Hi, Maria.
I'm writing you a letter because letters are romantic.
Listen to your favorite song when you read it.
This letter is not a declaration of love.
It's a declaration of devotion.
Because people should be moved when they see you walking down the street.
You're shitting your pants.
Because your heart shatters everything ugly in the world.
Three, two, one…
The last years of my life could have been horrible.
Instead, they were unforgettable, all because you were there.
Maria, I never tried saying I love you
because what I felt for you was so much more than love.
There were times
when the strength of my feelings for you scared me.
I'm only still alive… because of you.
No.
Now that I'm leaving, I'm sorry we won't get to spend more days together.
Yay!
Remember that book of poems you gave me?
There's a poem that says, "The entrance to my heart is narrow."
"And my blood cannot easily flow through."
"It either pushes it out or keeps it in."
"So that others are never aware
of the passion that I feel for them."
"I could even flag down strangers on the street…"
"…and tell them
of all the things I have inside that will not go away."
"My secret store of grace."
A friend dedicated this poem to me before he died.
Um, read the other poems if you like, and we'll… discuss them on Monday.
-Maria? -Yes, Sorin?
This friend of yours, who dedicated this poem,
were… were you in love with this man?
I was.
And… do you know if he loved you back?
MY FAMILY
Go on, Gaia. You're next up.
Strong and scary waves In the middle of winter
They roar with great might
Excellent job. Perfect example.
Because it's a composition in three verses,
with a pattern of five, seven, five.
And we always have to include a kigo component,
which is a reference to the four seasons.
One of the four seasons.
Christian, your turn. Don't be afraid. Surprise us.
In a large forest Full of tall, dark, and dense trees
No light can get through
That's a sad one.
But that's not bad.
Sadness can be useful.
Sadness makes you question your situation.
It helps you figure out what's wrong.
Or it's a sign you should talk to a friend and ask for help.
What?
-Hi, kids! -Hi.
Hi. I'm Fausto. Sorry, uh… Sorry to interrupt.
Um…
It's… Fausto.
Wait. Who is this guy?
Recognize him?
She's blushing.
I'll be done in ten minutes.
I'll wait outside, all right?
Look. She can't even speak.
Why is she like that?
-Later, kids. -Bye.
Is that your boyfriend?
-Huh? -Is he your boyfriend?
-No. Just a friend. -Then why aren't you happy to see him?
What kind of question is that? Can we continue the lesson, please?
-Hey. -Hello.
You look great.
Thank you. Sadly, you've aged a little.
No, I… I'm doin' good.
-You put on makeup? -No.
Maria, you weren't wearing makeup in the class. You put it on.
-No, I had makeup on already. -Maria, I know you.
-Obviously, you weren't-- -Fausto, tell me what you're doing here.
Mm. Can you maybe spare half an hour to go somewhere with me?
-Just half an hour. I promise. -Uh, all right.
So I gathered you're teaching the kids haiku?
Yes. It's part of world poetry unit.
Are haikus like Zen?
Yeah.
Isn't that the kind of stuff that teaches… that life's a bitch,
but you shouldn't get too angry about it?
Yeah, more or less.
More or less.
You know, Maria, Demetrio has been keeping me
up-to-date about your life. Like, I know you were in Bergamo.
Yeah, you know, I actually really liked it in Bergamo.
It's just…
I needed to accept this substitute teaching position in Rome,
and it'll just be for four months or so,
and then I hope they'll grant me tenure in Campania.
Let's hope.
How are your kids doing?
-The little one lives with me. -Oh, and Libero?
These last few years have been pretty ugly, Maria.
You know, Sarah and I are separated, and…
Oh.
And in the end, after all the…
Mm, I mean…
We finally came to an agreement where we basically agreed
to split the kids between us.
And it's a shitty solution.
Okay, we're here.
So, Maria…
behind that door is a doctor's office.
And this doctor knows if
the… thing that I have here
is a tumor
or not.
Yesterday, for two hours, I stood outside this door
and I never knocked, Maria.
I just couldn't bring myself to.
I just couldn't do it.
I'm asking you to help me.
Please help me.
Of all the people you could've asked, why did you choose me?
Please help me, Maria.
-Knock on the door. -But…
No, Fausto. I can't. I can't do this.
I don't get it. I mean, one minute I was teaching my class,
minding my business, and you just show up out of nowhere
and spring me into--
-This fucked-up situation. I know. -I didn't say that.
All right. You can leave, and I'll knock.
It's fine.
-You can go, Maria. It's fine. -No.
I'll knock.
But this is fucked up.
-Good morning. -Morning.
Hello. I'm a friend of Fausto Ciaramitano.
Come on in.
Thanks.
Do I have it, Maria?
A haiku.
What?
After the test The doctor had shitty news
But it'll be fine
I'm with Maria
Eh?
It's perfect.
It's not quite perfect, Fausto.
It's supposed to have three verses.
You added an extra one.
Hmm?
Maria, don't move.
Don't move a muscle.
What's the matter?
There's Sarah.
-What? Where? -I said, "Don't move."
-Hey, that hurt. -Sorry.
-She's right across the street. -Let's go say hi to her.
-Maria, she's with the kids. -What? They're with her?
-Yes. -No.
I'm telling you, they are.
So, we all remember that the reason why the judge
granted custody of the children to their father
was because of that night when Ercole was hospitalized, correct?
That's what persuaded the judge that it was necessary to take the kids away
from their mother.
As the ruling says, the children are not to have unsupervised contact. Hmm?
Do you think these secret meetings with their mother
have shaken them up or even confused them?
I guess it's possible, but I also think it's inevitable.
Not again.
Maria, don't act like you've got all this figured out, all right?
No, Lucia, but if you let them out anytime they want, I mean…
Yes, but we decided it was better for them to have it in their lives.
I'm sorry, but no one asked our opinion.
-Good point. -Yeah.
You two have seemed awfully close lately, haven't you?
-What are you saying? -You think you're fooling anyone?
You can't seriously believe that the kids haven't noticed that you're dating.
Even if we were, why would it be a problem?
-Oh, Demetrio, come on. -All right! Enough!
Will you stop it?
Are they fighting?
-Yes. -It's a matter of principle.
Because let's assume we were dating, just for the sake of argument.
The only principle in this moment, Demetrio, is everybody should be quiet.
Because the issue we're trying to deal with here
is much more important than this.
-Thank you. -You're welcome.
Hello?
Excuse me, ma'am. I'd like to hear from you.
What's best for the kids in this situation?
Well, first,
your commitment under these circumstances has been more than expected.
-I think. That's worth pointing out. -Thanks.
-Right. -The police are here.
-What do you mean, the police? -Mr. Ciaramitano, good morning.
I'm here to serve you a police order to meet with a psychologist.
Since you were found in possession of 3 grams of cocaine,
you are required to attend court-ordered therapy.
-Goodbye. Have a nice day. -Uh, I'll show you out.
-Thanks. -Let's go, kids.
I hope you know that your brother would've kicked your ass.
Well, look who's talking.
-It was a misunderstanding. -What kind of misunderstanding?
-Well, it wasn't mine. -Whose was it, then?
Sarah's calling the kids. What do I do?
-You answer it. -All right.
Hello, Sarah?
Uh… yeah.
Yes, hold on. I'll tell them. Give me a second.
She wants to talk.
Let's talk, then.
Sarah, we can all hear you.
Hi. Sorry to call so late.
I wanted to apologize for what's been going on.
I shouldn't have done it like that, but I was dying to see my boys.
Come on.
I know I made it harder for everybody.
For you, the kids, and myself.
I know how hard you've been trying to help the kids
and all the sacrifices you've been making for their sake.
I promise you, it will never happen again.
Listen, Sarah, I'm really sorry about this entire situation.
Honestly, I really am.
I know, Lucia.
Were you planning to come to the boys' recital?
They're playing on Sunday.
Hmm?
I don't know if I'm allowed to.
No. I mean, the recital is a public event, Sarah.
We… we'll all be there.
I don't have any problem with it, Sarah.
-What are you saying? -Come on.
Uh, hello, Sarah. This is Demetrio.
Listen, why… uh… Why don't you join us? Come on.
Um, yeah, Sarah. I have no objection either.
Thanks, Valerio. Thank you all.
I promise I'll think about it.
Okay, big hugs to you all.
-Bye, Sarah. -Bye.
Bye, Sarah.
-But how can the mom-- -Don't start yelling now, Maria.
Don't start yelling.
Come on.
Maria, you have to relax.
Yeah, whatever.
I know you all think I only care about myself.
But I've been watching you this entire time.
Oh great. Now you're a psychologist.
I can see you're scared.
But what am I scared of?
Maria, this can't go on.
You have to leave it behind. Set yourself free.
We might as well face it. You're being a bit of a hypocrite.
-No, no-- -Hey, relax. Don't fly off the handle.
You've always hidden behind the excuse that my son was your only love.
It's true, Maria.
What are you talking about?
You either don't remember or don't want to.
But Fausto told me that, before meeting Sarah,
he wanted to be with you.
You're the one who said no to him.
-I did? That's not true. -Yes, you, Maria. You.
He locked himself in his room and cried for a month.
-That's not true. -It's not true?
He told me himself, Maria.
At his 21st birthday. He confessed his love, and you said no.
Because you didn't trust him. There were too many girls around him.
So it was you who turned him down.
And you've been telling yourself a different story for all these years.
You think you have this calling to help everybody,
this Red Cross attitude that, trust me, Maria, we're sick to death of.
Try thinking about yourself for once.
I'm not saying that you should marry the first guy who walks in the door.
But try to be happy, at least.
Do what you want. Don't listen to anybody else.
Fausto isn't coming back.
You're out of excuses.
Take me back home.
-What? I thought you were coming over. -I have stuff to do for school.
♪ Not really sure ♪
♪ How to feel about it ♪
♪ Something in the way you move ♪
♪ Makes me feel Like I can't live without you here ♪
♪ It hits me all the way ♪
♪ I want you to stay ♪
I mean, guys, my skeleton is spectacular. Look at this.
This here is what the radiotherapy's for
because it's kind of a delicate area.
And this too. See?
After that, I do immunotherapy, and I'm done.
I mean, that's it. No big deal. Look. The red dots you see here…
-These little dots here? -These red ones are--
It's Ercole. Make sure he doesn't see.
-Sure. -Get rid of this somewhere.
-Hey. Sounds like there's a chance. -Hey, Dad.
-Hi. -Do you know what those dots are?
-Metastases. -So, what's gonna happen?
-You want the truth? -No. No, anything but the truth.
-He's done for. -I told you I didn't want the truth.
Forget the truth
because it's important for us to put on a brave face.
Yeah, why don't you put on a brave face, Maria?
-Here he is! Ercole! -Hey, Ercole!
Ercole! You remember Maria?
-No, why would he remember? -Why not?
Dad, Mom told me I need to ask you for my passport.
Why do you need your passport?
She said we'll spend the summer in Bristol at our grandparents' house.
Oh yeah?
-You want to go to Bristol? -For a little bit.
Okay then. And Libero?
Dunno.
Did you tell Libero he can call when he wants?
'Cause he never picks up.
-Yeah. -What did he say?
Can I say it?
Yes, Ercole, of course.
He said, "Mind your own fucking business."
Sounds like Libero.
Drink your juice, buddy.
-Fausto Ciaramitano? -That's me.
Play the song, play the song.
♪ I know you wanna leave me ♪
♪ But I refuse to let you go ♪
♪ If I have to beg and plead ♪
♪ For your sympathy ♪
♪ I don't mind ♪
♪ 'Cause you mean that much to me ♪
♪ Ain't too proud to beg ♪
♪ And you know it ♪
♪ Please don't leave me, girl ♪
♪ Don't you go ♪
♪ Ain't too proud to plead, baby, baby ♪
♪ Please don't leave me, girl ♪
♪ Don't you go ♪
♪ Ain't too proud to beg ♪
♪ Sweet darlin', please don't leave me ♪
♪ Don't you go ♪
♪ Ain't too proud to plead, baby, baby ♪
♪ Please don't leave me, girl ♪
♪ Don't you go ♪
♪ Ooh ♪
You guys, never get radiotherapy.
You're dumb.
Sorry guys.
My head is spinning. I need to lie down.
Want me to make you something to eat?
No, no, no, no. Maybe you could…
Can you get Ercole ready? His mom's coming to pick him up.
Sure, we'll take care of it. Don't worry. Lie down.
-Thanks, guys. Thanks. -Of course.
Thanks for what?
-Tell me where they are. -Leave it. Nothing there.
You can ask him later.
-Fucking tell me. -He's taking a nap.
-Fuck! -Sarah's here.
Sarah?
-Where are their passports? -They're not in there?
They're not.
-Can we just talk for a minute? -No. Did you hide them?
I didn't hide them. Now, sit down. I have something to tell you.
Liar. You don't want them to leave.
Sarah, I don't… I looked for them. I don't know where they are.
So you did look for them?
-You fucking liar! -Hey, lower your voice.
Your son's in there.
You are giving those passports to me.
Sarah, you're not taking those kids out of Italy.
Stand aside.
Sarah, come on.
Stand aside.
Fausto!
Fausto.
Please, I barely even touched you.
I'll go to the police tomorrow and tell them you stole the passports.
Fuck. Let's go.
Let's go.
-Are you hurt? -It's okay, Demetrio.
You sure?
I'm sorry, guys. I'm sorry
I have a staff meeting on Wednesday. You'll have to take him to therapy.
-Hello? -Yeah.
Yeah, what?
Maria, I don't want to see Fausto die.
And you think I do?
But you're strong.
You're the one he needs.
-Dem-- -No, Maria, no.
Please don't make me do it.
It's killing me to see him like this.
Demetrio, listen.
After next month, I'm leaving Rome for good.
I have to go back home.
Take some time to get yourself together, but then it's on you.
That's it. End of discussion.
One, two, three, four.
♪ It's a question Of quality… ♪
Do you know what she's saying?
-I don't have a clue. -I can't understand a word.
"Formality."
♪ I don't study I don't work, I don't watch TV ♪
♪I don't go to the movies I don't do sports ♪
Thanks, everyone.
Sarah's here. Sarah's here.
I wasn't sure about coming.
I hope my being here is the right thing.
-Hey, Sarah. -Hi.
-How are you? -Better.
Come, sit with me.
Okay, you guys, It's almost your turn to go on.
Once you get on stage,
just remember, you have to plug your guitars
into the amplifiers to be heard.
Demetrio, what kind of advice is that? Come on.
-Ercole, you start with the solo. -No, Uncle. I don't feel like doing it.
No! It's way better with a bass solo at the beginning, trust me.
I told you no!
All right, fine. Remember what I said.
Plug your guitar into the amplifier.
Last but not least, it's time for the brotherly duo
to take the stage. Libero and Ercole.
They're going to perform their very own rendition of "Stand By Me."
Come on, let's give them a hand, you guys.
Go! Go!
And plug in.
Come on, come on!
Knock 'em dead, kiddos!
Whoo-hoo!
Break a leg!
Go.
What's happening?
I don't know. I don't know what's going on.
-You go. I'll check on… -Yeah, go ahead.
-Ercole. -Check on him.
Gerardo!
-Ah, car's ready go. -Great. Nice and black.
Yes, it's nice, Fausto, but is now really the time
to be switching careers?
Look, it's an opportunity. I got this thing for practically nothing.
Besides, with this, I won't get tired, I won't have to walk.
-I just sit inside the car. -It looks more like a truck.
It's a nine-seater, Maria. A nine-seater van with automatic doors
Wait, there's a hole.
Gerardo! Gerardo!
-There's a hole in the seat. -So what?
What do you mean, "so what"? You said upholstery was included.
-Not that I recall. -No, we said 25,000.
Including upholstery and tires.
And I swapped out the tires, so we're all set.
What do you mean? The seat has a hole in it!
Quit shouting, you asshole.
Gerardo, I want you to give me new upholstery.
And also, never call me asshole again.
-Oh, yeah? -Yeah.
You're an asshole, kid!
Just drop it. He's not worth it. Let's go now.
Yeah, that's right. Take this asshole out of my shop.
I got crazy shit going on inside me. You do not want me to let it out!
-And I've got this. -Ah.
-You want me to smash your head with it? -Ah, nice.
You threaten all your customers with a wrench?
You ought to be ashamed!
-Let's get out of here. Stop! -Who are you calling asshole?
-He's an asshole! -Will you shut up, Maria?
Get out of here!
Go!
Scumbag!
I can't believe there are pieces of shit like that walking around.
I'm afraid, Maria.
I know you are.
It's normal.
No, no. I'm afraid for the kids.
Don't ever let them see that you're afraid.
I haven't seen Libero in weeks, Mari.
He says he's mad at me.
-Why would he be mad? -I don't know.
I swear, I don't know.
He wants to stay with his mom.
Fausto, look.
We all saw Sarah the other day. She's not well.
If she takes the kids, you'll never see them again.
I can't let that happen.
Then you need to get a lawyer.
And you need to find a way to stop her from taking them.
Hi.
What is it?
Sarah, could we sit down for a minute and talk? Huh?
Sarah, there's not much to say. I no longer trust you.
I want to get separated, but mostly, I want the kids to stay with me.
Period.
You serious?
Yeah.
-Yes. -Forget it.
You want to take my children away from me?
Sarah, it's too late.
I've already sent my lawyer the voicemail you left me on the night of the accident
What the fuck are you talking about?
Fausto, please, come home.
Hurry!
Ercole hurt himself.
His head.
There is blood everywhere.
He's not answering me, Fausto.
I hurt him. I hurt him real bad.
You have to come back.
I'm sorry, Sarah.
I didn't do it.
I didn't hurt Ercole.
Even…
Even if I did,
I swear it wouldn't have happened again.
Fausto.
Please.
Please look at me.
Look at me.
Fuck.
Libero, wait!
Hey.
What happened?
I want to stay with you.
Yeah.
We will be together. Just not now.
It's not fair that we can't see each other.
Yeah.
It's not so simple.
I've made mistakes.
They think you hurt Ercole.
They don't know the truth.
What truth?
It was me.
Don't be silly.
I didn't know they blamed you.
Libero, enough! I don't want to talk about it.
I saw you were suffering because of Ercole.
And so I hurt him.
Because I didn't want to see you sad.
It's not your fault.
Do you understand, Mom?
You guys, I want to tell you something.
I love you. Hmm.
We're all a family here.
We are a fucking family.
So let's see some smiles, huh?
Everything in life can be fixed, sweetheart.
♪ When the night has come ♪
♪ And the land is dark ♪
♪ And the moon Is the only light we'll see ♪
♪ No, I won't be afraid ♪
♪ Oh, I won't ♪
♪ Be afraid ♪
♪ Just as long ♪
♪ As you stand, stand by me ♪
♪ So darling, darling Stand by me ♪
♪ Oh, stand by me ♪
♪ Oh, stand ♪
♪ Stand by me, stand by me ♪
♪ If the sky that we look upon ♪
♪ Should tumble and fall ♪
♪ Or the mountain Should crumble to the sea ♪
Come on! Let's see that smile, Libero!
♪ I won't cry, I won't cry ♪
♪ No, I won't ♪
♪ Shed a tear ♪
♪ Just as long as you stand ♪
♪ Stand by me ♪
♪ And darlin', darlin' ♪
♪ Stand by me ♪
♪ Oh, stand ♪
♪ By me… ♪
He passed out the second he laid down. Out like a light.
Well, then. I'm off.
No, no, no. Stay a little longer.
-Fausto. -What's wrong?
I'll help you with everything.
The treatment, the house, the kids, but don't ask me for more.
-Hello. -Hey.
Maria, it's eleven o'clock. What's the matter?
Dem, I've realized something important, uh…
And I wanted you to know.
Um…
I realized that, for all these years, I've been dealing with my own fixations.
I created this excuse for myself.
So I'd never have to risk falling in love.
I told myself I was in love with Fausto, but
it wasn't true.
Mm.
So I've always been alone because…
Because the truth is that I'm scared.
Now, I still don't really understand that part. I…
I mean, why I'm afraid or exactly what I'm afraid of,
but the fact is, I'm afraid.
That's just the case.
And it was important to realize that,
because it means I can finally let go of Fausto
and think about having somebody by my side.
I'd never thought about any of that before.
That's it.
What do you think?
I don't give a fuck about you and Fausto.
-Why are you being like this? -Maria, I only want to ask you one thing.
Do you like me?
-Well, I think so. -No, Maria. Don't tell me, "I think so."
I'm asking you again, do you like me or not?
-Yeah. -Why do you like me?
-Come on. -Eh… Come on, what?
Dem, there are a thousand reasons why I like you.
A thousand reasons? Then give me one. For example?
When you're so aggressive, I can't think of anything.
No, Maria, no.
You can't come up with a reason because the truth is, you don't have any.
I realized something too.
I fell in love with you years ago,
but if the love you feel is never returned,
then that love ends.
That's not something I made up. Dante said it.
You're a teacher. You should know. You ought to be telling me!
Dante Alighieri. Dante, the Poet. What did he say?
If you love, without being loved, then what happens next?
You stop giving a fuck, Maria.
Bye. top giving a fuck, Maria.