
I was mistaken about you, Angelo.
Farewell.
- What's his name?
- Saverio.
Like the overseer,
may he rest in peace.
Cheers!
I'm happy you're here too.
The Lord is merciful,
He always sends nice gifts.
I'm glad to see you.
May God bless the earth you tread,
but, remember, only good deeds.
Father Carlo,
you know I have my own ideas.
But there aren't just atheists in our
family, take Carmine for instance.
Domenico too has dedicated himself
to a good cause.
Yes, but some give with joy,
like Carmine.
And that's their reward,
because through those hands,
God speaks to us.
Through those eyes,
He smiles upon the earth.
But there's lots of anger here too.
Anyway, today's a day of feasting.
And Carmine will make a good priest.
Could I taste a little wine then?
Salvatore, you didn't offer
any wine to Father Carlo?
- They didn't give you a drink!
- To Saverio's health.
Angelo, what are you doing there?
- Come dance with us?
- No.
Look what you've come to!
Don't be so unsociable!
Arduino, which one's
your girlfriend?
I'll introduce her.
Come on, let's dance.
Let's see if you can dance.
Leave her alone, are you nuts?
- Back off, leave him alone.
- I ask your forgiveness!
See why I don't dance?
- Because you're bigots.
- Shut up, Angelo, go away.
Domenico, take Angelo away!
Come here, you stop too!
Play!
- Nice party!
- Get out of here!
Come on, play!
Dance! All of you dance!
Dance!
You spent two years in poverty
while they were living high
and now you let them
ruin your son's party!
You're wretched!
May I?
Come on in, Angelo.
Nice party.
Thank you.
I thank your mother,
she was very generous.
Did you see
all the beautiful fruit she sent?
So, you're staying here
and doing your father's job?
That's how it goes,
it's best this way.
I'm the only one left
to support my whole family.
The new overseer.
Did you see the council about it?
- No.
- I know.
They asked me
to explain your behavior.
What is it, are you my keeper?
If I were, I wouldn't let you hide
when there's a need to fight!
- What?
- I know everything.
You were in with
the dirtiest spies in Turin!
- You don't know a thing!
- You've disgraced our group!
- You're a traitor!
- You're false and a liar!
You've always despised me,
but now I despise you!
Come here, my Lord Angelo.
Want to see something?
Look here.
Do we abolish this?
Start a revolution right here?
- What is it?
- Don't you know?
Don't you know your families
steal oil from the farmers?
If you don't know, I'll tell you,
the overseer will tell you.
You bastard!
- I did it.
- What?
Salvatore was a spy, a traitor.
He sold out to the police,
he's been punished.
You're insane.
Mercy is the weapon of cowards,
history must see them as cowards,
betrayers, traitors like that rat!
An exemplary punishment was needed.
Revolutionary virtue is ruthless!
Mazzini would never have allowed
such infamy.
- He'd have struck the first blow!
- No.
This is no infamy,
it's an act ofjustice.
We made an oath.
Don't forget that.
Give me a clean shirt,
I have to leave right away.
When even your hopes
have been dashed,
not seven times,
but seventy times seven,
never repudiate hope.
When an attempt
is made without success,
we must look around,
look within ourselves
and reflect carefully.
Discover and admit
the mistakes made
and see where they came from.
Look for ways to put things right.
Then start again
from the beginning
and a third time and a fourth,
until you achieve it.
Ours is a war, a deadly war,
which has been fought for years,
for centuries,
and you think you'll win it
with the first battle.
Search them
and put their things here.
"I heard nothing more
about Angelo,"
"but during these years of conspiracy
I've always thought of you, Cristina."
"News reached me about your
contribution to the Roman Republic,"
"about the hospitals
you've organized"
"for the volunteers wounded
in battle,"
"and about the joy
in the eyes of those boys."
"The Republic in Rome, the Pope
fleeing with his court of bishops,"
"Mazzini proclaiming
universal suffrage,"
"the lands handed over
to the farmers."
"We couldn't have imagined
anything more grand."
"Italy was coming to being,
Cristina."
"We would become a united Italy,
free, republican, democratic."
"I had set out
to reach Garibaldi's army,"
"but I was ambushed."
"I fled and almost at the border,
I was arrested."
"I'm serving a 30-year sentence
for association with a sect,"
"hoarding of weapons
and armed insurrection."
Long Live the King...
Long Live the King...
"This is perhaps the last letter
I'll be able to send secretly."
"Please know
I've never stopped fighting"
"and I know that a nation will
never be free and independent"
"except through buying this freedom
with our blood."
"Your most devoted
and faithful Domenico."
MONTEFUSCO,
KINGDOM OF THE TWO SICILIES
Here you are!
Some come from Ischia,
some from Procida,
or from Nisida.
A penal settlement
for crimes of every type.
You're no longer
with the Camorra here,
there's no sea here,
we're at Montefusco here.
The King has declared this prison
a remarkable one!
You'll be locked up,
State criminals that you are.
I was raised on tobacco,
gambling, wine and swearing,
but I can read and write.
So I can make my reports,
but I never read.
Reading is a waste of time.
Makes a guy end up like you.
You're all scholars,
look at your ruin!
Damned pen and paper,
ink and all the books on Earth.
They've scrambled your minds.
Never ask for books,
or anything to write with.
You mustn't correspond
to anyone outside of here.
The books you have with you,
and only if you behave,
will be returned to you.
But don't hope for any others.
One: 25 blows
for every scrap of paper.
Two: 25 for every pen or pencil.
Buttocks thrashed bloody
for every illegal letter
that comes in or goes out.
Turn around.
Take them away.
Sit down, all of you.
How are you?
They beat us to a pulp
and crammed us into a livestock cart.
Us too.
Worst was, most of us
had believed the guards.
They were hoping to regain freedom.
Did you see?
They even brought Carlo Poerio here.
Have you ever met him?
Years ago, in Paris,
in Princess Belgiojoso's salon.
Come and see, Giovanni!
Domenico, sir, you come and see too.
No.
- Want to make the bell ring?
- Give me a coin.
You're throwing bread away?
Shut up, she's my hope
when I get out of here.
She smiled at you!
Since you got your Dante back,
you don't talk to anyone anymore.
It's such a consolation for me
to read these verses again.
Although the book's
in such bad shape.
Would you like to eat with us today?
No, you already know, I'd rather not.
- Forgive me.
- You forgive me, my friend.
I have a bad disposition.
- The gentlemen send you this.
- Thanks a lot!
I sewed the guard's jacket
and he gave me this bread.
- No, thank you.
- Take it. - Thanks.
Domenico, come with me!
Domenico, sir?
The other day Nisco
was put into the infirmary,
his mother told him
to pretend to be sick
so the doctor
could give him this message.
You can hardly read it,
sweat has bleached it,
but we managed to make it out.
There are maneuvers
to bring the French back to Naples.
They're really serious this time.
Ferdinando would be exiled
and Bonaparte would come.
Luciano Murat's name is rumored.
The Neapolitan patriots
aren't sure what to do.
This means that someone
believes this is the path to follow.
The note's addressed to you,
it's your opinion they want.
Right!
The proposal for Murat is crazy.
The new French emperors
are just a bland copy of Napoleon.
Ferdinando must fall
before there can be a King of Italy
and the King of Italy must
be Italian, he must be a Savoy.
What do you think?
I'm here because I believe
in the Republic and democracy.
Don't ask my opinion about crowns.
We're here too, that should be enough
for you to deign an opinion.
Once all liberals,
even those in the North,
moderates or democratic,
monarchists or republicans, everyone,
believed that to found
a modern State in Italy
the initiative
should come from Naples.
When there was talk of the Savoys,
more bigoted than the Bourbons,
no one thought our fate
should be entrusted to them.
Is it worth our suffering
to see the son of that traitor
Carlo Alberto succeed Ferdinando?
What is tiny Piedmont compared
to the great southern territories?
Listen,
it's reality
that hastens the situation.
I argued to make
the Bourbon monarchy constitutional.
I hoped it might lead
the unification process.
And now?
I too am convinced
that the unification of Italy
either comes about shortly,
under the Savoys,
or it will never happen.
Don't drag it out,
the round will pass by soon.
It's decided, the answer is no.
My brother Alessandro wrote:
"Oh Italy, no foreigner
has been generous with you."
May Piedmont be,
forever and always, our North Star.
Keep together.
Come on, move it!
You've got an hour.
What are you looking at? Move!
Come on!
Francesco, sir?
Did you know
that Mellucci is a sorcerer?
He knows how to fly us out of here.
Are you serious?
I believe in these things,
don't joke.
I'm not, he can't do it
only because the bars
are in the shape of a cross.
Sorcery can't work.
Damned crosses!
Pass the bowls around.
Domenico, sir,
are you coming in there too?
- Today we all eat the same.
- I'll come when it's ready.
Meat for everyone today.
Now don't say His Majesty
doesn't care about you!
Not much meat left.
Can I do something?
You can grate some cheese.
Today's Easter, everyone gets meat.
Nice glasses!
I feel we'll be home by next Easter.
It's a real holiday today.
What's going on? Why the bell?
Shout: "Long Live the King!"
You have to shout it!
Long Live the King!
Ready.
Aim.
Will you shout it or not?
Long Live the King!
Fire!
This was the noise?
It can happen, my men are zealous.
Let's go.
- There's a problem with your legs?
- No.
You're not walking normally.
We know you've had problems
with your sight, too.
Wouldn't you like to be treated?
You risk going blind.
Rumor has it that Ferdinando
is considering a generous act,
he'd like to free many prisoners
on the day of the Assumption,
from among those
who've asked for a pardon.
Sorry, a pardon
or a grace from the Virgin?
Don't be so funny.
We know you're hotheaded.
Why not?
Why do you think
it can't be done this way?
A document like this
would be a political act.
I don't think so, it might seem
an act of cowardice.
Stop, we've demonstrated
what there was to demonstrate!
I can't stand being given
lessons on dignity.
A pardon, petitioned collectively,
would be compatible
with the dignity of everyone.
Domenico, sir, what are you doing?
You shouldn't treat
even a worm like that.
Forgive me, all of you.
That's how
the Mazzini followers behave!
Skunks and traitors!
You did right, Domenico.
- Shut up.
- Yeah, shut up, the two of you.
They'll be sent home, understand?
- You're right.
- Knock it off!
The Marquis weakened for a moment.
They'll never petition
the Bourbon for a pardon.
These men are monarchists,
Savoy or Bourbon, no matter,
they're in cahoots with the King.
Stop it, it's true they're
monarchists,
but they've been chained like us
for all these years.
Let's try not to become brutish.
To the Chamber!
Lock it!
It's a trick!
They break the rules
and are taken to the Chamber
where they make an agreement
with the commander.
- Are you sure?
- Yes.
I'd hidden a scrap of paper
under a rock, it's gone.
Only someone in here
could have taken it.
- They're betraying us.
- Damn them!
They'll ruin all our sacrifice.
They were holed up like owls,
now you'll see how they bite us.
Baron?
Do you know
I petitioned for a pardon?
I know.
My family needs me back.
- My wife is dying.
- You told me.
I have to go home!
Calm down.
Don't think I'm collaborating
with these owls,
as Lord Sigismondo calls them.
I'm no informer.
No, you're not an informer
or a coward.
But our only weapon
is not to petition Ferdinando.
Look at Michele.
He's seriously ill.
And he's here because he knows
there's no other way.
Good luck.
Lord Sigismondo of Castromediano,
Duke of Morciano
and Marquis of Cavallino.
What is it?
The commander is waiting for you:
you'll be leaving too.
It's impossible he signed
a plea in secret.
Sigismondo has important family.
Not only at court,
also among the clergy.
What? Quiet, he's coming.
So?
He began with the usual story:
"The sovereign is clement,"
"he pardons those who deserve it..."
I said I refuse his clemency,
I didn't ask for it.
He grinned,
as if he didn't believe me.
Do you think the King
would release Castromediano,
without being sure
of convincing him?
Maybe he was reassured
by the Bishop of Lecce.
It's all a farce!
It's always the same story,
the gentleman saves face
and comes out nice and clean.
Think he'd have told us
if he'd petitioned for pardon?
Traitor!
It's not true!
- You believe me?
- Certainly.
Do you believe me, Domenico?
I didn't ask for anything.
Try to rest.
Lord Sigismondo,
now that you'll be free, please,
go to Monte Sant'Angelo,
and tell my overseer
not to abandon my farm.
You know, abandoned houses are lost.
Stop it, leave him alone.
Lord Sigismondo, you can do
what you like down there...
Stop it!
They're inflicting the worse kind
of torture on him!
They want us to believe
he's a traitor, to divide us.
Go away!
Calm down, try to rest.
Yes.
Are you ready?
Mr. Domenico will accompany me.
At your orders...
Duke, sir!
I can't stand the idea
of traveling with them.
- I don't deserve that.
- They're unfortunates.
Let's get going.
- Farewell.
- Farewell.
Duke, come along.
Close the gate.
Get moving!
Duke, sir!
No soup or bread as of tomorrow,
then we'll see
if you still feel like celebrating.
Let's go.
They let me bring newspapers.
You can read for yourselves.
Could I speak to the Duke?
We'd like to know
what's happening outside.
We'd like to know
if the traitors are free.
Lord Sigismondo is back here,
as you see, he's no traitor.
What about the others?
Stop it, he should rest,
get some rest yourselves.
His stay in Naples was a fight
against every sort of perfidy.
- How's the Duke?
- Fine, go to sleep.
Why don't we have them come in too?
Our secret meetings
have such value
in those poor wretches' eyes,
who've suffered even more than us.
We have the memory
of conversations, readings,
we can even think of a future.
Instead, what's in their memories?
Their fields, irretrievable work,
lost families.
I'd say to call them too.
You, Baron, what do you think?
Yes, we could call them.
What do they understand
about the intrigue of Cavour,
the intentions of France,
the secret contacts with exiles?
Let's first try
to understand and discuss
what backing to count on,
then we'll explain it to them.
We'll talk it over
in the next few days.
So, the newspapers?
Read for yourselves.
Domenico, this is for you.
There's an article by your friend
Cristina of Belgiojoso,
about what happened in Rome when
they tried to set up the Republic.
You'll understand a lot of things.
Great news!
Cavour is sending troops to Crimea.
So Piedmont will have the support
of Europe's major countries.
So, it's the right moment!
That is, if Mazzini doesn't come up
with one of his crazy ideas.
A good bottle is in order!
Look what I've been keeping.
Watch for the guards.
- Long Live United Italy!
- To Piedmont!
- Long Live the Savoys!
- To the war in Crimea!
- Cheers!
- Cheers!
To King Vittorio Emanuele.
LONDON
Cammarota, the vaults are damp,
how can the fuses not go out?
This fuse has been studied to keep
burning at the water's surface.
How did you come by these maps?
The Cathedral Chapter financed
some work on the vaults.
Did you participate?
No, one of the French brotherhood
was in the team
that had to clean this wing.
So, he got them for you...
Why all these questions? I'll place
the fuses, even short ones.
How important are our lives compared
to liberation from the tyrant?
Maybe your friend
doesn't want too many victims.
There may be hundreds.
So? How many thousands died
because of Napoleon I?
How many will we count
under this one called Napoleon III?
Perhaps you have the artistic aspect
of the cathedral at heart.
For me, you could have
taken these papers
directly from the Ministry of police.
Who guarantees you're not a spy?
What else can we expect?
The president
of a democratic republic
has become a tyrant,
he has people call him Emperor!
Isn't that worth a cathedral
and a few hundred dead?
Listen to me carefully, Angelo.
We decide what to do and when.
In this type of thing,
it's best to use your head
not your belly.
I made the mistake,
by violating Mazzini's advice
not to have anything to do with you.
It was the last chance.
Gentlemen...
We'll meet again.
- Good evening.
- Good evening.
What is it?
Opium.
It wasn't easy to find this quantity.
And above all, it's very expensive.
It's no drug for our pockets,
my dear Crispi.
What did this man from France want?
Show his plan
to assassinate Napoleon III.
Mr. Bernard?
It's you.
I've thought about what you said.
Finally! So?
You can count on me.
- And Mazzini?
- He means nothing to me anymore.
Tell Mazzini that Orsini
no longer recognizes any master,
and will no longer let you judge
his speeches in advance.
He won't be an instrument
and speaker for other's ideas.
Mr. Bernard!
Good evening.
Let's sit here.
May I introduce another
Italian exile, Angelo Cammarota.
He fought in Rome.
Wonderful! It was generous of you
to bring champagne.
Thanks to you,
my conferences are crowded.
You deserve it,
you're the talk of the press.
Politicians, scholars,
artists feel honored
to be presented
to the mocker of Austria!
To Orsini!
To Italy!
I invited Francesco Crispi too,
I've heard he's very courageous.
Do you know him?
Not well, but I like him,
because he's Sicilian, determined
and you see him around,
not like the prophet,
who never shows his face.
They say Crispi
is faithful to Mazzini,
but I think he's smart enough
to understand
the cause needs new nourishment.
If the attacks on Napoleon III
keep failing...
It's important for it to succeed?
Certainly.
Napoleon III is the enemy
of Italian freedom
and supports governments
that keep Italy a slave.
If he falls, all nations,
starting with France,
will rise up
to free enslaved peoples,
your own being the first.
The one who dares to do this
will be Europe's glorious liberator,
the initiator of a new era.
Why don't you French try?
It's our duty now to state the truth.
The truth?
- What truth?
- The absolute truth.
On which the reasons
for all our actions depend,
all our gestures, everything.
I never thought
I'd hear religious talk here.
I don't mean God.
It's not necessary,
if a people doesn't feel
it holds the truth within itself,
it doesn't believe itself destined
to act in the name of this truth,
it will never be a great people.
A great people
will never accept a secondary role,
it must demand leadership.
That's what I mean,
the truth, not God.
What do you think about this?
I'd like to act with other Italians,
be led by an Italian hero.
- When did you last see Italy?
- Almost 10 years ago.
I fought in Lombardy in 1848,
then I became an exile,
working as a porter,
I've carried so many trunks!
Taking a few home with you too!
Yes, I spent six months in jail,
but a man like you
can understand these weaknesses.
- Alcohol, and women...
- I know how to fight!
The good of my country
is in my heart, nothing else.
- A slice of apple?
- Thank you.
I'm certain of your worth
and I'm grateful
for your consideration,
but I now intend
to follow a political strategy,
offering Cavour my services
for the Piedmont cause.
His king, Vittorio Emanuele,
may be worthy of trust.
Your choice is quite surprising.
Aren't you a republican?
My unalterable principles
are republican,
but it's time to push Piedmont
out of its indecision.
How will you contact Cavour?
I've already written to him.
The revolution of peoples
is losing a saint.
Perhaps the greatest.
Perhaps the last.
Get out!
Cavour is right,
you're a bunch of fanatics.
Dangerous, ferocious,
fanatical murderers.
Dismal imbeciles.
- Mr. Gallenga.
- Who are you?
I saw you at the Worcell's
and followed you.
I've finally found you.
What do you want from me?
- Did Mazzini send you?
- I don't want to talk about him.
Not directly at least.
May I come in?
My name's Angelo Cammarota,
but that means nothing to you.
I don't know why, in your book,
you confessed
you wanted, as a youth, to attempt
the life of King Carlo Alberto.
The love for truth, that's why.
See how I've been re-paid?
I had to leave Parliament
and Piedmont.
All this for
having served the country,
I've scandalized.
Hypocrisy reigns supreme among us.
In those years it was known that
among the ranks of Giovine Italia
some wanted to kill Carlo Alberto.
Now that I've written it,
this old story
is a scandal, it's all the talk,
it's become a national case.
But I'm a journalist,
a well-known writer.
Maybe you wrote it
because you hate Mazzini
and wanted to strike him
in some way.
Why do you say that?
I wrote him for years,
loyally expressing my disagreement.
He never replied.
It's not bad to change your mind.
Those who believe
in the unity of Italy
have stopped professing
to be republicans and conspiring.
Don't worry,
I hate him too, that Mazzini.
He stabbed Italy in the heart.
He's a clown, a coward.
I remember him well.
A few days after the fall
of the Roman Republic
he was in Geneva,
eating with gusto at the "Balance".
You know how many men
he had sacrifice their lives?
And what did he do?
The courage to take
from its precious holster
that gun, the gift
of some rich English woman,
is something he's never had.
You talk very well,
but a bit too much, Mr. Gallenga.
I won't ask why you extinguished
in your heart, that firm decision,
although it's a mystery to me
and a deep pain.
Your conscience bears the failure
of the insurrection in Savoy.
What are you saying?
You're crazy, it's something
from 30 years ago.
- The insurrection...
- Ended in a bloodbath.
But it's not what I want to discuss.
Tell me about the betrayal
of Salvatore Tambasco.
Who's he?
Salvatore Tambasco.
Don't pretend not to remember.
I don't know
what betrayal you mean.
It's an old story,
he died many years ago.
I won't allow you to let another
I want you to say how
Salvatore Tambasco betrayed
as we were preparing
the insurrection in Savoy.
He was simply appointed
to receive a dagger from Mazzini.
Simply appointed!
A simple farmer
is brought before Mazzini
and you say
he was simply appointed?
- You have to say what you know.
- I don't know anything.
- You're crazy, possessed!
- Talk!
Try Melegari, he may know something!
- Where is he?
- In Parliament.
You're all in Parliament.
Piedmont is too far, I can't go.
Refresh your memory,
I'll be back.
"Considering Mazzini's ideas,
it can be said that he wants..."
Here I'd suggest:
"In the midst
of Mazzini's confused ideas,"
"it can still be said he wants..."
Yes, we'll correct it like that.
I'll do it.
Sir,
what do you know
about this Cammarota?
Why? Are you suspicious of him?
He's never convinced me.
He was a Mazzini follower,
with Giovine Italia until the 1830s.
At a certain point
he must have had problems,
because he ended up
in the Foreign Legion,
making the rank
of second lieutenant.
I always refused
to join the Foreign Legion.
How can you swear allegiance
to the French emperor?
It was before Louis Napoleon
buried the Roman Republic,
when many Italians
believed in aid from the French.
In Rome things became clear,
he fought valiantly.
I trust him.
The Roman Republic...
that's where Italy was to be begin
and where it all ended.
What did Cavour reply?
I've received no reply.
- I have grave news about Pisacane.
- What is it?
He landed at Sapri
with 300 armed men
and tried to incite the farmers,
but they called the army
and got them slaughtered.
They thought they were brigands,
escaped criminals, wanting
to destroy villages and rape women.
Pisacane killed himself.
Angelo...
I think your soul
bears something terrible,
dirty, bloody
and at the same time,
it makes you ridiculous.
You want to throw yourself
into this crime as a way out.
I don't understand from what.
Didn't you kill
one of your uncle's servants?
Just a poor man, for futile reasons?
- I was a boy.
- We all were.
But then we became murderers
and there's no paradise to gain.
Tomorrow, look for this Rudio.
Antonio!
Gomez!
A strange man approached me,
he asked for my address
on Orsini's behalf, know anything?
Still nothing, but I know
Orsini will be needing you.
Someone will come to you
in the next few days,
don't talk to anyone about it.
Bye!
Are you here on Orsini's behalf?
Yes.
He asked me to speak to you
about an initiative
that could take you abroad
for a while.
Your absence will permit your wife
to receive 12 shillings a week.
My name is Giuseppe Brusca,
born in Montichiari on March 2, 1814.
I'm a laborer,
I have a wife, Benedetta,
and a son, Michele.
- Gomez?
- My name's Nicola Frangipane.
Born in Savona
on October 17, 1810, laborer,
a wife, Maria, and two children,
Giuseppe and Immacolata.
Cammarota.
My name's Marco Del Priore,
born in Salerno on November 20, 1808,
I'm a plumber,
I have a wife, Carmela,
and two children, Bruno and Michele.
Good.
Here are your passports.
Angelo, this is the mercury fulminate
to be poured in the bombs.
The cloth must stay damp,
be very careful.
It's extremely dangerous.
Here's Orsini's address in Paris.
You'll meet him there.
Learn it by heart
and destroy the note.
Fine, go now.
- What are these?
- They're nozzles.
- And this?
- All things for gas.
- Are passports in order?
- Yes.
You can go.
Next.
PARIS
Remove it.
That's enough!
- Enough!
- Shut up!
Ready.
Close it.
Agreed?
We'll meet at the depot
in Rue Rossini.
Wait here.
Wasn't that Crispi?
Certainly not!
Well, look, Angelo Cammarota!
Weren't you in London?
I'm just passing through.
When did you arrive?
A few days ago.
Why are you here?
To visit my family.
You have family in France?
How are they?
- Very well.
- And you?
I'm fine, thank you.
What's this? Get over there!
Gendarmes, over here!
Hands up, or I'll shoot!
It's dangerous, handle it carefully.
Take his gun.
You have lots to tell me...
It was my day off,
I even had Opera tickets, shit!
Take him away.
Be careful with that.
Move along, there's nothing to see.
- Cammarota?
- He's been arrested.
What?
They say an Italian was arrested,
that's all I know, it must be him.
Go!
Your Majesty, please...
This way, Your Majesty.
Death to the assassins!
His Majesty, Napoleon III...
Long Live the Emperor!
So?
Orsini, approach the bench.
Who threw the third bomb
if it wasn't you?
I'd given it to a third Italian
I met in Rue Lepelletier.
You didn't trust yourself
or your courage,
since you entrusted another
with what you should
have done yourself.
A man who's afraid
doesn't talk as I do.
I don't want to compromise others.
But you compromised Bernard,
who's waiting to be tried in London.
Why? Why do you refuse
to name this Italian?
I could, he must be
out of France by now
and far from persecution.
But I don't want to do so.
Rudio.
Did you see Orsini talk with anyone?
No, sir.
You say you came to France
to visit your family
to then go into Italy
where you hoped in a revolution.
Yes, sir.
Did Gomez hope the same thing?
I wouldn't say Gomez
is a man of politics.
He knows nothing
and hopes for nothing.
Alright...
Let's finish the events of the 14th.
- Sit down.
- Thank you.
You followed Orsini.
Yes, but first
I put a gun in my pocket
because we didn't always
agree on things
and I didn't want to be alone
with him and defenseless.
Instead we were out in the street
and he said
we should never separate,
actually, we should reinforce
our old friendship.
That this concerned the revolution
and he was afraid he'd be searched
and wanted to get the bombs
out of his house.
So I, to encourage his trust,
I told him I'd volunteer
to place one.
We went to Orsini's,
it was 7:45 pm.
Then Rudio came.
But I was in a cold state of mind
and since Gomez was late,
Orsini said: "Has he gone to spy?"
You said that yourself!
Rudio, no arguing, don't react.
- Continue.
- It was Orsini, not me.
Then Orsini took a bomb
and put it in Gomez's hand,
since he'd just arrived.
He put another in Rudio's hand,
one to me, two for himself
and he said to go out.
And where did you go?
Defendant Cammarota,
where did you go?
I left them at the corner
of Rue Saint-Honor
and never saw them again.
I was in a hurry
to get rid of my bomb,
because I wanted to go back.
But then I thought the boulevards
were much nicer
so I went there.
I saw lots of soldiers on horseback
and a light...
whitish.
The more I walked,
the brighter the light got.
I didn't know what that meant.
I walked to the end of the street
and I saw the theater lighted up.
I kept going,
the crowd grew bigger and bigger
and I followed it.
And then...
I got to the corner of Rue Rossini
and there I was stopped
by Mr. Hebert,
who knows me.
That's all.
You are going towards God
who forgives you
and you'll find the way of mercy.
So, I give you the last rites.
No, there's no need.
My place is in hell.
Can you do something for me?
- What is it, my son?
- Sit down.
Why does the Holy Father
not renounce his temporal power?
Why not?
May God bless you.
Stand.
Remove your vests.
By order of His Majesty the Emperor,
the Minister of State decrees
that the prisoner Antonio Gomez
is sentenced to hard labor.
Prisoner Carlo Rudio
will have his sentence changed
to life imprisonment.
Prisoners Felice Orsini
and Angelo Cammarota,
in accordance with the law
of June 10, 1853,
for having attempted the life
of His Majesty the Emperor,
have been declared guilty
and sentenced to death by the Court.
Angelo!
Domenico!
You've never loved the Savoys,
Domenico, I know.
But you must recognize that today
Vittorio Emanuele is King of Italy,
of a united Italy,
although still without
Rome and Venice.
The tree has been planted,
yet with diseased roots.
Unity was, for the Italians,
a powerful passion
which overwhelmed all other needs.
I'll remain silent,
until things take a definitive turn,
so not to be accused
of adding oil to the fire.
But the day will come when
I can say all I know and think.
Now Garibaldi wants
to conquer Rome militarily,
against the will
of the Italian government.
I know you'll run to his call.
What's happening
in the South is frightening,
brigands have taken over,
the State doesn't enforce the law
and no one trusts anyone anymore.
My dear Domenico,
look after yourself.
If you go through your village,
which you've not seen in 20 years,
please,
put a flower on Angelo's tomb for me.
Farewell,
your friend Cristina.
- Where are you taking this linnet?
- No one could care for it.
- My wife passed away a month ago.
- I'm sorry.
I said goodbye to the places
of our happiness, and left.
You're from Caserta,
don't you have anyone there?
We had no children,
but spent many years together,
lovely, splendid years.
And now it's finished.
You're young, you'll re-marry soon.
No, it's the world that's finished.
- Don't you see what's happening?
- You're right.
War, revolution, unity of Italy.
These fighters,
when they get up in the morning,
instead of trying to re-do the world,
that's been done and re-done badly,
if they listened
to the silence of that hour...
- You know what I mean?
- I don't really.
The moment when
birds still don't sing.
It's a magical moment,
made of everything and nothing.
Like this linnet.
THE DAWN OF THE NATION
Ladies and gentlemen, we're leaving.
- When you're ready...
- Coming.
- What's this trip got in store?
- Who knows, these days...
All aboard the carriage!
Domenico, sir, when you like!
The next station is Sala Consilina?
In three days.
- I'll meet you there.
- I wouldn't do that.
It's far away, how'll you get there?
- I'll get there.
- You won't.
And I'll lose a place,
you know how many I left behind?
I'll pay in advance
and even leave my knapsack.
As you like.
But I can't wait for you,
get there on time.
Go!
Forget that Spanish girl,
she'll cast a spell on you!
Leave me alone.
I have to get to Palinuro,
they say you can help me.
Go down to the port,
Armando's got a boat going.
Wait, don't be afraid.
I won't hurt you.
I took shelter here to sleep.
I'm going to Centola,
but it got late yesterday,
I was afraid I'd get lost.
Why are you with the goats?
Where are your brothers?
The soldiers killed them.
Soldiers? Why?
They said they were brigands.
- What's your name?
- Lucia.
I'd like a little milk.
Thank you.
Sit down.
- Do you know Father Carmine,
the priest? - I do.
- Does he live in the square?
- No, Don Tiburzio's there.
- Who's he?
- The notary.
And Father Carmine?
In a little house,
I don't know where.
Will I find him in church?
No, the earthquake destroyed it.
Mamma, you're not eating?
This is all we can offer.
We're poor.
What else, if we're
in excommunicated hands?
Not many people around
since the earthquake.
They all left.
I was tutoring only
Don Tiburzio's children in Latin.
And where's Caterina?
She's not here.
She's a servant.
Your sister
is a servant to Don Tiburzio.
Do you know who Don Tiburzio is?
The one who took
our confiscated things.
Nothing to say?
Say something.
At least say you're sorry.
It's your fault
that they got confiscated.
Because you couldn't ask for pardon,
you had to stay in jail,
you had to make Italy.
How long since mamma spoke?
Ten years.
If you want to sleep here,
there's straw bedding.
No, thank you,
I have to leave right away.
Move along!
Stop!
Halt!
- Where are you going?
- Reggio Calabria.
What's up there?
Get off, please.
Give me your documents.
Come on, unload them.
Alright. Thank you.
- Documents?
- Alright!
A soldier!
That's what they deserve!
That's 30 cents each.
Isn't it all included?
No, here you pay to eat and sleep,
but someone will have to sleep
in the hayloft, we're full.
Goodnight.
- I've got these.
- They're worthless.
They're out of circulation,
it's lire now.
I've spent them all,
these are mementos.
What great memories!
- What can we do?
- I'll pay for him.
Please, take this.
Thank you.
I was a tailor in San Leucio.
We had a hundred workers, made
the most beautiful silks in Europe.
I sewed clothes for the most
beautiful noblewomen in the Kingdom.
Now, there's nothing left.
No factory, no work, no silk.
Just poverty, horror and poverty.
You're right,
those from Piedmont
just brought poverty.
But that's no reason
to regret the Bourbons.
If you say so...
Garibaldi's our last hope.
If he gets to Rome,
he'll be powerful again
and we, in the South,
will get our land back.
Those from Piedmont
have to go back home!
- You're a revolutionary.
- Of course.
I believe in the unity of Italy
and you should fight with us!
Quiet!
Keep your voice down.
He's right,
it takes nothing
to call us brigands and shoot us.
Didn't the Bourbons do it too?
My father was killed like that.
He and his comrades
rebelled in Cilento
and were slaughtered as brigands.
The chief rebels
got their heads cut off
and stuck on poles.
The poles were put
in the square in Palinuro.
They were there for over a year.
Luckily my father's wasn't cut off.
Aren't you from Apulia?
Yes.
But I was born in Cilento.
My mother had to escape.
She told me these things.
What was your father's name?
Salvatore Tambasco.
What is it?
What's wrong?
You're pale.
You're sure your father
was killed by the Bourbons?
What do you mean?
Bourbon spies did it,
my mother told me everything.
He was in the Capozzoli gang,
ever heard of them?
Alright...
I'm going to sleep.
I feel very tired.
Goodnight.
What a strange man.
Know anything about him?
You've traveled together.
He's a man...
who doesn't talk much.
I know he's from Cilento
and carries a gun like you.
You have to fight with us,
you've got nothing to lose.
That's not true.
I have that linnet.
Wake up.
Do you have a horse, a mule? Hurry.
It's night, where'll you go,
and you're alone?
- You're sure?
- Yes.
I have a horse.
He's a good one though.
It's all I have, is it enough?
Watch your back!
Domenico, sir!
- Why are you running?
- And why did you follow me?
You knew my father.
I saw it in your face
when I talked about him.
I want to make him proud
and you have to see it.
You're going to join Garibaldi,
I saw the book you carry.
We can go together,
the coast isn't far.
Let's go.
How far could you go on foot?
I couldn't take anymore.
How can you fight this war?
You're an old man.
Old men should fight wars,
if they die, who cares.
I'm so hungry!
- Any cheese left?
- Sure, in the knapsack.
Good!
- Don't want any?
- No, I'll eat later.
Who knows all the junk
you ate in Turin with pa.
Cheese is good there too.
- Maybe even better.
- You're joking!
After we free Rome and Venice,
why not go around Italy?
Up North, it must be nice.
You're sure?
Later.
I'll go get firewood.
Hello!
Know how far to Melito?
It's down the beach.
- Has Garibaldi arrived?
- No, his men are there.
- They're waiting for him.
- Thanks.
Hey, guys! Get ready, we're coming!
You two! Are you already
in a section?
- Not yet.
- Then come with me.
- When do we leave?
- If the General comes, this evening.
Take those two, have them sign up!
- What's your name?
- Vincenzo.
- What do you do?
- I'm a volunteer!
- What do you do in life!
- I do two things.
A cobbler.
I come and go from the Vicariate
and I act.
Giovanni, let's show them.
The Company of the Vicariate!
Quiet!
Opening line.
My deep respects.
Has Your Lordship
ever been here before?
- It's the first time.
- I'm sorry.
Thank you so much.
Here is one's own, one's disposal...
One's-own-disposal makes a law.
Those who are lucky to enter here...
Great luck!
He has to pay a tiny sum
for the French guys.
Who are these French guys?
That's what we call them,
they're in need.
We give them something
and they behave,
they behave,
we behave, everyone behaves.
Listen, I am...
Crispi's in cahoots with the Mafia!
Sorry, I didn't know,
the Knight's having me
make a bad impression!
My deep respects!
How dare you make fun of Crispi?
We're actors, we do this
in the squares of Palermo.
You know what Crispi
did for the unity of Italy?
They're doing nothing wrong.
Crispi is in Parliament
where they make useless speeches,
but they're about to push a cannon
all the way to Rome!
- How dare you?
- What's your name?
What's this?
We can't speak freely even here?
#When Garibaldi calls out the role,#
#all his sons so bold#
#will light the bomb,#
#Red Shirts of Garibaldi...#
Garibaldi, up there!
Long Live Garibaldi!
#...the sun of April,#
#and you showed you were no coward.#
#That's why you are so dear to me,#
#red shirt, rare shirt.#
Long Live Garibaldi!
Rome or Death!
#We'll kick him off his throne,#
#no more popes in Rome.#
#We'll go to St. Peter's,
then to St. Paul's...#
#...we want their heads to roll.#
#The guillotine is in the square,#
#we want their heads to roll...#
The General said
not to respond to Italian fire!
Run, or the Bersaglieri
will kill us all!
Want to die like an idiot? Run!
- Giovanni!
- Shut up!
We're on your side!
Come here, it's safe.
Let's go, it's safe.
Why are you crying?
- Did your friends die?
- He was my comrade too.
You got us killed like animals!
Stop, quiet!
It's not safe here.
We have to stay together,
let's find an escape route.
Come on!
Wait!
Don't be afraid.
- What's your name?
- Nino.
- How old are you?
- 17.
We have to reach the other side,
will you do some scouting?
You're a boy, they won't notice you.
Saverio, give him yourjacket.
We'll be waiting there, don't delay.
I've already seen you,
do you know me?
Try to understand
what they do to deserters.
The boy's back.
Well?
No one's around,
but Garibaldi is dead.
- You're sure?
- A shepherd told me.
We'd better move
before they catch us.
- There'll be an amnesty soon.
- For deserters too?
I think so, I don't know.
What do you care?
Any of you in the regular army?
Me.
- You too?
- Yes.
You too?
You didn't tell me!
Let's go.
Let's stop.
Here's fine.
Got any water?
Mine's empty.
Halt, weapons down and hands up!
Surrender!
Weapons down and hands up!
Weapons down!
Commander!
Look who we found.
- Where were they?
- Here in the convent.
Jumpin' jehosaphat! Lucky!
Check their identities
and if there are any deserters,
shoot them.
You can't, there is an amnesty.
What do you know about amnesty?
Only a court can judge them.
I'm the court here.
Take them away.
Farewell.
Let me die with my comrades!
Ready, aim, fire!
Murderers!
I see the ghosts of the martyrs,
they accuse me of killing them
to resurrect the land of the dead.
Calm down, Giuseppe.
- And if he died?
- You mean Garibaldi?
Don't worry, it's nothing serious.
It's over.
The time for legal action is over,
we have to begin
the extra-legal action.
We have to blow up Rattazzi,
the King, Parliament.
Give me some paper.
"Dear Sigismondo,"
"I came to Parliament as you asked"
"and brought the letter
they fired me with:"
'Dangerous Republican
and fomenter of social disorder'.
"I need to work to live"
"and you've proven to be
the generous man I knew,"
"with your proposal of help."
"But I wanted to see you to talk"
"and question myself,"
"because I find
I'm at the point of departure."
"Our struggle ended in failure"
"and I'd like to unravel the tangle,"
"to see if a wrong interpretation
of those ideas"
"is responsible for what happened:"
"Italy of today is petty,
haughty, murdering."
"Entering Parliament
I realized I'd never know."
I have no other flag to raise.
Mine is the one I raised
when landing
with Garibaldi in Marsala:
Italy, one with Vittorio Emanuele!
Those who want another flag
do not want a united Italy.
The Monarchy unites us,
the Republic would divide us.
We unitarians are,
above all, Monarchists
and we will support the Monarchy
far better than the old Monarchists!
"I saw you from a distance,
Lord Sigismondo."
"Your face was marked
with proud disgust,"
"surrounded as you were
by people who took advantage"
"of the new political situation
to increase their own power."
"This Parliament"
"will not allow discussion
on what each patriot did."
"The exiled and ex-prisoners
will be celebrated equally,"
"like debris to number hurriedly,
whose speeches only bore."
"I left, no one noticed me."
"But I don't count."
"We were many, we were together,
prison couldn't hold us all."
"We should have begun
our fight when we got out."
'We'.
"Sweet word."
"We believed."
Thanks to agreement with France,
Rome is given to the Kingdom of Italy
and becomes its capital in 1871 .
Cristina of Belgiojoso
dies in that same year.
No authorities participate
in her funeral.
Francesco Crispi
becomes Prime Minister in 1887.
He will give Italian politics
an authoritarian turn
launching the country on
a disastrous venture of colonialism.
The stories of Domenico, Angelo
and Salvatore, fictional characters,
partly trace the real events
of conspirators Domenico Lopresti,
Giuseppe Andrea Pieri
and Antonio Sciandra.
Captain, we found this one.
Shout: "Long Live the King".
Hang him! Burn everything!
CILENTO,
KINGDOM OF THE TWO SICILIES
Lazy bums! Get moving!
- Where are you going?
- Runnin', pa.
Mom!
There are men on the beach.
- What do they want?
- They want you.
- Who are they?
- The Capozzolis.
The Capozzoli brothers? Good lord!
I need the overseer, where is he?
In the olive grove.
Get your father, Salvatore.
Wait here.
Lady Maria, you're giving
all this money to them?
- Let me do this, Saverio.
- As you wish.
Farewell, Lady Maria, and thank you.
If the soldiers burn our town too?
They won't,
no one knows we're here.
Excuse me, sir, Lawyer Cucco is here
with Doctor Pinto.
- Where are the Capozzolis?
- They've vanished.
If the police find it and read
our signatures, we're done for!
That proclamation is too extreme,
I told you.
Asking for a Constitution
and aid from France,
you can't do that!
We have to take a step at a time.
We never should have trusted them.
We'll meet this evening
at the usual place.
No, with all the gendarmes around,
the rectory isn't safe anymore.
Come on in.
When my father died,
this door was painted black,
since then it's not been opened.
Today Mom unlocked it
and said: "Go in".
Look!
Salt.
Give it here, it's French.
The Travels of Pythagoras.
A philosopher from here.
Zeno was from here.
The sect used to meet here.
- Now where?
- I don't know.
I do: at the rectory.
Why don't we go too?
They're not there now,
they're not meeting for a while.
But there's something you can do.
What?
Go and get the proclamation.
The one read to the people.
If the police find it,
the sect is done.
Why him?
He's one of them, we aren't.
Sarraino won't give it to us.
Say the Capozzolis sent you.
But it's not true.
The proclamation has to be burned.
So, you got the courage or not?
- Yeah.
- It's for tonight.
But the town was just burned down.
- See, you're scared!
- I'm not.
I'll go tonight.
I told you over and over
not to hang around those two.
Know who the men in the boat were?
Bandits, murderers and brigands.
People who had to hide...
No, they're Carbonaris, Jacobins...
You're wretched!
You don't understand a thing.
You just parrot the words.
You're in with the gentry.
You take after 'em!
They're Jacobins in Paris
but here...
Let me bite my tongue.
No, actually...
I'll show you.
Come with me.
Take yourjacket.
- Evenin'.
- Evenin'.
Go inside.
Keep moving.
Lift that stone.
Lift it!
See where a part of the oil goes?
- Where?
- Take a good look.
Understand?
The gentry steal from farmers
even the miserable amount of oil
they sweat a day's work for.
But since I run the olive press
and I'm their right-hand man,
our family gets some.
- Not true.
- Smarten up!
The gentry, those Jacobins,
are people who rob the poor!
You've studied,
because we're rich now.
But your father was born a peasant,
never forget that.
Watch it.
If you talk about this secret,
I'll kill you.
Quiet, come in.
Take this paper.
Wait outside, I'll bring you a gun.
"This impoverished people,"
"moved by harsh,
positive desperation,"
"is here today to ask"
"the good government
of the Constitution of France..."
If anyone sees you, shoot.
Leave by the lower path.
Hide that paper.
Ready!
Aim!
Fire!
Chop the others off too,
for all the towns around here.
Let it be a warning to them!
This is how they'll end up...
all the King's enemies!
Long Live the King!
I give my name to Giovine Italia,
an association of men
holding the same faith,
and I swear to consecrate myself
to constitute a nation, Italy
which is One, Independent,
Free, a Republic,
and to carry out
the instructions given to me
in the spirit of Giovine Italia,
by men like myself,
who represent the union of brothers,
and to keep its secrets,
even at the cost of my life.
I do so swear, invoking upon me,
the wrath of God,
the abomination of men,
the infamy of perjury
if I betray all or part of my oath.
I give my name to Giovine Italia,
an association of men
holding the same faith...
I give my name to Giovine Italia,
an association of men
holding the same faith...
Ladies and gentlemen,
may we have silence, please.
PARIS
Thank you.
Vincenzo Bellini has been engaged
by the Paris Opera House.
The French may be forgiven
their volubility.
Now they will tire
of Constitutional Monarchy,
as they did of Absolute Monarchy
and then the Republic in all forms,
then the Empire, then the Monarchy...
For us Italians, it is not amusing.
Our liberation depends
on the French nation.
One day it will see
it is unworthy of such a mission
and will change its ways.
It will be what it should have been
and what we hope it will be.
Never fear, as always,
France will come to Italy's aid.
Marquis,
France has only aided us
when our ruin forestalled its own.
We have no debts of gratitude.
And we'll not accept
a graciously granted freedom.
What a sharp tongue!
Let's now hear our friend's music.
She's an extremely
seductive creature.
You can hope for a gallant adventure,
but don't fall in love.
She's seductive, but denies herself
at the crucial moment.
Might she have syphilis?
With the lives she and her husband
led, it's the least to expect!
It's time, let's go.
Here you are, Baron!
Princess, these are my friends.
We're friends of Mr...
Filippo Strozzi.
Let's speak Italian then.
Your Mr. Strozzi imbues us with hope
that one day
we'll be part of the same nation,
we who speak the same language.
It's precisely this
we love about him, isn't it?
The inspired faith of Mazzini.
Most of Europe's police forces
know that Filippo Strozzi
is Mazzini's code name.
You run no risk in this house,
nor does he.
Tell me.
Three years ago
you generously financed
the attempted insurrection
of the Sect of True Italians.
- And I should finance
this idea of Mazzini's too. - Yes.
Wasn't that defeat enough?
The True Italians are a sect
of rogues, we despise them.
They are ridiculous
compared to Mazzini's plan!
Sects, secret societies,
conventicles don't aid our cause.
There are few of you and
you're quarrelsome, ponder it well.
The most important thing
is to have faith.
- In God?
- In the people!
Do you know any plebeians,
apart your farmers and servants,
who certainly won't
open their hearts to you?
You have the look of gentry,
you own lands.
Yes, especially olive groves.
Our friend is in Giovine Italia
and he's a peasant's son.
We'll be giving him
the money we collect in France.
I see, wait a moment.
Shut up, those are secrets.
Here, read this.
This was put on the facade
of my building in Milan.
Even if I wanted to, I'm unable
to give you any money.
The Austrian governor hinders
the access to my patrimony.
You must regain possession,
for yourself
and for our cause.
I have no faith in this expedition.
But I'll have you meet
someone who can help you.
Not to please Mazzini,
who spreads bad rumors about me,
but for the passion
I read in your eyes.
Come with me, I'll introduce you
to Marquis Rosales.
Paris, huh?
- What do you do in Paris?
- We work with a physician.
- Why are you going to Turin?
- We're looking for squill.
It's an herb needed
for an expensive medicine.
The purest anywhere is near Turin.
Let's go.
Two, three, four, five,
six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
TURIN
- Salvatore, Rosa's coming up.
- Alright.
Did you get it all?
- All set, you'll sew that yourselves?
- Sure.
Get moving.
Salvatore, how do you like it here?
- Not bad.
- And Rosa?
She's getting used to it,
she may have a job with a milliner.
Then she might like this.
It's a gift from Paris.
Thank you, Angelo.
It's very elegant.
I don't know...
There.
Never forget,
we're brothers.
How've you dressed my Salvatore?
Looks like a ladies' man, huh?
- Did I cut the squill right?
- Yes.
We prepared it like you said.
- The doctor in Paris will be glad.
- I'll set the table.
- Don't, we're leaving right away.
- Won't you stay a while?
- I made 'cavatielli' pasta.
- Stay a bit longer.
No, the council thinks it's not wise,
we'll go to the designated Inn
and leave tomorrow at dawn.
- Martyrdom.
- Resurrection.
Mr. Tambasco,
this brother comes from Parma,
his name's Antonio Gallenga,
but we'll call him Procida,
listen to him carefully.
He wants to make an attempt
on the Savoy King's life.
Carlo Alberto?
He can't deceive liberals,
and then hunt and execute them.
Carlo Alberto must die
and I'll die with him.
There's no other way to get close
and stab him in the heart.
I've studied my plan well.
- What does Mazzini say?
- I met him in Geneva.
He gave me the name of Procida.
He got me a false passport
to get to Turin
and he put me in contact
with your council as my base.
- What should I do?
- Procida needs a weapon.
- He wants to stab him.
- In fact, he needs a dagger.
It's impossible to get a weapon
in Turin at the moment.
What should I do?
Steal a knife from a kitchen?
I said it was impossible in Turin.
Go to Mazzini in Geneva
and he'll give you a dagger.
- Why doesn't he go?
- He's too well-known.
Besides, the council
wants a third brother
to receive what will become a seal.
You've just arrived,
the police don't know you.
- But I still have to receive...
- Trust.
Carlo Alberto's death
will fire our uprising,
all our efforts will be given
an extraordinary boost.
This is your passport,
you'll leave tomorrow.
It's an outrage.
They're ridiculing the King!
The King in a brothel...
This play is immoral!
Just like "Hernani"!
We want verses, not this trash!
They're interrupting again?
With the excuse of Classicism,
they want to stop all progress!
Here's the real poetry.
Wig-wearers!
Close the curtain!
- Brigands!
- Yes, and proud of it.
Call the gendarmes!
Let them continue!
Let them act!
Respect the actors' work.
Stop!
Let them act!
GENEVA
Have a seat, Tambasco.
Would you like tea?
No, thank you,
I must leave right away.
So,
how are preparations
going in Turin?
Sir,
there are few of us,
and the police are everywhere.
Sometimes I'm afraid
to talk to the other brothers,
I'm not sure I can trust them.
Don't worry, the councils
are under my authority.
Keep fear under control,
it can be dangerous.
Look at Procida.
Men like him should give us courage.
When my fraternal friend here
presented his project to me,
I objected, argued.
I tried all I could to dissuade him.
But that boy isn't afraid of dying.
He is one whose determination stands
between God and conscience,
and whom Providence puts
on earth to teach despots
their power can end
by the hand of a single man.
I suffer thinking
of our friend's sacrifice,
but I know, in this way,
he'll begin a second life,
not only in Heaven,
but also among men.
He knows this
and it is a thought
which will comfort him as he dies.
Ours is a rough road.
You know,
they jailed my dearest friend
to force him to betray me.
He said nothing
and as soon as he was alone
he broke a piece of metal
from the door,
sharpened it and cut his jugular.
The guards found him
in a pool of blood.
He died despairing of men
and without being stirred
to revenge by any word of mine.
His corpse is always before my eyes.
Go, my friend,
the road is rough,
but the reward is bright.
May God be with you.
May I see it?
- It's barely sketched.
- Please.
You really don't deserve it.
For my playing?
For the way ideas play in your head.
No one has ever drawn my portrait.
The expedition to Savoy will fail,
Mazzini recruits rich middle-class.
Class conflict is necessary.
Mazzini wants no terror or blood.
But he had two spies murdered!
They were surely plebeians,
Mazzini doesn't spill blue blood.
Why do you insist with this story?
We know the police spread this rumor.
He didn't have those spies killed.
What harm would it have been?
It's a crime against all law.
The law? I damn the law.
Laws on property, who cares?
We don't own anything!
Laws on justice? To defend what?
Laws on freedom?
Without work, tomorrow we're dead.
Revolution or nothing.
Domenico, there's
no equality without revolution!
So what about fraternity, freedom?
A betrayer is no brother.
Our political and moral creed...
I'd almost say a religious creed,
is expressed in just one word.
Equality!
Equality of political rights.
Our final and permanent objective:
equality of social condition.
That's our battle.
We could experiment,
unite the farmers
to cultivate farmland together.
They haven't enough brains
for these experiments!
Alright, but for all
the problems brought to bear
on the farmers of lower Lombardy,
the landowner could be of help,
looking into
what happens on his land!
Examining renters contracts
to obtain more regard for the poor.
Possessing lands
can't include such hassles!
It must!
Are landowners limited only
to the possession of State bonds?
"May the spice of our kindness"
"be not such grave torments,"
"but mild distain and mild refusal,"
"fights and wars to be followed,"
"restoring the heart,"
"by either peace or respite."
Thank you for staying
with me so late.
I was very depressed.
I understand you.
If men of such distinction
are indifferent to the farmers...
One must live among the farmers,
something none of them do.
The inert find it hard
to lift a finger
and inertia is a filthy sore!
When Angelo and I arrived in Paris,
the revolution felt in the air.
There was a fervor, an excitement...
I don't know why,
but weeks are passing, months
and the goal seems more distant.
We aren't made for deceit
and truth at the same time.
Little by little we tire
of the cold we find
in what appears to be ardent
and bright.
The fault is within ourselves,
but we don't realize it.
In calling illusion, truth
and truth, illusion,
we let ourselves be transported
by the stream without looking back.
I'll let you rest, you must be tired.
- Good night, Cristina.
- Good night.
See if he's in there.
- Well?
- He's not.
Let's go.
- Well?
- He's not inside.
In fact, the hearth is cold.
Did you look in the barn?
- Nothing.
- Let's look in the hay loft.
Damned Gallenga!
Where can he be?
- He must be around here.
- He knew he shouldn't be seen.
Call him!
I have something to tell you.
I'm expecting a baby.
I have to talk to you.
Not even my wife
should know these things,
but I can't stand it anymore,
I have to tell someone.
One, two, three, four, five,
six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
With this, it's 30,000.
So you met Mazzini?
Quiet!
He's a very rigorous man,
but we can't talk here,
Rosa mustn't know.
Salvatore, are you scared?
No, I would be if we were
attacking the ships in Genoa,
or going to fight at the border.
- There'll be fighting in Turin too.
- It'll never happen.
No fighting either in Genoa
or at the border.
First, we were supposed to leave
in October, to do a blitz.
Then in November, then December,
meantime the General
was gambling
the expedition money away.
This is February,
the police knows everything by now,
there are spies everywhere,
anyone can betray you.
And then there's Gallenga.
Mazzini was convinced
he'd kill Carlo Alberto.
How did it go?
Gallenga shuffled around,
saying he had to perfect the plan,
meantime he went around
boasting what he was planning.
- Quiet!
- So the plan became known.
The council got him
a house in the country
where he stayed a few weeks
and then disappeared.
Everybody's disappearing,
of the 1 ,200 who should be
in the expedition,
there's now less than half.
- What are you saying?
The Swiss police caught the Poles
and seized the weapons
and the German volunteers were
broken up before they could unite.
- How do you know all this?
- I told you, it's all out!
- There are spies everywhere!
- The spies talk to you?
The spies spread the news they want.
It must be a tactic, they're
hiding daylight, it's all false.
I don't believe it!
We have to wait and see.
We'll see.
Let's pass down under here.
Hold it.
Here are the weapons.
Are they all there?
What, don't you trust me?
Want to count them?
No, let's get out of here.
He was very touched
while telling me his story.
Just listen to it,
it's such an incredible story.
If you want some more, sir...
This story is really incredible,
no jokes.
- As soon as he goes out...
- Where is he going?
It's you? You scared me.
Tomorrow we burn Savoy and the fire
will spread to all of Europe!
- You're drunk.
- I'm drunk with joy.
Kiss me.
Where are you?
Come here!
Let's stay together!
Sir.
General Ramorino
said the expedition is over.
He's given orders to the troops
to break up and go home.
Where is he?
I must speak to him.
He left over an hour ago.
Damn him!
Do you intend to give me
the amount I ask, or not?
I don't intend to.
Princess,
you have an income
of 600,000 lire at your disposal.
Where did you get
this ridiculous information?
From my maid?
I won't give you anything, Angelo,
your insurrection failed.
Doesn't your father send you money
from the income of your land?
If you think you can arm these men,
pay from your own pocket.
My father stopped sending me money,
his excuse is
the crops got destroyed.
But I'm not going back.
And you won't help me.
The Belgiojoso school!
- What do you mean?
- There's immorality in Milan.
The Belgiojoso school's responsible.
You people from Lombardy
don't have the Republic at heart.
The truth is,
I strive for a government
guided by a beggar's son,
I strive for democracy,
the only one worth
risking a revolution for.
But to found a democratic government,
wanting it isn't enough,
the people must be ready.
Educating a people
isn't done in a day!
It takes time and energy.
But you and those bloodthirsty ones
seducing you
insist on a dagger to free
a people who'll never follow you
because they don't understand you!
- No!
The first effect
of the revolution
will be to split wealth
in equal parts for all.
Although ignorant, they'll rise up,
at least out of selfishness.
And then what will they do
with this revolution?
You can't tell a people
you're free,
you must say: "Here are the boundaries
between slavery and freedom."
You have to spread light
in their minds.
Make them aware
of their rights and duties.
Princess...
do you think you know
more than Charles Teste,
Voyer d'Argenson, Auguste Blanqui?
I have no definite certainties,
Mr. Angelo Cammarota.
When I use the word "believe"
I'm expressing hope.
But I can't stand you an instant more
repeating the words of that Bernard
and of his teachers,
as if they were...
I despise you, Angelo.
But be aware
that these friends of yours
undermined the expedition
through doubt and sarcasm.
Traitors undermined it!
I was mistaken about you, Angelo.
Farewell.
- What's his name?
- Saverio.
Like the overseer,
may he rest in peace.
Cheers!
I'm happy you're here too.
The Lord is merciful,
He always sends nice gifts.
I'm glad to see you.
May God bless the earth you tread,
but, remember, only good deeds.
Father Carlo,
you know I have my own ideas.
But there aren't just atheists in our
family, take Carmine for instance.
Domenico too has dedicated himself
to a good cause.
Yes, but some give with joy,
like Carmine.
And that's their reward,
because through those hands,
God speaks to us.
Through those eyes,
He smiles upon the earth.
But there's lots of anger here too.
Anyway, today's a day of feasting.
And Carmine will make a good priest.
Could I taste a little wine then?
Salvatore, you didn't offer
any wine to Father Carlo?
- They didn't give you a drink!
- To Saverio's health.
Angelo, what are you doing there?
- Come dance with us?
- No.
Look what you've come to!
Don't be so unsociable!
Arduino, which one's
your girlfriend?
I'll introduce her.
Come on, let's dance.
Let's see if you can dance.
Leave her alone, are you nuts?
- Back off, leave him alone.
- I ask your forgiveness!
See why I don't dance?
- Because you're bigots.
- Shut up, Angelo, go away.
Domenico, take Angelo away!
Come here, you stop too!
Play!
- Nice party!
- Get out of here!
Come on, play!
Dance! All of you dance!
Dance!
You spent two years in poverty
while they were living high
and now you let them
ruin your son's party!
You're wretched!
May I?
Come on in, Angelo.
Nice party.
Thank you.
I thank your mother,
she was very generous.
Did you see
all the beautiful fruit she sent?
So, you're staying here
and doing your father's job?
That's how it goes,
it's best this way.
I'm the only one left
to support my whole family.
The new overseer.
Did you see the council about it?
- No.
- I know.
They asked me
to explain your behavior.
What is it, are you my keeper?
If I were, I wouldn't let you hide
when there's a need to fight!
- What?
- I know everything.
You were in with
the dirtiest spies in Turin!
- You don't know a thing!
- You've disgraced our group!
- You're a traitor!
- You're false and a liar!
You've always despised me,
but now I despise you!
Come here, my Lord Angelo.
Want to see something?
Look here.
Do we abolish this?
Start a revolution right here?
- What is it?
- Don't you know?
Don't you know your families
steal oil from the farmers?
If you don't know, I'll tell you,
the overseer will tell you.
You bastard!
- I did it.
- What?
Salvatore was a spy, a traitor.
He sold out to the police,
he's been punished.
You're insane.
Mercy is the weapon of cowards,
history must see them as cowards,
betrayers, traitors like that rat!
An exemplary punishment was needed.
Revolutionary virtue is ruthless!
Mazzini would never have allowed
such infamy.
- He'd have struck the first blow!
- No.
This is no infamy,
it's an act ofjustice.
We made an oath.
Don't forget that.
Give me a clean shirt,
I have to leave right away.
When even your hopes
have been dashed,
not seven times,
but seventy times seven,
never repudiate hope.
When an attempt
is made without success,
we must look around,
look within ourselves
and reflect carefully.
Discover and admit
the mistakes made
and see where they came from.
Look for ways to put things right.
Then start again
from the beginning
and a third time and a fourth,
until you achieve it.
Ours is a war, a deadly war,
which has been fought for years,
for centuries,
and you think you'll win it
with the first battle.
Search them
and put their things here.
"I heard nothing more
about Angelo,"
"but during these years of conspiracy
I've always thought of you, Cristina."
"News reached me about your
contribution to the Roman Republic,"
"about the hospitals
you've organized"
"for the volunteers wounded
in battle,"
"and about the joy
in the eyes of those boys."
"The Republic in Rome, the Pope
fleeing with his court of bishops,"
"Mazzini proclaiming
universal suffrage,"
"the lands handed over
to the farmers."
"We couldn't have imagined
anything more grand."
"Italy was coming to being,
Cristina."
"We would become a united Italy,
free, republican, democratic."
"I had set out
to reach Garibaldi's army,"
"but I was ambushed."
"I fled and almost at the border,
I was arrested."
"I'm serving a 30-year sentence
for association with a sect,"
"hoarding of weapons
and armed insurrection."
Long Live the King...
Long Live the King...
"This is perhaps the last letter
I'll be able to send secretly."
"Please know
I've never stopped fighting"
"and I know that a nation will
never be free and independent"
"except through buying this freedom
with our blood."
"Your most devoted
and faithful Domenico."
MONTEFUSCO,
KINGDOM OF THE TWO SICILIES
Here you are!
Some come from Ischia,
some from Procida,
or from Nisida.
A penal settlement
for crimes of every type.
You're no longer
with the Camorra here,
there's no sea here,
we're at Montefusco here.
The King has declared this prison
a remarkable one!
You'll be locked up,
State criminals that you are.
I was raised on tobacco,
gambling, wine and swearing,
but I can read and write.
So I can make my reports,
but I never read.
Reading is a waste of time.
Makes a guy end up like you.
You're all scholars,
look at your ruin!
Damned pen and paper,
ink and all the books on Earth.
They've scrambled your minds.
Never ask for books,
or anything to write with.
You mustn't correspond
to anyone outside of here.
The books you have with you,
and only if you behave,
will be returned to you.
But don't hope for any others.
One: 25 blows
for every scrap of paper.
Two: 25 for every pen or pencil.
Buttocks thrashed bloody
for every illegal letter
that comes in or goes out.
Turn around.
Take them away.
Sit down, all of you.
How are you?
They beat us to a pulp
and crammed us into a livestock cart.
Us too.
Worst was, most of us
had believed the guards.
They were hoping to regain freedom.
Did you see?
They even brought Carlo Poerio here.
Have you ever met him?
Years ago, in Paris,
in Princess Belgiojoso's salon.
Come and see, Giovanni!
Domenico, sir, you come and see too.
No.
- Want to make the bell ring?
- Give me a coin.
You're throwing bread away?
Shut up, she's my hope
when I get out of here.
She smiled at you!
Since you got your Dante back,
you don't talk to anyone anymore.
It's such a consolation for me
to read these verses again.
Although the book's
in such bad shape.
Would you like to eat with us today?
No, you already know, I'd rather not.
- Forgive me.
- You forgive me, my friend.
I have a bad disposition.
- The gentlemen send you this.
- Thanks a lot!
I sewed the guard's jacket
and he gave me this bread.
- No, thank you.
- Take it. - Thanks.
Domenico, come with me!
Domenico, sir?
The other day Nisco
was put into the infirmary,
his mother told him
to pretend to be sick
so the doctor
could give him this message.
You can hardly read it,
sweat has bleached it,
but we managed to make it out.
There are maneuvers
to bring the French back to Naples.
They're really serious this time.
Ferdinando would be exiled
and Bonaparte would come.
Luciano Murat's name is rumored.
The Neapolitan patriots
aren't sure what to do.
This means that someone
believes this is the path to follow.
The note's addressed to you,
it's your opinion they want.
Right!
The proposal for Murat is crazy.
The new French emperors
are just a bland copy of Napoleon.
Ferdinando must fall
before there can be a King of Italy
and the King of Italy must
be Italian, he must be a Savoy.
What do you think?
I'm here because I believe
in the Republic and democracy.
Don't ask my opinion about crowns.
We're here too, that should be enough
for you to deign an opinion.
Once all liberals,
even those in the North,
moderates or democratic,
monarchists or republicans, everyone,
believed that to found
a modern State in Italy
the initiative
should come from Naples.
When there was talk of the Savoys,
more bigoted than the Bourbons,
no one thought our fate
should be entrusted to them.
Is it worth our suffering
to see the son of that traitor
Carlo Alberto succeed Ferdinando?
What is tiny Piedmont compared
to the great southern territories?
Listen,
it's reality
that hastens the situation.
I argued to make
the Bourbon monarchy constitutional.
I hoped it might lead
the unification process.
And now?
I too am convinced
that the unification of Italy
either comes about shortly,
under the Savoys,
or it will never happen.
Don't drag it out,
the round will pass by soon.
It's decided, the answer is no.
My brother Alessandro wrote:
"Oh Italy, no foreigner
has been generous with you."
May Piedmont be,
forever and always, our North Star.
Keep together.
Come on, move it!
You've got an hour.
What are you looking at? Move!
Come on!
Francesco, sir?
Did you know
that Mellucci is a sorcerer?
He knows how to fly us out of here.
Are you serious?
I believe in these things,
don't joke.
I'm not, he can't do it
only because the bars
are in the shape of a cross.
Sorcery can't work.
Damned crosses!
Pass the bowls around.
Domenico, sir,
are you coming in there too?
- Today we all eat the same.
- I'll come when it's ready.
Meat for everyone today.
Now don't say His Majesty
doesn't care about you!
Not much meat left.
Can I do something?
You can grate some cheese.
Today's Easter, everyone gets meat.
Nice glasses!
I feel we'll be home by next Easter.
It's a real holiday today.
What's going on? Why the bell?
Shout: "Long Live the King!"
You have to shout it!
Long Live the King!
Ready.
Aim.
Will you shout it or not?
Long Live the King!
Fire!
This was the noise?
It can happen, my men are zealous.
Let's go.
- There's a problem with your legs?
- No.
You're not walking normally.
We know you've had problems
with your sight, too.
Wouldn't you like to be treated?
You risk going blind.
Rumor has it that Ferdinando
is considering a generous act,
he'd like to free many prisoners
on the day of the Assumption,
from among those
who've asked for a pardon.
Sorry, a pardon
or a grace from the Virgin?
Don't be so funny.
We know you're hotheaded.
Why not?
Why do you think
it can't be done this way?
A document like this
would be a political act.
I don't think so, it might seem
an act of cowardice.
Stop, we've demonstrated
what there was to demonstrate!
I can't stand being given
lessons on dignity.
A pardon, petitioned collectively,
would be compatible
with the dignity of everyone.
Domenico, sir, what are you doing?
You shouldn't treat
even a worm like that.
Forgive me, all of you.
That's how
the Mazzini followers behave!
Skunks and traitors!
You did right, Domenico.
- Shut up.
- Yeah, shut up, the two of you.
They'll be sent home, understand?
- You're right.
- Knock it off!
The Marquis weakened for a moment.
They'll never petition
the Bourbon for a pardon.
These men are monarchists,
Savoy or Bourbon, no matter,
they're in cahoots with the King.
Stop it, it's true they're
monarchists,
but they've been chained like us
for all these years.
Let's try not to become brutish.
To the Chamber!
Lock it!
It's a trick!
They break the rules
and are taken to the Chamber
where they make an agreement
with the commander.
- Are you sure?
- Yes.
I'd hidden a scrap of paper
under a rock, it's gone.
Only someone in here
could have taken it.
- They're betraying us.
- Damn them!
They'll ruin all our sacrifice.
They were holed up like owls,
now you'll see how they bite us.
Baron?
Do you know
I petitioned for a pardon?
I know.
My family needs me back.
- My wife is dying.
- You told me.
I have to go home!
Calm down.
Don't think I'm collaborating
with these owls,
as Lord Sigismondo calls them.
I'm no informer.
No, you're not an informer
or a coward.
But our only weapon
is not to petition Ferdinando.
Look at Michele.
He's seriously ill.
And he's here because he knows
there's no other way.
Good luck.
Lord Sigismondo of Castromediano,
Duke of Morciano
and Marquis of Cavallino.
What is it?
The commander is waiting for you:
you'll be leaving too.
It's impossible he signed
a plea in secret.
Sigismondo has important family.
Not only at court,
also among the clergy.
What? Quiet, he's coming.
So?
He began with the usual story:
"The sovereign is clement,"
"he pardons those who deserve it..."
I said I refuse his clemency,
I didn't ask for it.
He grinned,
as if he didn't believe me.
Do you think the King
would release Castromediano,
without being sure
of convincing him?
Maybe he was reassured
by the Bishop of Lecce.
It's all a farce!
It's always the same story,
the gentleman saves face
and comes out nice and clean.
Think he'd have told us
if he'd petitioned for pardon?
Traitor!
It's not true!
- You believe me?
- Certainly.
Do you believe me, Domenico?
I didn't ask for anything.
Try to rest.
Lord Sigismondo,
now that you'll be free, please,
go to Monte Sant'Angelo,
and tell my overseer
not to abandon my farm.
You know, abandoned houses are lost.
Stop it, leave him alone.
Lord Sigismondo, you can do
what you like down there...
Stop it!
They're inflicting the worse kind
of torture on him!
They want us to believe
he's a traitor, to divide us.
Go away!
Calm down, try to rest.
Yes.
Are you ready?
Mr. Domenico will accompany me.
At your orders...
Duke, sir!
I can't stand the idea
of traveling with them.
- I don't deserve that.
- They're unfortunates.
Let's get going.
- Farewell.
- Farewell.
Duke, come along.
Close the gate.
Get moving!
Duke, sir!
No soup or bread as of tomorrow,
then we'll see
if you still feel like celebrating.
Let's go.
They let me bring newspapers.
You can read for yourselves.
Could I speak to the Duke?
We'd like to know
what's happening outside.
We'd like to know
if the traitors are free.
Lord Sigismondo is back here,
as you see, he's no traitor.
What about the others?
Stop it, he should rest,
get some rest yourselves.
His stay in Naples was a fight
against every sort of perfidy.
- How's the Duke?
- Fine, go to sleep.
Why don't we have them come in too?
Our secret meetings
have such value
in those poor wretches' eyes,
who've suffered even more than us.
We have the memory
of conversations, readings,
we can even think of a future.
Instead, what's in their memories?
Their fields, irretrievable work,
lost families.
I'd say to call them too.
You, Baron, what do you think?
Yes, we could call them.
What do they understand
about the intrigue of Cavour,
the intentions of France,
the secret contacts with exiles?
Let's first try
to understand and discuss
what backing to count on,
then we'll explain it to them.
We'll talk it over
in the next few days.
So, the newspapers?
Read for yourselves.
Domenico, this is for you.
There's an article by your friend
Cristina of Belgiojoso,
about what happened in Rome when
they tried to set up the Republic.
You'll understand a lot of things.
Great news!
Cavour is sending troops to Crimea.
So Piedmont will have the support
of Europe's major countries.
So, it's the right moment!
That is, if Mazzini doesn't come up
with one of his crazy ideas.
A good bottle is in order!
Look what I've been keeping.
Watch for the guards.
- Long Live United Italy!
- To Piedmont!
- Long Live the Savoys!
- To the war in Crimea!
- Cheers!
- Cheers!
To King Vittorio Emanuele.
LONDON
Cammarota, the vaults are damp,
how can the fuses not go out?
This fuse has been studied to keep
burning at the water's surface.
How did you come by these maps?
The Cathedral Chapter financed
some work on the vaults.
Did you participate?
No, one of the French brotherhood
was in the team
that had to clean this wing.
So, he got them for you...
Why all these questions? I'll place
the fuses, even short ones.
How important are our lives compared
to liberation from the tyrant?
Maybe your friend
doesn't want too many victims.
There may be hundreds.
So? How many thousands died
because of Napoleon I?
How many will we count
under this one called Napoleon III?
Perhaps you have the artistic aspect
of the cathedral at heart.
For me, you could have
taken these papers
directly from the Ministry of police.
Who guarantees you're not a spy?
What else can we expect?
The president
of a democratic republic
has become a tyrant,
he has people call him Emperor!
Isn't that worth a cathedral
and a few hundred dead?
Listen to me carefully, Angelo.
We decide what to do and when.
In this type of thing,
it's best to use your head
not your belly.
I made the mistake,
by violating Mazzini's advice
not to have anything to do with you.
It was the last chance.
Gentlemen...
We'll meet again.
- Good evening.
- Good evening.
What is it?
Opium.
It wasn't easy to find this quantity.
And above all, it's very expensive.
It's no drug for our pockets,
my dear Crispi.
What did this man from France want?
Show his plan
to assassinate Napoleon III.
Mr. Bernard?
It's you.
I've thought about what you said.
Finally! So?
You can count on me.
- And Mazzini?
- He means nothing to me anymore.
Tell Mazzini that Orsini
no longer recognizes any master,
and will no longer let you judge
his speeches in advance.
He won't be an instrument
and speaker for other's ideas.
Mr. Bernard!
Good evening.
Let's sit here.
May I introduce another
Italian exile, Angelo Cammarota.
He fought in Rome.
Wonderful! It was generous of you
to bring champagne.
Thanks to you,
my conferences are crowded.
You deserve it,
you're the talk of the press.
Politicians, scholars,
artists feel honored
to be presented
to the mocker of Austria!
To Orsini!
To Italy!
I invited Francesco Crispi too,
I've heard he's very courageous.
Do you know him?
Not well, but I like him,
because he's Sicilian, determined
and you see him around,
not like the prophet,
who never shows his face.
They say Crispi
is faithful to Mazzini,
but I think he's smart enough
to understand
the cause needs new nourishment.
If the attacks on Napoleon III
keep failing...
It's important for it to succeed?
Certainly.
Napoleon III is the enemy
of Italian freedom
and supports governments
that keep Italy a slave.
If he falls, all nations,
starting with France,
will rise up
to free enslaved peoples,
your own being the first.
The one who dares to do this
will be Europe's glorious liberator,
the initiator of a new era.
Why don't you French try?
It's our duty now to state the truth.
The truth?
- What truth?
- The absolute truth.
On which the reasons
for all our actions depend,
all our gestures, everything.
I never thought
I'd hear religious talk here.
I don't mean God.
It's not necessary,
if a people doesn't feel
it holds the truth within itself,
it doesn't believe itself destined
to act in the name of this truth,
it will never be a great people.
A great people
will never accept a secondary role,
it must demand leadership.
That's what I mean,
the truth, not God.
What do you think about this?
I'd like to act with other Italians,
be led by an Italian hero.
- When did you last see Italy?
- Almost 10 years ago.
I fought in Lombardy in 1848,
then I became an exile,
working as a porter,
I've carried so many trunks!
Taking a few home with you too!
Yes, I spent six months in jail,
but a man like you
can understand these weaknesses.
- Alcohol, and women...
- I know how to fight!
The good of my country
is in my heart, nothing else.
- A slice of apple?
- Thank you.
I'm certain of your worth
and I'm grateful
for your consideration,
but I now intend
to follow a political strategy,
offering Cavour my services
for the Piedmont cause.
His king, Vittorio Emanuele,
may be worthy of trust.
Your choice is quite surprising.
Aren't you a republican?
My unalterable principles
are republican,
but it's time to push Piedmont
out of its indecision.
How will you contact Cavour?
I've already written to him.
The revolution of peoples
is losing a saint.
Perhaps the greatest.
Perhaps the last.
Get out!
Cavour is right,
you're a bunch of fanatics.
Dangerous, ferocious,
fanatical murderers.
Dismal imbeciles.
- Mr. Gallenga.
- Who are you?
I saw you at the Worcell's
and followed you.
I've finally found you.
What do you want from me?
- Did Mazzini send you?
- I don't want to talk about him.
Not directly at least.
May I come in?
My name's Angelo Cammarota,
but that means nothing to you.
I don't know why, in your book,
you confessed
you wanted, as a youth, to attempt
the life of King Carlo Alberto.
The love for truth, that's why.
See how I've been re-paid?
I had to leave Parliament
and Piedmont.
All this for
having served the country,
I've scandalized.
Hypocrisy reigns supreme among us.
In those years it was known that
among the ranks of Giovine Italia
some wanted to kill Carlo Alberto.
Now that I've written it,
this old story
is a scandal, it's all the talk,
it's become a national case.
But I'm a journalist,
a well-known writer.
Maybe you wrote it
because you hate Mazzini
and wanted to strike him
in some way.
Why do you say that?
I wrote him for years,
loyally expressing my disagreement.
He never replied.
It's not bad to change your mind.
Those who believe
in the unity of Italy
have stopped professing
to be republicans and conspiring.
Don't worry,
I hate him too, that Mazzini.
He stabbed Italy in the heart.
He's a clown, a coward.
I remember him well.
A few days after the fall
of the Roman Republic
he was in Geneva,
eating with gusto at the "Balance".
You know how many men
he had sacrifice their lives?
And what did he do?
The courage to take
from its precious holster
that gun, the gift
of some rich English woman,
is something he's never had.
You talk very well,
but a bit too much, Mr. Gallenga.
I won't ask why you extinguished
in your heart, that firm decision,
although it's a mystery to me
and a deep pain.
Your conscience bears the failure
of the insurrection in Savoy.
What are you saying?
You're crazy, it's something
from 30 years ago.
- The insurrection...
- Ended in a bloodbath.
But it's not what I want to discuss.
Tell me about the betrayal
of Salvatore Tambasco.
Who's he?
Salvatore Tambasco.
Don't pretend not to remember.
I don't know
what betrayal you mean.
It's an old story,
he died many years ago.
I won't allow you to let another
I want you to say how
Salvatore Tambasco betrayed
as we were preparing
the insurrection in Savoy.
He was simply appointed
to receive a dagger from Mazzini.
Simply appointed!
A simple farmer
is brought before Mazzini
and you say
he was simply appointed?
- You have to say what you know.
- I don't know anything.
- You're crazy, possessed!
- Talk!
Try Melegari, he may know something!
- Where is he?
- In Parliament.
You're all in Parliament.
Piedmont is too far, I can't go.
Refresh your memory,
I'll be back.
"Considering Mazzini's ideas,
it can be said that he wants..."
Here I'd suggest:
"In the midst
of Mazzini's confused ideas,"
"it can still be said he wants..."
Yes, we'll correct it like that.
I'll do it.
Sir,
what do you know
about this Cammarota?
Why? Are you suspicious of him?
He's never convinced me.
He was a Mazzini follower,
with Giovine Italia until the 1830s.
At a certain point
he must have had problems,
because he ended up
in the Foreign Legion,
making the rank
of second lieutenant.
I always refused
to join the Foreign Legion.
How can you swear allegiance
to the French emperor?
It was before Louis Napoleon
buried the Roman Republic,
when many Italians
believed in aid from the French.
In Rome things became clear,
he fought valiantly.
I trust him.
The Roman Republic...
that's where Italy was to be begin
and where it all ended.
What did Cavour reply?
I've received no reply.
- I have grave news about Pisacane.
- What is it?
He landed at Sapri
with 300 armed men
and tried to incite the farmers,
but they called the army
and got them slaughtered.
They thought they were brigands,
escaped criminals, wanting
to destroy villages and rape women.
Pisacane killed himself.
Angelo...
I think your soul
bears something terrible,
dirty, bloody
and at the same time,
it makes you ridiculous.
You want to throw yourself
into this crime as a way out.
I don't understand from what.
Didn't you kill
one of your uncle's servants?
Just a poor man, for futile reasons?
- I was a boy.
- We all were.
But then we became murderers
and there's no paradise to gain.
Tomorrow, look for this Rudio.
Antonio!
Gomez!
A strange man approached me,
he asked for my address
on Orsini's behalf, know anything?
Still nothing, but I know
Orsini will be needing you.
Someone will come to you
in the next few days,
don't talk to anyone about it.
Bye!
Are you here on Orsini's behalf?
Yes.
He asked me to speak to you
about an initiative
that could take you abroad
for a while.
Your absence will permit your wife
to receive 12 shillings a week.
My name is Giuseppe Brusca,
born in Montichiari on March 2, 1814.
I'm a laborer,
I have a wife, Benedetta,
and a son, Michele.
- Gomez?
- My name's Nicola Frangipane.
Born in Savona
on October 17, 1810, laborer,
a wife, Maria, and two children,
Giuseppe and Immacolata.
Cammarota.
My name's Marco Del Priore,
born in Salerno on November 20, 1808,
I'm a plumber,
I have a wife, Carmela,
and two children, Bruno and Michele.
Good.
Here are your passports.
Angelo, this is the mercury fulminate
to be poured in the bombs.
The cloth must stay damp,
be very careful.
It's extremely dangerous.
Here's Orsini's address in Paris.
You'll meet him there.
Learn it by heart
and destroy the note.
Fine, go now.
- What are these?
- They're nozzles.
- And this?
- All things for gas.
- Are passports in order?
- Yes.
You can go.
Next.
PARIS
Remove it.
That's enough!
- Enough!
- Shut up!
Ready.
Close it.
Agreed?
We'll meet at the depot
in Rue Rossini.
Wait here.
Wasn't that Crispi?
Certainly not!
Well, look, Angelo Cammarota!
Weren't you in London?
I'm just passing through.
When did you arrive?
A few days ago.
Why are you here?
To visit my family.
You have family in France?
How are they?
- Very well.
- And you?
I'm fine, thank you.
What's this? Get over there!
Gendarmes, over here!
Hands up, or I'll shoot!
It's dangerous, handle it carefully.
Take his gun.
You have lots to tell me...
It was my day off,
I even had Opera tickets, shit!
Take him away.
Be careful with that.
Move along, there's nothing to see.
- Cammarota?
- He's been arrested.
What?
They say an Italian was arrested,
that's all I know, it must be him.
Go!
Your Majesty, please...
This way, Your Majesty.
Death to the assassins!
His Majesty, Napoleon III...
Long Live the Emperor!
So?
Orsini, approach the bench.
Who threw the third bomb
if it wasn't you?
I'd given it to a third Italian
I met in Rue Lepelletier.
You didn't trust yourself
or your courage,
since you entrusted another
with what you should
have done yourself.
A man who's afraid
doesn't talk as I do.
I don't want to compromise others.
But you compromised Bernard,
who's waiting to be tried in London.
Why? Why do you refuse
to name this Italian?
I could, he must be
out of France by now
and far from persecution.
But I don't want to do so.
Rudio.
Did you see Orsini talk with anyone?
No, sir.
You say you came to France
to visit your family
to then go into Italy
where you hoped in a revolution.
Yes, sir.
Did Gomez hope the same thing?
I wouldn't say Gomez
is a man of politics.
He knows nothing
and hopes for nothing.
Alright...
Let's finish the events of the 14th.
- Sit down.
- Thank you.
You followed Orsini.
Yes, but first
I put a gun in my pocket
because we didn't always
agree on things
and I didn't want to be alone
with him and defenseless.
Instead we were out in the street
and he said
we should never separate,
actually, we should reinforce
our old friendship.
That this concerned the revolution
and he was afraid he'd be searched
and wanted to get the bombs
out of his house.
So I, to encourage his trust,
I told him I'd volunteer
to place one.
We went to Orsini's,
it was 7:45 pm.
Then Rudio came.
But I was in a cold state of mind
and since Gomez was late,
Orsini said: "Has he gone to spy?"
You said that yourself!
Rudio, no arguing, don't react.
- Continue.
- It was Orsini, not me.
Then Orsini took a bomb
and put it in Gomez's hand,
since he'd just arrived.
He put another in Rudio's hand,
one to me, two for himself
and he said to go out.
And where did you go?
Defendant Cammarota,
where did you go?
I left them at the corner
of Rue Saint-Honor
and never saw them again.
I was in a hurry
to get rid of my bomb,
because I wanted to go back.
But then I thought the boulevards
were much nicer
so I went there.
I saw lots of soldiers on horseback
and a light...
whitish.
The more I walked,
the brighter the light got.
I didn't know what that meant.
I walked to the end of the street
and I saw the theater lighted up.
I kept going,
the crowd grew bigger and bigger
and I followed it.
And then...
I got to the corner of Rue Rossini
and there I was stopped
by Mr. Hebert,
who knows me.
That's all.
You are going towards God
who forgives you
and you'll find the way of mercy.
So, I give you the last rites.
No, there's no need.
My place is in hell.
Can you do something for me?
- What is it, my son?
- Sit down.
Why does the Holy Father
not renounce his temporal power?
Why not?
May God bless you.
Stand.
Remove your vests.
By order of His Majesty the Emperor,
the Minister of State decrees
that the prisoner Antonio Gomez
is sentenced to hard labor.
Prisoner Carlo Rudio
will have his sentence changed
to life imprisonment.
Prisoners Felice Orsini
and Angelo Cammarota,
in accordance with the law
of June 10, 1853,
for having attempted the life
of His Majesty the Emperor,
have been declared guilty
and sentenced to death by the Court.
Angelo!
Domenico!
You've never loved the Savoys,
Domenico, I know.
But you must recognize that today
Vittorio Emanuele is King of Italy,
of a united Italy,
although still without
Rome and Venice.
The tree has been planted,
yet with diseased roots.
Unity was, for the Italians,
a powerful passion
which overwhelmed all other needs.
I'll remain silent,
until things take a definitive turn,
so not to be accused
of adding oil to the fire.
But the day will come when
I can say all I know and think.
Now Garibaldi wants
to conquer Rome militarily,
against the will
of the Italian government.
I know you'll run to his call.
What's happening
in the South is frightening,
brigands have taken over,
the State doesn't enforce the law
and no one trusts anyone anymore.
My dear Domenico,
look after yourself.
If you go through your village,
which you've not seen in 20 years,
please,
put a flower on Angelo's tomb for me.
Farewell,
your friend Cristina.
- Where are you taking this linnet?
- No one could care for it.
- My wife passed away a month ago.
- I'm sorry.
I said goodbye to the places
of our happiness, and left.
You're from Caserta,
don't you have anyone there?
We had no children,
but spent many years together,
lovely, splendid years.
And now it's finished.
You're young, you'll re-marry soon.
No, it's the world that's finished.
- Don't you see what's happening?
- You're right.
War, revolution, unity of Italy.
These fighters,
when they get up in the morning,
instead of trying to re-do the world,
that's been done and re-done badly,
if they listened
to the silence of that hour...
- You know what I mean?
- I don't really.
The moment when
birds still don't sing.
It's a magical moment,
made of everything and nothing.
Like this linnet.
THE DAWN OF THE NATION
Ladies and gentlemen, we're leaving.
- When you're ready...
- Coming.
- What's this trip got in store?
- Who knows, these days...
All aboard the carriage!
Domenico, sir, when you like!
The next station is Sala Consilina?
In three days.
- I'll meet you there.
- I wouldn't do that.
It's far away, how'll you get there?
- I'll get there.
- You won't.
And I'll lose a place,
you know how many I left behind?
I'll pay in advance
and even leave my knapsack.
As you like.
But I can't wait for you,
get there on time.
Go!
Forget that Spanish girl,
she'll cast a spell on you!
Leave me alone.
I have to get to Palinuro,
they say you can help me.
Go down to the port,
Armando's got a boat going.
Wait, don't be afraid.
I won't hurt you.
I took shelter here to sleep.
I'm going to Centola,
but it got late yesterday,
I was afraid I'd get lost.
Why are you with the goats?
Where are your brothers?
The soldiers killed them.
Soldiers? Why?
They said they were brigands.
- What's your name?
- Lucia.
I'd like a little milk.
Thank you.
Sit down.
- Do you know Father Carmine,
the priest? - I do.
- Does he live in the square?
- No, Don Tiburzio's there.
- Who's he?
- The notary.
And Father Carmine?
In a little house,
I don't know where.
Will I find him in church?
No, the earthquake destroyed it.
Mamma, you're not eating?
This is all we can offer.
We're poor.
What else, if we're
in excommunicated hands?
Not many people around
since the earthquake.
They all left.
I was tutoring only
Don Tiburzio's children in Latin.
And where's Caterina?
She's not here.
She's a servant.
Your sister
is a servant to Don Tiburzio.
Do you know who Don Tiburzio is?
The one who took
our confiscated things.
Nothing to say?
Say something.
At least say you're sorry.
It's your fault
that they got confiscated.
Because you couldn't ask for pardon,
you had to stay in jail,
you had to make Italy.
How long since mamma spoke?
Ten years.
If you want to sleep here,
there's straw bedding.
No, thank you,
I have to leave right away.
Move along!
Stop!
Halt!
- Where are you going?
- Reggio Calabria.
What's up there?
Get off, please.
Give me your documents.
Come on, unload them.
Alright. Thank you.
- Documents?
- Alright!
A soldier!
That's what they deserve!
That's 30 cents each.
Isn't it all included?
No, here you pay to eat and sleep,
but someone will have to sleep
in the hayloft, we're full.
Goodnight.
- I've got these.
- They're worthless.
They're out of circulation,
it's lire now.
I've spent them all,
these are mementos.
What great memories!
- What can we do?
- I'll pay for him.
Please, take this.
Thank you.
I was a tailor in San Leucio.
We had a hundred workers, made
the most beautiful silks in Europe.
I sewed clothes for the most
beautiful noblewomen in the Kingdom.
Now, there's nothing left.
No factory, no work, no silk.
Just poverty, horror and poverty.
You're right,
those from Piedmont
just brought poverty.
But that's no reason
to regret the Bourbons.
If you say so...
Garibaldi's our last hope.
If he gets to Rome,
he'll be powerful again
and we, in the South,
will get our land back.
Those from Piedmont
have to go back home!
- You're a revolutionary.
- Of course.
I believe in the unity of Italy
and you should fight with us!
Quiet!
Keep your voice down.
He's right,
it takes nothing
to call us brigands and shoot us.
Didn't the Bourbons do it too?
My father was killed like that.
He and his comrades
rebelled in Cilento
and were slaughtered as brigands.
The chief rebels
got their heads cut off
and stuck on poles.
The poles were put
in the square in Palinuro.
They were there for over a year.
Luckily my father's wasn't cut off.
Aren't you from Apulia?
Yes.
But I was born in Cilento.
My mother had to escape.
She told me these things.
What was your father's name?
Salvatore Tambasco.
What is it?
What's wrong?
You're pale.
You're sure your father
was killed by the Bourbons?
What do you mean?
Bourbon spies did it,
my mother told me everything.
He was in the Capozzoli gang,
ever heard of them?
Alright...
I'm going to sleep.
I feel very tired.
Goodnight.
What a strange man.
Know anything about him?
You've traveled together.
He's a man...
who doesn't talk much.
I know he's from Cilento
and carries a gun like you.
You have to fight with us,
you've got nothing to lose.
That's not true.
I have that linnet.
Wake up.
Do you have a horse, a mule? Hurry.
It's night, where'll you go,
and you're alone?
- You're sure?
- Yes.
I have a horse.
He's a good one though.
It's all I have, is it enough?
Watch your back!
Domenico, sir!
- Why are you running?
- And why did you follow me?
You knew my father.
I saw it in your face
when I talked about him.
I want to make him proud
and you have to see it.
You're going to join Garibaldi,
I saw the book you carry.
We can go together,
the coast isn't far.
Let's go.
How far could you go on foot?
I couldn't take anymore.
How can you fight this war?
You're an old man.
Old men should fight wars,
if they die, who cares.
I'm so hungry!
- Any cheese left?
- Sure, in the knapsack.
Good!
- Don't want any?
- No, I'll eat later.
Who knows all the junk
you ate in Turin with pa.
Cheese is good there too.
- Maybe even better.
- You're joking!
After we free Rome and Venice,
why not go around Italy?
Up North, it must be nice.
You're sure?
Later.
I'll go get firewood.
Hello!
Know how far to Melito?
It's down the beach.
- Has Garibaldi arrived?
- No, his men are there.
- They're waiting for him.
- Thanks.
Hey, guys! Get ready, we're coming!
You two! Are you already
in a section?
- Not yet.
- Then come with me.
- When do we leave?
- If the General comes, this evening.
Take those two, have them sign up!
- What's your name?
- Vincenzo.
- What do you do?
- I'm a volunteer!
- What do you do in life!
- I do two things.
A cobbler.
I come and go from the Vicariate
and I act.
Giovanni, let's show them.
The Company of the Vicariate!
Quiet!
Opening line.
My deep respects.
Has Your Lordship
ever been here before?
- It's the first time.
- I'm sorry.
Thank you so much.
Here is one's own, one's disposal...
One's-own-disposal makes a law.
Those who are lucky to enter here...
Great luck!
He has to pay a tiny sum
for the French guys.
Who are these French guys?
That's what we call them,
they're in need.
We give them something
and they behave,
they behave,
we behave, everyone behaves.
Listen, I am...
Crispi's in cahoots with the Mafia!
Sorry, I didn't know,
the Knight's having me
make a bad impression!
My deep respects!
How dare you make fun of Crispi?
We're actors, we do this
in the squares of Palermo.
You know what Crispi
did for the unity of Italy?
They're doing nothing wrong.
Crispi is in Parliament
where they make useless speeches,
but they're about to push a cannon
all the way to Rome!
- How dare you?
- What's your name?
What's this?
We can't speak freely even here?
#When Garibaldi calls out the role,#
#all his sons so bold#
#will light the bomb,#
#Red Shirts of Garibaldi...#
Garibaldi, up there!
Long Live Garibaldi!
#...the sun of April,#
#and you showed you were no coward.#
#That's why you are so dear to me,#
#red shirt, rare shirt.#
Long Live Garibaldi!
Rome or Death!
#We'll kick him off his throne,#
#no more popes in Rome.#
#We'll go to St. Peter's,
then to St. Paul's...#
#...we want their heads to roll.#
#The guillotine is in the square,#
#we want their heads to roll...#
The General said
not to respond to Italian fire!
Run, or the Bersaglieri
will kill us all!
Want to die like an idiot? Run!
- Giovanni!
- Shut up!
We're on your side!
Come here, it's safe.
Let's go, it's safe.
Why are you crying?
- Did your friends die?
- He was my comrade too.
You got us killed like animals!
Stop, quiet!
It's not safe here.
We have to stay together,
let's find an escape route.
Come on!
Wait!
Don't be afraid.
- What's your name?
- Nino.
- How old are you?
- 17.
We have to reach the other side,
will you do some scouting?
You're a boy, they won't notice you.
Saverio, give him yourjacket.
We'll be waiting there, don't delay.
I've already seen you,
do you know me?
Try to understand
what they do to deserters.
The boy's back.
Well?
No one's around,
but Garibaldi is dead.
- You're sure?
- A shepherd told me.
We'd better move
before they catch us.
- There'll be an amnesty soon.
- For deserters too?
I think so, I don't know.
What do you care?
Any of you in the regular army?
Me.
- You too?
- Yes.
You too?
You didn't tell me!
Let's go.
Let's stop.
Here's fine.
Got any water?
Mine's empty.
Halt, weapons down and hands up!
Surrender!
Weapons down and hands up!
Weapons down!
Commander!
Look who we found.
- Where were they?
- Here in the convent.
Jumpin' jehosaphat! Lucky!
Check their identities
and if there are any deserters,
shoot them.
You can't, there is an amnesty.
What do you know about amnesty?
Only a court can judge them.
I'm the court here.
Take them away.
Farewell.
Let me die with my comrades!
Ready, aim, fire!
Murderers!
I see the ghosts of the martyrs,
they accuse me of killing them
to resurrect the land of the dead.
Calm down, Giuseppe.
- And if he died?
- You mean Garibaldi?
Don't worry, it's nothing serious.
It's over.
The time for legal action is over,
we have to begin
the extra-legal action.
We have to blow up Rattazzi,
the King, Parliament.
Give me some paper.
"Dear Sigismondo,"
"I came to Parliament as you asked"
"and brought the letter
they fired me with:"
'Dangerous Republican
and fomenter of social disorder'.
"I need to work to live"
"and you've proven to be
the generous man I knew,"
"with your proposal of help."
"But I wanted to see you to talk"
"and question myself,"
"because I find
I'm at the point of departure."
"Our struggle ended in failure"
"and I'd like to unravel the tangle,"
"to see if a wrong interpretation
of those ideas"
"is responsible for what happened:"
"Italy of today is petty,
haughty, murdering."
"Entering Parliament
I realized I'd never know."
I have no other flag to raise.
Mine is the one I raised
when landing
with Garibaldi in Marsala:
Italy, one with Vittorio Emanuele!
Those who want another flag
do not want a united Italy.
The Monarchy unites us,
the Republic would divide us.
We unitarians are,
above all, Monarchists
and we will support the Monarchy
far better than the old Monarchists!
"I saw you from a distance,
Lord Sigismondo."
"Your face was marked
with proud disgust,"
"surrounded as you were
by people who took advantage"
"of the new political situation
to increase their own power."
"This Parliament"
"will not allow discussion
on what each patriot did."
"The exiled and ex-prisoners
will be celebrated equally,"
"like debris to number hurriedly,
whose speeches only bore."
"I left, no one noticed me."
"But I don't count."
"We were many, we were together,
prison couldn't hold us all."
"We should have begun
our fight when we got out."
'We'.
"Sweet word."
"We believed."
Thanks to agreement with France,
Rome is given to the Kingdom of Italy
and becomes its capital in 1871 .
Cristina of Belgiojoso
dies in that same year.
No authorities participate
in her funeral.
Francesco Crispi
becomes Prime Minister in 1887.
He will give Italian politics
an authoritarian turn
launching the country on
a disastrous venture of colonialism.
The stories of Domenico, Angelo
and Salvatore, fictional characters,
partly trace the real events
of conspirators Domenico Lopresti,
Giuseppe Andrea Pieri
and Antonio Sciandra.