The Leopard (2025) s01e03 Episode Script

1
THE LEOPARD
TWENTY YEARS EARLIER
Come on! Move!
Come on! Stupid animals!
Give them to me, Sedara.
They're good. Healthy and strong.
What's this?
It's all I have.
If it's not enough…
then I'll take them back.
Bring the girl outside!
Don Calogero.
Signorina Bastiana.
-Get out! Fuck!
-Breathe!
Breathe!
Get out, you horned devil!
I'm sorry. A girl.
It's better that way.
Much better.
Angelica.
You see? You can do it.
Angelica, who is better than you?
No one, Papa.
Turn around.
Perfect.
Let's go.
I'm sorry they didn't invite you.
Bastards.
Don Calogero Sedara.
Miss Angelica Sedara.
-Princess.
-Don Calogero.
Don Fabrizio.
Angelica?
Angelica!
Prince.
Here it is! The timballo!
-It really is divine, Mayor.
-I know.
Angelica, how many times
have I told you about the timballo?
I can't even begin to describe it.
Probably just as well, Mr. Mayor.
If you can wait a little longer,
you'll see what happens when
the rum jelly comes out, Miss Angelica.
-It's like a sculpture.
-Beautiful and delicious.
How amazing!
Later we could go
for a walk in the garden, if you like.
It's exceptional.
I have asked the Princess for the recipe…
No, the Princess…
But no one will give it to me.
-It's a family secret.
-Rightly so.
-The chicken livers are…
-What's that delicate scent?
Mr. Sedara, your cologne is exquisite.
Angelica, did you like Paris?
Yes. But it feels
like forever since I returned.
The cologne is from Paris.
Angelica's gift.
The whole town is wondering
which way you'll vote.
People keep asking me,
"Where will the Leopard lie?"
We've never seen the need
for elections in Sicily,
I've never voted in my life.
And I certainly don't intend to start now.
Don Fabrizio's title and lands
were given to him by the King.
And therefore, by God.
Unfortunately, the King
is no longer the king.
But God is still God.
Father Pirrone is very glad
you see it that way.
I see. That was…
Is everything alright?
Of course, Concetta.
Do you really believe
Garibaldi and his king
will forget about their victory,
recall their troops
and leave Sicily
if the people vote "No"?
My own view, Prince, is
that the people will not vote "No."
So, you are in favor of it, Mayor Sedara?
Princess, I simply feel
that the people
will be glad to be given a voice,
They'll be happy.
He sounds like Tancredi.
-Do I?
-Exactly the same.
Don Tancredi,
do you indeed
feel the same way as my father?
Yes, I do.
But I also feel the same way as my uncle.
To lose an eye in war
and still not know which side you're on.
That can't be a comfortable position.
That's very true.
How did you lose it?
-Angelica, I don't think…
-Concetta.
There was a small town.
One very similar to this one.
It had been over-run
by the local peasants.
My unit was sent in to reinforce
the company that had
run into problems there.
But, you see,
they hadn't run into problems.
They were the problem.
They were a unit
of newly-recruited Sicilians,
drunk on the power of their new red shirt,
and were pillaging the town.
Father Pirrone, I'm sorry to say
that we found them
as they were pillaging a convent.
And you protected the sisters?
We tried our best, Concetta.
But unfortunately, we weren't able to.
And that's when…
The abbess was thrown from a window.
Oh, dear Lord!
But none of the others
were defiled
or otherwise dishonored.
They were all too old or ugly!
Tancredi!
However, Miss Angelica,
I'm sure the situation
would have been entirely different
had you been among the novices.
It would have taken an entire battalion
to pull them off you.
Tancredi, this isn't a mess hall!
How dare you insult us like this?
How dare you?
You should've thrown them out!
Please, Stella. Calm.
You should have thrown them out!
The Mayor, his daughter, and Tancredi.
Out onto the street!
We're not starting a war because
Tancredi got carried away,
told a blue joke
and a beautiful girl laughed.
You ought to publicly cut them off.
Make an example of the girl.
For Concetta, if nothing else.
No one laughed at Concetta.
What did that girl do to offend her?
Stand up for her.
Handsome scar.
Listen.
You can take your pleasure with
the daughter of a pathetic village mayor
anytime and anywhere you like.
But not in front of my daughters.
Have you forgotten they're princesses?
Speaking of which,
what's this business
between you and Concetta?
Do I take it seriously?
I don't know, Uncle.
I simply don't know.
What are you doing?
I'm leaving.
I have a feeling
that if I stay a day longer,
I'll end up doing something I regret.
It’s the middle of the night. Go to bed.
We’ll deal with it in the morning.
No, Uncle. It's decided.
I'm leaving.
Fine. Do what the hell you like.
But send us some news.
You know, Father Pirrone
is very pleased with you.
He thinks you were right
in speaking up yesterday
when I failed to.
Tancredi's behavior
was unacceptably vulgar.
He has been badly wounded.
He tries to make light of it.
It's only natural.
But I think
we should forgive him, don't you?
Forgive him?
And try to understand
the pain in his heart.
If convent has made you this sentimental,
perhaps you shouldn't go back.
Actually, I don't want to.
I'd like to be married.
I love him, Papa.
Together, we would love you
and, I believe,
would love us all the more.
Princess.
The descendant of your foundress,
the Blessed Corbera,
humbly begs you to give him sanctuary.
Let us give thanks to our Blessed Corbera,
who left us this rock here as proof
of the moment the devil hurled it at her,
and which your saintly ancestor,
Your Excellency,
forced back with God's power.
Amen.
These are the best
almond cookies in Sicily,
and so the best in all the world.
Mother Superior.
These benches
are new.
And I see that a part of the roof
has also been repaired.
Yes, it has been, Your Excellency.
And that old fountain
is gushing again.
How is that possible?
Well, the fountain was restored
to mark your visit, Your Excellency.
Who restored it?
The stonemason sent a worker.
No, I mean, who paid for all this?
Because, you see,
your funds are here, still in my hands.
The Mayor.
Don Calogero, Your Excellency.
Sedara?
What business is it of his?
He is here, Your Excellency.
And you are here only once a year.
Wait. Did you allow him to come inside?
My dear Don Ciccio.
-Don Fabrizio.
-Shall we?
He even managed
to get himself into the convent.
Why is he meddling in this?
I cover the costs of
the Convent of the Blessed Cordera.
The Mayor feels…
…that the town hall should pay
for matters relating to Donnafugata.
-But that’s not how things are done here.
-No.
Why does no one protest?
Because everyone
who contributes to town fund
was first loaned their money
by Don Calogero, the mayor, so…
How can they protest?
Is there anyone who doesn't owe him money?
Well, I do not.
Prince.
Go! Run!
Princess?
I must ask for your forgiveness.
And yours too, Concetta.
I am sorry.
He was a nobody.
Where did he find the capital
to become a moneylender?
When the Redshirts arrived from Genoa,
Sedara bought
all the wheat reserves in the province.
He waited a month,
and when the invasion started,
he sold them all at triple the price.
He buys worthless land
in Marca at a low price,
and lo… there is
a sulfur mine beneath it.
He's a scourge from God.
He's richer than the devil!
And he won't stop
until he has what he wants.
Which is?
You.
He wants to be you.
That girl…
I wish I had been Zeus
so that I could have
turned myself into a white bull
and had her
right there and then.
Prayer, Your Excellency.
Prayer will clear your mind,
cool your body,
and settle your heart.
You don't understand.
I'm not worried
about a few lustful thoughts.
But they worry me.
I wish they would die.
These people who
want to climb all over us,
who smile and bow during the day,
but rob us by night.
If I were a king of ancient times,
to protect my family
I would simply have had them all killed.
But now, to my sorrow,
a more civilized way must be found
to reclaim what they've taken.
Yes.
I dream of using a pistol or a knife.
That is my sin.
Concetta, are you in love?
You mustn't tell anyone.
Has he stroked your hair?
Has he kissed your neck?
Or slid his hand down to your behind?
I'm sorry, Concetta.
I can be vulgar sometimes.
Who was the first man to kiss you?
Was it a Frenchman?
Or a Russian poet?
It was a stonemason's boy
from Donnafugata.
And what happened?
My father had him beaten
and thrown out on to the mountainside.
You and I had very different childhoods.
What about him?
You won't tell me who he is?
VOTE YES TO A UNITED ITALY!
Miss Angelica!
A ripe peach!
Don’t spoil your dress.
Save it for later.
Tancredi!
Concetta.
You remember Cavriaghi.
And Tassoni.
You didn't write to say you were coming.
Are you angry with me?
Because I spoke to Father Pirrone
about what happened?
No, Concetta, please.
I'm so sorry,
but I needed to tell someone.
I'd better say hello to my uncle.
-Aunt Stella.
-Good morning.
-Welcome back.
-Good morning, Uncle.
What are your intentions?
To spend the rest of the summer with you.
Don't take me for a fool
or I'll break your legs.
Who have you come back for?
Concetta?
No.
Imagine having a cousin like her.
No. Too meek.
That's more to my liking.
What? The daughter of the mayor?
Cavriaghi!
No one has ever
accused me of discrimination.
Miss Sedara?
May I?
Don Tancredi.
Prince.
A small contribution for the festival.
We're all take, take, take,
without ever giving anything back.
So the town hall has agreed
to help with the expense of it all.
The town hall wishes to help
cover my costs today.
Yes.
I don't believe
there's any town hall fund.
I believe there's only
Don Calogero Sedara, the mayor.
Aren’t there so many ways
to describe the same thing.
Keep your money.
You shouldn't let your daughter
dance with just anybody.
But he's a count, isn't he?
There are many kinds of counts.
And she ought not to dance with that one?
That's enough.
-What's the problem?
-Not for you.
This I remember. We were at the front
and came to this
farmhouse near Messina, you know.
All we had to say was,
"Urgent orders on His Majesty's Service",
and horses appeared like magic.
So we gave them our orders,
which were actually the bills
from our hotel in Palermo.
Thank God no one here can read…
Stop, please.
Either let Chiara play or stop.
Pianos are for everyone, Concetta.
I have an idea!
Let's play a game.
-No, Cesco. Please.
-What game?
This is the best house in the world
to play Hide and Seek.
Ask anyone.
Falconeri, is the Palace of Donnafugata
the best place in the world
to play Hide and Seek?
-Without question.
-Perfect. Concetta, you count!
-Yes, you find us!
-You count!
-Don't you know how to count?
-Come, Cavriaghi!
You stay here.
Angelica?
Angelica, I can hear you.
From the outside,
you’d never imagine this wing existed.
How many rooms are there?
My uncle always says
it would be vulgar to count them.
And so…
What do we do now?
Are you not even going to try to hide?
Maybe I wanted to be found.
Would you pour me a glass,
Count Cavriaghi?
Please.
It is a joy to know you, Miss Concetta.
Yes, ever since
we met in Palermo, as brief as it was,
it is…
your lovely face that I see when I pray.
And so, if your father permits it,
I wonder if you might take a walk with me.
-It would be chaperoned--
-Count, that's enough.
I'm sorry.
My father intends
to promise me to Tancredi.
Did Tancredi never mention it?
Miss Concetta,
I apologize for my clumsiness.
It was Tancredi himself…
who encouraged me to court you.
What did they do in here?
I think one of my ancestors
came here to make penance
and to mortify his flesh.
And these paintings?
They're not exactly sacred.
Maybe for him they were.
The pain became both
a penance and a reward.
The shame of that reward
had to be scourged.
Then the scourging became a delight.
And so it continued until he died,
and these rooms fell to ruin.
People say you have no money.
None.
But you have a house.
It’s a ruin.
Ruins can be repaired.
Really?
How?
With money.
And Concetta?
Have you brought her here?
Why would I bring Concetta here?
-Miss Sedara.
-Yes?
It's very late.
Your father would have
every right to rebuke me.
Would you allow me to take you home?
-I'll join you.
-No, you'll wait for me here.
Show these two counts to their quarters.
Please come this way, sirs.
Shall we?
I worry the Princess
doesn't think all that much of me.
The Princess, much like I,
thinks you are a beautiful girl,
navigating a delicate moment in life.
Perhaps you need
a man by your side to guide you.
What if that man were a prince?
You can aspire to more in life
than becoming a man's mistress.
When I was very young,
I thought I'd marry a farmer.
Then my father became rich,
and he bought me nice dresses.
So I thought,
"I'll marry the town lawyer."
And then my father grew richer still.
He sent me to Paris to learn French
and tell the difference
between a Gavotte and a Sarabande.
And now
I don’t know who I'm meant to marry.
I think you know it very well.
Good night.
I know what I've done to Concetta.
And I'll do everything I can
to make amends.
Concetta is no longer your concern.
Her parents and her priest
will take care of her.
So, tell me, what's going on here?
Uncle, I've never had anything in life
that wasn't yours first.
I must find something of my own.
Haven’t we found it?
Vote yes for a united Italy!
Vote yes in the referendum!
Your Excellency?
Should I wait for you here?
Mayor, the Prince is here.
Prince.
Good day.
I had a feeling I might see you today.
Please.
Have a seat.
-Father Pirrone.
-Good day.
Something to drink?
Some orange liqueur?
Here.
They make this expressly for me.
Here you are.
Gold.
I know you'd like some, Father Pirrone.
If the Father's here,
there must be something spiritual
on your mind.
I've come here
to ask for your daughter's hand
in marriage.
Sit down.
As it happens, my nephew Tancredi
is most desperately and completely in love
with your incomparable Angelica.
We had understood,
or Angelica had understood,
that there was an arrangement
between Tancredi and Miss Concetta.
No.
Nothing of the sort.
Father Pirrone can vouch for it.
Yes, I can vouch for it.
It is as he says.
In any event,
I can say, without hesitation,
that my Angelica
entirely reciprocates
Tancredi's affection.
The Falconeri came to Sicily
with Charles of Anjou.
Which should tell you all you need to know
about the purity of his name.
We will soon be family.
Indeed.
I came with Father Pirrone
so that he may also vouch
for the value of Tancredi's soul.
Because apart from that,
his name, and what I give him every month,
he has little in the way
of worldly goods to call his own.
How little?
Barely a ducat.
Father Pirrone will agree.
It's a blessing that you and I…
believe so vehemently
in the divine power of love.
Vehemently.
And what father would I be
if I did not put aside
a little something for Angelica
for such a happy day as this?
It's only right, Prince,
that you should know
what Tancredi can count on.
Where shall we begin?
It was like a waterfall,
a list of estates
that seemed never to end.
The Settesoli estate,
which is over a thousand hectares.
The olive groves
and vineyards at Gibildolce.
And all this Tancredi will receive
simply because of his name.
Our name.
Our name, yes.
Did Don Calogero also promise
to make you as vulgar as he is?
This is no time for snobbery, Stella.
It is exactly the time.
Do you know what they call her,
Don Calogero's wife, Bastiana Sedara?
They call her The Beast,
because she cannot write or read,
or have a conversation.
She can barely even speak.
And do you care to know
what they called her father?
He was so coarse,
so filthy,
they simply called him The Shit.
That is who
you are inviting into this family.
The daughter of The Beast
and the granddaughter of The Shit.
-Why aren't you fighting this, Fabrizio?
-I'm trying to!
You know as well as I do
that marriages are about power.
Don Calogero wants to be raised up.
I will raise him up.
Thanks to my brokering of this marriage,
Tancredi will take possession
of over half of this pig’s assets.
And Concetta?
Where does your daughter's broken heart
stand in this transaction?
That was just a passing fancy. A whim.
And I blame you
for bewitching me with it.
I won't give my daughter in marriage
to a man who doesn't want her.
What if she doesn't forgive you?
What if you lose her forever?
She's my daughter, not a pocket watch.
And that is my final word.
Good night.
Please, you have to stop it!
-Stop it!
-Calm down.
-You have to!
-Calm down!
-I'm begging you!
-Calm down.
You need to calm down.
We'll discuss this again
when you've come to your senses. But…
the decision has been made.
You are not my father.
My father loves me.
You are not my father.
"The Sicilian people wish
to become an integral part of Italy,
one and indivisible,
under Vittorio Emanuele,
their constitutional monarch."
Yes or no?
No.
-Yes.
-Yes.
Your Excellency.
Make way.
Prince.
Make way for the Leopard.
Good morning, Prince.
YES
Friends!
Your votes
have been counted,
scrutinized,
and then counted and scrutinized again!
Votes in favor,
512!
Votes against,
zero!
I can therefore announce,
based on the results
of the other municipalities,
that the Sicilian people
have decided
to unite with the nation of Italy
under Vittorio Emanuele
as their constitutional monarch!
Long live united Italy!
Mayor!
What kind of fiction is this?
Not even one vote against?
What happened to my vote, Don Calogero?
Leave me alone!
You were set to win any case,
but why win with lies?
If this is how Italy is going to be born,
it is born a deformed calf.
Corrupt! Profane!
As you are, Don Calogero Sedara!
You are corrupt!
Eternally corrupt!
And profane!
BASED ON "THE LEOPARD"
BY GIUSEPPE TOMASI DI LAMPEDUSA