This World Can't Tear Me Down (2023) s01e04 Episode Script

THIS WORLD CAN'T TEAR ME DOWN
I don't remember exactly
when we went our separate ways,
but at the start of the 2000s,
it had been a while
since I'd spoken to Cesare.
Hard to say why, but I think it was to do
with me not complying
with the Alfredone Doctrine,
which sadly regulates the lives of people
in working-class neighborhoods.
If you can fight,
you can go out looking like Lady Gaga
and you won't get any shit.
Otherwise, the more you fade
into the background, the better.
I'll explain the event
behind this doctrine.
In the mid-'90s, people of Rome
were as open-minded as Alabama.
Alfredone would go out in Tiburtina
holding hands with his boyfriend.
One time, a guy on a moped
went past and said
Fags!
Alfredone was swift,
and he had hands
the size of pizza paddles,
bigger than Gianni Morandi's.
Each knuckle was the size
of one of my knees.
It was a bloodbath.
A 70-day prognosis
and a moped that ended up unrecognizable.
From that day on,
no one ever gave Alfredone any shit.
Everyone tried to make conversation.
Oh, I've seen Philadelphia.
Wonderful film!
Of course, this inclusive atmosphere
didn't benefit the whole LGBT community,
but just those spokespeople
who were capable
of putting you in the hospital
for a few weeks.
For the others,
the great decree of the empire
of the suburbs continued to apply.
And it applied to everything,
not just sexuality.
"Anything deemed eccentric,
outside of known and reassuring
beauty or behavioral canons,
generally we fucking hate it."
Hey, shithead! You're in Borgo Sabotino,
not Milan Fashion Week!
Do what the fuck you want,
but keep a low profile, under the radar.
You do understand that
the abomination on your head
doesn't conform with that.
You're not exactly
a sharp killing machine.
To be fair,
in the two years I had that red mohawk,
I was beaten up more often
than the rest of my life put together.
The hospital was like a second home.
I had a weekly fixed slot.
Yes, a life of combat.
Like last Friday,
when you turned up with that war wound.
My goodness, sir! What happened to you?
I cut my tongue
licking the yogurt foil lid.
Anyway, I didn't give a shit.
The point is that
I'd just discovered punk,
and that was my salvation.
It gave me a refuge
from a whole world
I didn't know how to fit into.
And a tribe of oddballs who made me feel
like I could take on the world.
I think all this might have been
a bit much for Cesare.
He didn't understand what we did,
or why we dressed
like we were looking for a beating.
It's not like he ever told me,
but I'm convinced
that's also partly why
we ended up on different paths.
When I went to concerts at night,
I always saw him hanging out
with those shitty people,
the same ones I fought with.
Often, I didn't even say hi
because I felt like I embarrassed him.
Who the fuck is sending you out like that?
Then he'd have to explain
how he knew
that asshole with the shitty hair.
That's why I was really surprised
when I got that call one day.
It had been ages since we'd spoken.
Hey, Zero? It's Cesare.
I was happy because I missed him.
I was bummed that
he didn't give a shit about me anymore.
Hey, Ces! How are you? It's been ages!
Listen, I'm calling to ask you a favor.
Can you lend me a few hundred
My mom has a problem.
They haven't put the money in her account
and she needs to pay the car insurance
And she needs it to go to work.
I don't have any work coming in.
I'll pay you back at the end of the month.
Ces, I don't have any money.
I'll pay you back
as soon as my mom gets her pension.
I swear, Zero.
Of course,
it's just that I don't have it. I have
I don't know, 80,000 lira. That's all.
Can't you ask your mom?
I'll give it back at the end of the month.
Wait, listen
Let me see, we'll speak later.
Guys, this is really hard for me.
It's not about the money.
I may be stingy, but I'd lent money
to friends millions of times.
And when I needed it,
they'd lent it to me.
Friends help each other, it's normal.
But what do you do
when you feel like
someone is bullshitting you
and you end up looking like a dumbass?
Hey!
Imagine you're in The Truman Show
and everyone's watching you.
Exactly! That's what's making me paranoid.
Imagine there's a woman from Pomezia
who's just finished watching
Deal or No Deal on TV.
She changes channels
and sees the scene of Cesare
telling a friend
Watch me take this fool for a ride.
He's as gullible as a fish.
She sees the phone call
and you giving him money.
And what does this woman do?
She calls her husband and says
Honey, look at this idiot!
You can ignore this guy for a year,
then you just feed him a few lines
and he'll give you money.
You should call him too.
We need a new kitchen.
See? It's not about the money.
It's the idea that word will get out
that I'm a laughingstock.
ATM - INSERT BULLSHI
Like the answer to the question,
"Why did he choose me?"
was actually
Because you're the village idiot, bro.
It was a question of pride
that was plugging up my mind.
I didn't think about how he felt
asking me for those 200,000 lira.
Whether he was embarrassed,
or whether I was just one
of 400 people on the list
he was calling up for money.
Or whether he was going through hell
and it wasn't a question
of being embarrassed or crafty.
I don't know if he needed it for drugs,
or if he owed it to someone
because he'd got into debt
with the wrong people.
I just remember
I had this sense of humiliation
that was burning my skin
because I felt he was bullshitting me.
What should I do, Sarah?
If I give him money,
is it like wearing a sign that says,
"I'm a gullible idiot"?
Zero, if you decide to give him the money,
it's because he's your friend
and he asked you.
Why should helping someone
make you look like an idiot?
You don't need to rid yourself
of all your possessions,
but between Saint Francis of Assisi
and Ebenezer Scrooge,
there's a middle ground!
MIDDLEMAN
GENEROUS BUT NOT GULLIBLE
I just don't know
if he's being genuine or if he's using me.
Listen, when you help someone,
you make yourself vulnerable.
And it's always a risk, it's a gamble.
But even if you lose,
you're on the good side
of those who played well.
Even if he does just want
to steal from you,
he's the bad guy. You did the right thing.
Is it right even if I don't know
what he's going to do with the money?
Listen, there are three things
that make you a good person to others.
Helping those who ask
without too many questions,
going at the speed of the slowest person,
and not leaving anyone behind.
If you follow all three rules,
you might get ripped off,
but when you die, you won't end up
in the same circle of hell as Thatcher.
Here's 250,000. It's all I have.
Thanks, little bro.
I'll pay you back
when she gets her pension.
Later this month.
Next month at the latest.
I think that's the last time
I spoke to him.
THE STREE
Would you stop that, please?
Let me warn you,
the situation has gotten complicated
because a kid got hurt today.
One on the other side.
Do you know what that means?
That someone got hurt.
That it was one of you.
I was just passing by,
I didn't see anything.
Yes, with five paper bombs on you.
Less than seven is personal use.
I like him.
He's very tautological.
She's in the kitchen.
I'm going to work.
Message me once you've finished arguing.
Yeah, look, I'm not here to fight.
But I'm shocked by that video I saw.
I know. I tried talking to her,
but I think she's really stressed.
I'm glad I have to go out, actually.
If I don't get a text from you
within an hour,
I'll call the hospitals.
See you, Zero. Bye.
Hey!
Hey!
Let's not go around
in circles for three hours.
I don't want to piss you off,
but you do realize what you're doing?
Well, since you're not stupid,
you know that
if you agree with those shits on TV,
you're giving them a license
to keep doing that stuff.
Plus, you're putting us
in a shitty situation.
Aren't you gonna say anything?
You've been my fucking moral beacon
all my life, and now
What does "moral beacon" mean?
Just so we're clear.
Well, you're the one
who's always taught me right from wrong,
like a pillar
Right. Have you not realized
that I'm stuck right here like a pillar,
I haven't moved for ten years
and haven't even taken
half a step forward?
What do you mean?
I've spent five years busting my guts,
first at university, then with my PhD,
with everyone saying,
"Well done!
You can do anything! You're so clever!"
The only thing I wanted to do
was to teach children.
Instead, I've spent ten years
hidden away in a warehouse
in an industrial area,
bringing coffee
to people who make toilet brushes.
Ten years with no prospects.
Well, I feel like I'm in a rut too,
but that doesn't mean
You too?
You really think
you're the same as ten years ago?
You make comics and cartoons.
Ten years ago,
you were working at the airport.
After work, we had to put
a saliva sucker on you,
or you'd drool all over the sofa
like a boiled zucchini.
How can you say such bullshit?
Fine, in another way
Fuck another way! I'm talking about this!
You might not remember,
but I was the enthusiastic one
with every door open ten years ago.
That's why I took care of you,
because I was sad
that you were struggling.
I went with you to take
your drawings to comic conventions.
I made you strawberry tiramisu
because you were sad,
but you had the taste buds
of a six-year-old.
Coffee keeps me awake.
It's not because of the taste.
Then you found your way.
You all found your way.
You moved forward, you did things.
While I stayed here.
I was the girl who could do anything,
and I became
the girl who was doing nothing.
And now I'm the poor girl
who, in the end, hasn't done anything.
Don't pull that face.
You don't remember what it's like
when you think
you're doing everything well.
You close your eyes for a second,
and when you open them,
you see you've thrown your life
down the toilet,
always stuck on the same square
without even rolling the dice.
My God, Sarah, we're still young.
You can still
We're not young, Zero. You're not young,
though you dress like an idiot.
And I'm not young. Plus, I'm also female.
If someone sees
on my CV that I'm almost 40,
do you know what they think?
Who is this? An elephant carcass?
Is she covered in maggots?
What use is she to us?
We'll have to get rid of her
at the recycling center.
THANKS, WE'LL CONSIDER YOU
FOR YOUR IVORY TUSKS.
And now that it's finally my turn
to get out of that square,
they're closing the school,
and I'm going back to the start.
STAR
Does that sound fair to you?
Sarah, I'm sorry,
but do you realize that you're helping
those shitbags by doing this?
I'm not helping anyone!
You think I agree with those
who want to throw them in the sea?
Or with the ones
with swastikas on their foreheads?
My point is simple.
If the school closes
because parents don't want
to send their children
close to the shelter
because they don't feel it's safe,
then you have to acknowledge it,
even if you don't like it.
What do you mean?
That you have to agree?
It means that maybe the shelter
needs to be moved somewhere else.
Don't you realize that's exactly what's
been happening for the past month?
Those 30 poor people
have been tossed
from one neighborhood to another.
If someone, at some point,
doesn't set the principle
Does this principle thing
only apply to my life?
You've all done your own shit
and sorted your lives out.
You've found your place in the world.
But I have to lose everything
and not say a thing
because principles are more important?
Sorry, but in my work,
I've tried to do everything right
and respect my own principles.
What about not leaving anyone behind?
The bullshit about going
at the pace of the slowest one?
Do you know what my pace is?
- Do you want to know what it is?
- Yes.
I don't have one,
because I'm tied to a pole.
I'm stuck there, on my own,
watching you get smaller and farther away.
And you don't even turn around!
I'm sorry if you think that
You don't even turn around!
That's the second time
I've been left speechless,
like with Cesare the other day.
I feel like I have the instructions
in my hands
for what's right and wrong.
They're as clear as day, like the ones
for IKEA flat-pack furniture.
But the parts in the box
aren't the ones on the sheet.
They're a tangled mess
of sorrow, solitude, frustration,
abandonment, and guilt,
so laden with monsters
that the manual is completely useless.
Did you see Sarah?
I don't want to talk about it.
Let's go to that thing at city hall
and get it over with.
Oh, I brought the bombs.
Again? You have to leave them in the car.
No bombs. It's a peaceful thing.
But we're going to city hall!
It's a boring place.
Without bombs, what's the point?
My God, it was like talking to Mowgli
from The Jungle Book.
I explained to him for the fourth time
how the wonderful mechanism
of democracy worked.
So, today the council has to vote
on an agenda proposed by the Nazis.
Do you have the banner?
Which is, the next city council meeting
will take place outside the shelter,
next Wednesday.
In the community.
At that meeting,
they want a vote to close the shelter.
Are you following me? At least nod.
With your vacant look
I never know what you're thinking.
No, I heard the start.
Long explanations give me a nosebleed.
Okay, just remember that this bullshit
of holding the meeting there,
in the community,
is just so that Nazis
from all over Rome can come
and make up the numbers,
giving the impression
that the whole city
wants to close the shelter.
So why are we here today
if this thing is next Wednesday?
Yeah, why are we here exactly?
Because the city hall
can't support the Nazis
and hold the meeting wherever they say.
Okay, this shelter system is shit.
But when Black people in America
got the right to vote,
it's not like they went
Yes, to carry out this important vote,
we will have the process decided
by this social promotion association
that is deeply rooted in the local area.
Fine, but what are we here for?
Apart from telling them
that this thing isn't right?
I actually understand Secco's objection,
because I always have doubts too
about how much influence
we can actually have.
I mean, I know it's right.
For me, if you're not expecting
a tree in the Garden of the Righteous,
but at least a bonsai
on the Poggio Mirteto roundabout,
you should show up and do the right thing.
But I'm always a bit scared
of coming across like this
This is my opinion!
I told you loud and clear!
And it's also written in all caps
in size 20 on this piece of paper!
Look, it's an interesting idea.
But don't tell me.
You know what?
We're going to tell one of my friends,
who is precisely the person in charge
of gathering these ideas.
Guess who it is. My ass!
- All right, but
- Shh!
He says your opinion is valuable.
After work, he's coming
to take that rubbish you wrote
and study it in detail.
Just leave it over there,
between the laundry detergent
and the cat shit. Right there.
Tighten your belt, buddy!
Hi, everyone! We've come to remind you
that this municipality
cannot give in to the Nazis!
DON'T EXACERBATE
THE WAR BETWEEN THE POOR
I thought we were doing something
that would create an uproar,
that the police would drag us out
like in The Strawberry Statement,
and that would at least give us
the allure of martyrdom.
But no one gave a shit.
One of them got annoyed
because he suddenly woke up and asked
Who are these people?
The ones from the Portonaccio bus lane?
No, the others, for the n
People with a lot of melanin.
She didn't really say
"people with a lot of melanin."
She said a word
that we've decided not to use,
but not because of all that bullshit
"dictatorship of political correctness,"
which doesn't exist.
Rainbow Police! You are under arrest!
No! It's a complicated issue.
If there is a racist monster
in a work of fiction,
it doesn't make sense
to make them speak as sweet as pie.
Hi, everyone!
But it's also true that if you want a word
to disappear from common usage,
then you need to stop using it,
otherwise it'll keep
going round and round forevermore.
You're probably thinking
That's a bit of a mindfuck.
I don't give a damn.
No shit. Your job is being a sock.
What do you care?
But since my job is to use words,
it makes sense to question things
behind the scenes.
Yes, it's lovely for you
to share this reasoning with us.
But you know why
they say "behind the scenes"?
You know what they're behind?
They're behind "what the fuck do we care!"
See?
Post it on Facebook if you want,
so old people can read it.
But let's move on, please.
Fine, I can nap
for another five minutes, then.
Today, we have come to tell you
that we will use our bodies
to stop these people
coming to spread hate in our streets.
So, those who vote
Are there still snacks
in the vending machine?
will be responsible
for everything that happens that day!
It will end up in a fight!
Do we have the manpower to do this?
Come on, don't act
like you were born yesterday.
It's all a strategy.
Think of it as House of Cards,
but in East Rome.
Have you read The Art of War by Sun Tzu?
Bluff, relaunch, aim high. Always!
Nine times out of ten, you win.
Who's going to bother checking
if you're really crazy or just acting?
Come on!
Zero! Secco! It's you!
No way!
Always causing a scene!
Boom! It was Greta Boffelli,
our old school representative.
I didn't know
she'd been elected to the council.
That was embarrassing.
I felt like we were doing sit-ins again,
which she was against.
Unbelievable!
Secco doesn't even have bombs!
What happened? Did you lose a finger?
He doesn't let me bring things anymore.
He doesn't want me to express myself.
He's like Billy Elliot's dad.
Anyway, just between us,
you're right to protest.
What's happening is unacceptable.
And the president is really incompetent.
When we were in government,
this would never have happened.
Silence, please!
We've listened to your speech.
We now ask you to compose yourselves
so this council can proceed with the vote.
So, to briefly explain what Greta said,
you need to consider that our city council
is essentially divided
into three large areas.
Two of them represent
the great traditions of the 20th century.
Progressives on one side
and Conservatives on the other.
Obviously, they've spanned centuries,
the evolution of our species, blah, blah,
and they've transformed
because they've adapted.
We chose to represent the Conservatives
as huge mammals
firmly planted on the ground
with a very strong link to people's moods.
In theory, they support lofty issues
which might well be debated.
The understanding of individualism.
The value of tradition.
The invisible hand of the market.
But here, everything is reduced to,
"What do we do with the immigrants?"
They stay balanced
because some of their voters
agree with the Nazis,
but would never vote for someone
with a swastika on their face.
So we assume the walruses will vote
for the council meeting to go ahead.
Then the Progressives.
And I think that,
at least on this topic, we're safe.
Never mind them looking down on you,
because over the years
they got this long neck
as they needed to reach the fruit
on the highest branches
in the Capalbio rainforest.
But they have a legacy of values,
of equality, and being welcoming.
So they shouldn't vote
for the Nazis' motion.
It looked like
Greta Boffelli agreed with us.
Hey, I called a company for this.
- Good evening.
- Hi.
- But you're doing it on your own.
- What?
Boring the fuck out of us
with these explanations.
If I don't explain this,
no one will understand.
Yes, I was just helping you out.
I'm not saying anything.
Fine, all that's left is the third area,
the platypuses.
What a pain in the ass!
No one knows what the fuck they are.
A senseless jumble
of poorly-assembled animals.
They appeared a few years ago
from the failed ideologies
of the 20th century
with buzzwords like
You need to be honest!
And you say, "No shit!
No one's telling you to steal!"
But after the Stone Age,
the Iron Age, and the Golden Age,
this is the Dickhead Age.
So they won the last elections
and have the majority.
But they're not Nazis,
so they shouldn't insist
on having that meeting
outside the shelter.
Dear colleagues,
please, let's begin the vote.
- Do you think they get it?
- I think so.
yes or no?
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
We knew that.
What else would the walruses do?
Personally,
I'm against these racist forces
who are distressing our neighborhood.
But we were elected to guarantee honesty,
so we'll vote with our conscience.
I abstain.
I think we should have the courage
to meet people.
We can win from a dialectical standpoint.
So I'm embracing the challenge.
I vote yes.
What? What dialectics?
Please, you've already stated
your opinion.
Let's respect this moment of democracy.
Yes.
- I abstain.
- Yes.
What the fuck are we going to do?
They have the majority. If they vote yes
Yeah, it could be tricky.
But it's not over.
We still have the giraffes.
But I'm not good at math.
I dropped it as soon as I could.
- Yes.
- Yes?
- Yes!
- Yes.
Yes.
Greta, are you all voting yes?
Yes, but we don't agree with the Nazis.
We're not crazy.
- It's for the greater good.
- What good?
Don't you realize that if we meet
the Nazis, people will get hurt?
Yes, it's regrettable, but then we can say
that the platypuses
can't even manage a city council.
The president will have to go.
But we'll get our heads split open.
Yes, heads being split open
is always unpleasant,
but put it into perspective.
We'd get back in,
and we'd reimburse you for the bandages.
We'll put them in the budget.
Two hundred bandages.
We'll even throw in a neck brace.
You can all share.
- To hell with stinginess!
- Councilwoman Boffelli?
Yes.
The motion is approved,
therefore the next council meeting
- shall be held in Via Marsupelli
- Shitheads!
- next to the migrant shelter.
- You're in trouble!
Next item on the agenda,
the bus lane on Via Portonaccio.
You seem like a switched-on girl.
Did you really have no idea
how that day would end?
All I know is that after that video,
people stopped me in the street.
- To say what?
- To thank me. To tell me their story.
Something was building up
in the neighborhood.
Everyone wanted to tell
a bit of their own experience.
All people who didn't want the shelter?
Yes, but others too.
This had knocked the lid off a pot
that had been simmering for a while.
A light had been switched on.
Everyone wanted to talk,
even those who had stayed quiet
their whole lives.
Sorry, guys, but what do we do now?
What does Sun Tzu say about this stuff?
Nine times out of ten,
when you bluff, it goes in your favor.
The one time it doesn't,
you gotta accept it.
An ancient Chinese proverb says,
"You gotta take it on the chin, bro!"
So we have to go.
You don't think we can say,
"Sorry, we were joking"?
Don't joke!
We've said it now. That's how it is.
We promised fire and flames.
We have to go and get arrested if needed.
And if we don't go
We're finished.
No one will ever believe us again.
Next time, they'll laugh in our faces.
It's like the boy who cried wolf.
You know what happened when the wolf came?
Help! Wolf!
We don't give a shit.
You've made us come out three times.
The other night, it was hailing!
Fuck off!
Nobody believes you anymore.
Don't think that I'm happy.
I paid the babysitter 40 euros.
My mom will only have him
if it's for work or to get laid.
The Nazis weren't in
the parent-grandparent
Peace Agreement of 1995.
You think you've thought
of everything, and then
It's like when you play chess
and you get to the point
where you only have one move.
The knight moves in an L shape.
Even if it'll get taken,
that's all you can do.
Sure, you can wait, you can waste time.
You can even wait for time to run out.
But you have to see
what will happen while you're waiting.
Subtitle translation by: Luisa Zamboni